A Conversation With Andrew Duncanson and Sebastien Holt

Seeing one of Modernity’s stands at an art fair gives the perfect sense of the furniture gallery’s philosophy. Take, for example, the 2015 London edition of the Pavilion of Art and Design where they had a large stand with two separate seating areas divided by a beautiful dining table. Two of the three walls had small wooden slats placed close together in what looked like a striped effect. It was something completely out of the ordinary and actually made the furniture interact with the walls as opposed to merely existing within them. To Modernity, furniture pieces aren’t merely being treated as everyday objects, but as unique pieces of art.

When considering Modernity’s inventory of exclusive and rare pieces, do you see the line between art and furniture start to blur? Could your inventory be categorised as the Old Masters of the furniture world?

The Oxford Dictionary states that art is the ‘expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power’. If you take this definition, you could say that particular pieces of design could be called art. One good example is Paavo Tynell who uses rare snowflake models to play with light and produce an emotional reaction – a similar reaction to that from a piece of art. Modernity’s inventory wouldn’t be considered as the old masters of furniture, as this term tends to refer to a much earlier period. Instead, Modernity’s works are considered the equivalent of modern works of art. Designers from this period put aside the traditions and experimented with form and function. One perfect example of this is the Chieftain Chair, designed by Finn Juhl in 1949, where he experimented with the use of steel as the form for the sculpted armrests.

There has been a shift in the market as auction sales of interiors have given way to single owner sales with entire collections of furniture, paintings, works of art, and sculpture are all sold together. Does this mean that dealers in unique pieces of furniture have had to adapt?

Single owner sales will always be attractive and there seems to be a trend for the larger auction houses to sell the furniture of a collector alongside his or her works of art. This model is especially effective when the owner is famous or had a particularly good eye with a well-known collection.

As Modernity is certainly aware, there is currently significant concern, quite rightly, with ethical luxury. How do you advise your clients to approach repurposing pieces and adapting them to new functions?

Our approach is to only deal in design pieces of the very highest quality, whether it be lamps, furniture, art, ceramics or glass. In doing so, we hope that these pieces will last for many years, gaining stories as they are passed along between generations. Most of our fabric chairs have been reupholstered, maintaining the original frame but bringing a new light to the piece.

Of course, there are simple ways to repurpose design pieces by restoring them to their original finish or bringing in new fabrics. Such changes make a huge difference to the feel of the piece, but also work to expand the purpose and give it a new function specific to each owner.

Designed By Woulfe has invited Tova Ossad of Ossad Art Management to interview a range of art world personalities. Her fifteen years’ experience working in this sphere has exposed her to many artists, auction specialists, art advisors, conservators, and gallerists, thereby giving the Design Journal fresh insight into the fundamentals of art. This series will explore buying, selling, appreciating, and everything in between.