Inside the Avant-Garde Exhibition Bridging London & New York

Combine works from Tom Dixon and Mark Brazier-Jones with jewelry by Eileen Coyne and sculpture from Benedetta Mori Ubaldini and Anthony Redmile, and ceramics by Anna Barlow, and you’ve got yourself quite an exhibition. That’s what’s on display at All the World's a Stage, curated by New York–based Galerie56 and London-based Themes & Variations. This first-ever collaboration between the cross-continental galleries, being showcased at Galerie56 in Tribeca, offers a fresh perspective on avant-garde modern and contemporary design.

"The exhibition features exciting archival works by designers like Tom Dixon, who, at the start of their careers, created luxurious works out of rigorously welding found objects and modest materials," Galerie56 founder Lee F. Mindel, FAIA, shares with The Comm Sheet.

1. Tom Dixon, Fish Pan Chair (1987); Pylon Chair (1991). 2. Mark Brazier-Jones, Messanger Console. 3. Eileen Coyne, Sculptural Pendant Necklace; Ring. 4. Anthony Redmile, Tortoise Coffee Table (circa 1975) 5. Anna Barlow, Gold Evening (2025); Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Sculpture (2025).

It’s especially noteworthy for Themes & Variations to include Dixon because it was the first gallery to exhibit his work, more than 40 years ago. Gallery founder Liliane Fawcett has brought notable metal works to All the World's a Stage from throughout Dixon's career, including Fish Pan Chair and Pylon Chair from his earlier collections, as well as more recent masks he made from welded salvage metal.

But how are avant-garde sensibilities across the decades relevant to today’s designers and artists? All The World’s A Stage explores this significance. "Each piece in this exhibition exudes emotion,” Fawcett explained in a statement. “The story they tell through their unconventional visual tension carries a theatrical sensitivity: a desk, a chair, a mirror stages you in a performance where its form is the drama."

All the World's a Stage is on view until Jan. 8, 2026, at Galerie56 on 240 Church St. in New York City.

—Dalene Rovenstine