Material Matters 2022

The fair will take place across five floors of the iconic Bargehouse at Oxo Tower Wharf, an unadorned but magnificent former factory setting, and feature a wide range of exhibits: from an exhibition celebrating an upcoming monograph on the experience-driven strategic design agency LAYER, to a site-specific installation from leading gallery Ruup & Form, featuring work from textile artist Beatrice Mayfield and other multidisciplinary artists, via displays by innovators and experimentalists whose practice is at the cutting edge of materials, and products from a collection of leading brands. Material Matters promises to contain a slew of fascinating themes and features. The show will be teeming with designers, makers and manufacturers that explore the value of materials – particularly waste and our need for circularity. Craft will feature prominently, with exhibitors specialising in glass, metal, grass roots, orange peel and ceramics. The fair will also have displays by leading Scandinavian furniture makers, as well as feature a number of designers who use technology and 3D printing to create furniture pieces out of natural materials. Material Matters will also host a number of site-specific installations including Reclaim, by gallery Ruup & Form with artist Beatrice Mayfield, as well as META by Stuart Haygarth, who will use a collection of vintage glass lamp shades to create a new chandelier. Another highlight of the fair is the Wood Awards, which will be unveiling its shortlist at gallery@oxo. The scheme, which was established in 1971 and is split into two main categories, Buildings and Furniture & Product, is the UK’s premier competition for excellence in architecture and product design in wood. It recognises, encourages and promotes outstanding wood design, craftsmanship and installation. The exhibition will be paired with a series of lunchtime talks.