The London edition of the PAD art and design fair, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this month, reflects the evolution of a growing global appetite for contemporary collectible design and functional art. It is a market that has risen in response to a proliferation of design museums — from Tokyo to Barcelona, Canberra to Dundee — as well as dedicated design publications, auctions and yet more fairs.
Driving this activity is a rich creativity which is blurring the boundaries between art, craft and design. So porous are these distinctions that contemporary art galleries increasingly present functional objects, while artists, architects and designers move blithely between materials and disciplines. There is hardly a major international contemporary art fair in the world that has not expanded to embrace design.