Curated by Matter & Shape

From the Room Issue

“Scale is not about size. Scale is about the viewer,” Anish Kapoor once remarked, a leading figure of monumental sculpture.

Not a matter of measurement, but of relation: one that takes shape between the object and its observer. For its fourth edition, staged in the heart of Paris amid the gilded setting of the Jardin des Tuileries, Matter & Shape continues to blur the boundaries between art, design, and craft through a curated selection of previously unseen works produced across the globe.

Today, its artistic director, Dan Thawley, presents his exclusive selection for Exhibition Magazine.
Matter & Shape, from March 6 to 9, at the Jardin des Tuileries, in the heart of Paris.

From lost-wax casting to sandblasted glass, inlaid wood marquetry and hand-carved marble, the selection of objects across these pages represents a non-exhaustive cross-section of the techniques and typologies of creation that are represented at MATTER and SHAPE (2026) — the third edition of the new contemporary design fair that we bring to life across four days in the Jardin des Tuileries in early March.
Coinciding with Paris Fashion Week, it is a window into the global design world for those who may never have the chance to visit Salone del Mobile, or 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, or other dedicated international design shows.
It is also an unconventional platform that combines the output of heritage companies, young designers, international brands and institutions united in their quest for beauty and function, blending innovation and tradition.
The salon’s theme of scale for 2026 interrogates the blurry definitions of provenance and production — from ‘one-of-a-kind’ collectible design through limited editions and industrialized design production — all categories on show in a rare cross-section of today’s obsession with object culture for a new generation of emerging collectors and enthusiasts.