Sotheby’s x The Invisible Collection

T his July, Sotheby’s are once again teaming up with luxury design platform The Invisible Collection to transform the gallery for the upcoming Evening Sale in London which celebrates over 500 years of creativity and innovation. New works from The Invisible Collection’s precious inventory will accompany exquisite pieces from masters including Rembrandt and Bernardo Bellotto.

To mark the occasion, Sotheby’s sat down with the formidable co-founders Anna Zaoui and Isabelle Dubern-Mallevays to discover more about The Invisible Collection, their love of design masters and their devotion to the contemporary designers we’ll be collecting in years to come.

First up, what’s the story behind The Invisible Collection and how did the two of you meet?

ANNA: Isabelle and I have been friends for many years now… We were actually at Chelsea Flower Show in London when Isabelle shared her dream of owning a Pierre Yovanovitch Papa Bear Armchair with me (still to this day one of our forever favourites!) It just so happened I had chosen Pierre for one of my projects in New York so offered to place an order on Isabelle’s behalf. The Invisible Collection was born from here – creating an exclusive inventory of furniture previously inaccessible to a wider audience, thus helping others realise their design dreams!

Anna, as a keen art collector and patron of the arts, what do you think the great masters of the art and design worlds have in common?

ANNA: Both design and art masters have the power to create one, something incredibly timeless, and two, a very unique form of experience – the meeting of an artist’s expression and the client’s own emotional projections. It’s a very magical dimension. I think often art inspires design in this way, and vice versa.

The two of you have helped propel the careers of a number of contemporary designers. How do you identify future collectibles?

ANNA: Both Isabelle and I are always more intuitive than systematic... The experience we have built by being so closely involved with art and design for so many years now has granted us a confident eye for curation!

ISABELLE: In that sense, we can rely on instinct when sourcing new, untouched talent. We respect every designer’s vision and curate our ‘future classics’ based on the fact we feel passionately about his/her distinct talent, quality and creativity.

We’re celebrating Rembrandt’s legacy and relationship with contemporaries. Which designers do you think have defined their generations?

ANNA: Like any other art form, design is a mirror of its time. The masters of the Decorative Arts’ golden era – Jean-Michel Frank, Pierre Chareau and Jean Royère – have shaped modern thinking on design. Our mission is to build a bridge between their work and their contemporary heirs. We are proud to offer up for the first time the collections of Charles Zana and Pierre Yovanovitch to name but a few. Hopefully, by doing this, we can reach and introduce a new, younger audience of design and art enthusiasts to these talents. For us, this is exciting.

Tell us more about what guides your curation of The Invisible Collection and a little bit about some of the pieces you’re coveting on the site right now.

ISABELLE: Pierre Augustin Rose is the perfect example of this dialogue between past and present that Anna refers to and so much a part of why we are so drawn to the trio’s pieces - capturing the essence of French style with a seamless blend of classic inspiration & contemporary confidence and creativity.

ANNA: In a similar sense, Maison Integre’s exquisite bronze objects reimagine the past - breathing new life into the shapes of customary and traditional objects from the West African cultural heritage. Each piece is handmade from recycled materials in collaboration with Burkinabe skilled bronze smiths. This commitment to local artisanship and sustainability is something we will always admire and support in our designers.

And finally, you’re used to dealing in the digital world and we’ve all been living through the world’s virtual transition. Do you think there’s something special about bringing to life a physical space?

ISABELLE: Without doubt, and this is definitely something we have craved over the past few months whilst navigating the ‘new normal’, particularly in the absence of the design fairs. Of course the digital element is the backbone of The Invisible Collection, but it is firmly rooted in the real world.

Discover more by visiting The Invisible Collection

Past Auction

Rembrandt to Richter

28 July 2020 | 5:00 PM BST | London