Southern Guild presents collectible design pieces at Christie's London

It has pieces by 18 of the most important design voices in South Africa. These include Charles Haupt’s Num Num Tables, Conrad Hicks’ Copper Chaise, David Krynauw’s Haywire Chandelier, Dokter and Misses’ Kassena Isibheqe, John Murray and Paco Pakdoust’s rug collaboration titled Oust, Meyer von Wielligh’s Leaf Sideboard, the Southern Guild Chair by Anatomy Design in collaboration with Nicky Levenberg, Xandre Kriel’s Vos Altar and Porky Hefer’s fantastical Fallen Bird’s Nests.

© Conrad Hicks Copper Chaise

When Southern Guild represented South Africa as the featured country in the annual design auction at Christie’s, Piccadilly 18 months ago, record prices were achieved for 11 of the 14 works sold, with Porky Hefer’s Appropriated Objects – Chair and Stool selling for close to four times the estimate price.

The exhibition preceding the auction at Christie’s titled Contemporary Living: Art, Craft & Design, will present works of art by contemporary artists, together with pieces from British gallery, The New Craftsmen. It includes additional Southern Guild pieces by Adam Birch, Chuma Maweni and Madoda Fani, Heino Schmitt Design, Jesse Ede, Mock Mock, OKHA and Stanislaw Trzebinski.

Zoe Klemme, Christie’s head of First Open in London and Christie’s design specialist Raffaella Goffredi, comment, “Southern Guild represents a growing stable of designers, whose work is fresh and bold, with global appeal. The Contemporary Living exhibition celebrates and explores the dialogue between contemporary art, design and crafts, and is a new platform for promoting emerging talent; it offers an exciting new opportunity to our clients and we hope it will inspire new ways of displaying art in the home.”

“Southern Guild pieces have a special appeal for young collectors,” explains Southern Guild co-founder, Trevyn McGowan. “They are imbued with intriguing narratives and a strong ethos linked to hand production that draws people in. Many of the designers are also the makers, allowing the work to be entrenched with their personas. This aligns well with The New Craftsmen’s approach to refining the value of craft and placing a strong focus on skills, methods and materials.”

Trevyn McGowan will participate in a panel discussion on 3 April at Christie’s and Stanislaw Trzebinski will be giving an insight to his working processes on 4 April at Christie’s Lates.

The exhibition is from 1-4 April, with the auction on 5 April 2017.