Objects with Narratives brings "found" collectible design to PAD London

By Priya Raman

Brussels gallery Objects with Narratives opened its second exhibition at PAD London on 14 October, and it closes on the 18th. That's a five-day window for a show built around one idea: collectible design that looks "found rather than fabricated."

The exhibition, titled What Remains?, sits inside the annual fair in Mayfair's Berkeley Square. It gathers textured pieces by Ben Storms, Paul Cocksedge, Sofie Middernacht, Jojo Corväiá, KRJST Studio and Karl Monies. Amorphous shapes and patinated surfaces tie the work together.

"Every piece was crafted in the present, yet many carry a sense of the past, as though found rather than fabricated," said Objects with Narratives.

What does Ex Hale's stone actually do?

Belgian designer Ben Storms leads with his newest piece: Ex Hale, a cushion-like coffee table carved from veiny red Mexican onyx and dressed with mosaic veneer.

The making process is the story. Storms used hydroforming (blowing up welded metal sheets with water pressure) to inflate two welded sheets into a cushion form. He 3D-scanned that shape, then milled it from a stone block with a CNC machine.

"Ex Hale plays with our common notions of materiality," the gallery said. "The hard stone looks soft instead, an impression that is further enhanced by the delicate surface treatment."

Storms is known for rough-hewn furniture that reads like jumbo pillows. Ex Hale pushes that language further — the industrial technique serves a soft visual illusion.

How does Critical Mass echo Trafalgar Square?

British designer Paul Cocksedge contributes Critical Mass, a handmade Corten steel standing shelf. Three metal components support three metal shelves.

The form will look familiar to London viewers. It echoes What Nelson Sees, Cocksedge's weathering steel installation placed in Trafalgar Square for last year's London Design Festival.

"The Critical Mass series holds an energy, something on the edge of collapse or explosion," said Objects with Narratives.

Who else is showing?

The roster runs material-heavy:

• Sofie Middernacht — a steel credenza, bench and two stools clad in gleaming crimson resin, built from discarded industrial materials and shaped like archaeological artefacts.
• Jojo Corväiá — a trio of glazed vessels in volcanic clay, the Venezuelan artist's core material.
• KRJST Studio — shaggy mohair and wool lamps.
• Karl Monies — lighting formed from patchwork slabs of copper.

Why the title?

The gallery frames the show as a question about longevity. "What Remains? asks what gives an object the sense that it might outlive the moment of its making: the material, the craft, or simply the possibility that some objects belong to no single time at all," Objects with Narratives concluded.

Objects with Narratives was founded by Nik and Robbe Vandewyngaerde and Oskar Eryatmaz. The trio opened their first permanent gallery inside a historic 1920s fur atelier in Brussels in 2023. PAD London 2026 runs 14–19 October at Berkeley Square, London W1J 6EN. A return next year with a third outing would confirm the fair as a fixed slot in the gallery's calendar.

Photography courtesy of Objects with Narratives.