New York-based Twenty First Gallery was established in 2007 with a mission to promote meaningful, masterly crafted contemporary design.
Housed in a 2,500-square-foot space in TriBeCa, it proposes one-off and limited-edition pieces, hosting regular exhibitions that are at once expressive and eloquent, intriguing and inspiring, as well as regularly participating in major international fairs.
An early proponent of 21st-century design, the gallery’s French-born founder Renaud Vuaillat started off his career at the Paris flea market, where he amassed an extensive knowledge of the decorative arts, which he combines today with a desire to encourage his artists to push boundaries and experiment.
For him, it is not sufficient for an object to be solely well-made or innovative. It needs to be both.
Twenty First’s focus is firmly on European makers, who blur the lines between design and functional art, employing the finest classical techniques and highest standards of workmanship. Each has a distinct approach and aesthetic, yet their creations all display an exacting quest for quality, a largely sculptural approach, and a high level of virtuosity.
The result is works that are at once rooted in tradition and cutting edge. Endowed with substance, they transcend fads and fashions, making them highly collectible today and potential design icons of tomorrow.
Twenty First Gallery