Lacquer is having a moment, too. Mono Art from Tokyo is showing works by Yoshito Yamashita – one of only ten artists designated a Living National Treasure in Japanese lacquer art – alongside his son Kojin, who continues to evolve the Kagawa tradition. HIROKI / White Conduit Projects brings a cross-cultural dialogue, with Jane Bustin and Rosa Nguyen collaborating with lacquer master HIROKI, drawing on techniques such as kintsugi and toutaishikki. If lacquer once suggested polished perfection, here it feels far more elastic.
Collect Open, the fair’s curated platform for large-scale, craft-led installations, provides a different register altogether. Amelia Dennigan’s embroidered canvases explore the emotional complexity of miscarriage, using textile as a painterly, deeply personal medium. Ella Merriman gives rush basketry a contemporary edge by reviving abandoned London furniture with traditional techniques. Kamilah Ahmed celebrates the cityscape of Dhaka through suspended embroidered textiles rooted in heritage processes. Chloe Lennon’s cobalt-mining-inspired dining table and stools confront the ethics of extraction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while Hanna Salomonsson’s monumental ceramic totems reflect on veteran trees and the ecological pressures they face.
There are also newcomers worth seeking out. Max Radford Gallery brings a strong design-led focus, presenting sculptural furniture by Freddy Tuppen, Barnaby Lewis and Lewis Kemmenoe. Jennifer Lauren Gallery champions under-represented and disabled artists – including Yoshihiro Watanabe’s origami oak-leaf animals, which manage to be playful and quietly pointed at once.
Beneath it all, there is a palpable sense of shared purpose. As Brigitta Spinocchia Freund, Creative Director of Spinocchia Freund and partner of Collect Open, notes: ‘My heart lies in championing Craft in all its material forms. Supporting Craft sustains a community and keeps vital skills in circulation. Collect brings that global community together, creating space for discovery and for these practices to be actively championed.’
So what are we looking for at Collect this year? Not statements for their own sake, but works that stretch material, question assumptions and feel alive to the present moment.
Collect 2026 at Somerset House – public opening times:
- Friday 27 February 2026 11:00 – 20:00
- Saturday 28 February 2026 11:00 – 18:00
- Sunday 01 March 2026 11:00 – 17:00
