The co-founder of the ongoing design collective Jonald Dudd opened a physical gallery in Philadelphia to present a list of emerging avant-garde talents.
Chris held, who started the recurring independent show Jonald Dudd in 2015 while NycxDesign moved from New York and found a place in the old town of Philadephia, in which design could be exhibited all year round.
The collective and the stores called Dudd Haus are a platform for “underrepresented studios that use design as an expressive medium” as an extension of Jonald Dudd.
The room was opened according to the gallery with furniture, lighting and objects of “25 most exciting talents and voices within the contemporary design”.
“Dudd Haus is a natural expansion of collectivism that has been around Jonald Dudd for many years,” said Halt. “Dudd house meets the same pressure points in the industry as Jonald Dudd, but in a much more permanent way.
“The goal is to cooperate, an increased visibility and ultimately a sustainable life through his own design practice,” he added.
The long narrow room is located in a historic building and has a retail component on the front that sells smaller objects from studios such as Craighill and Fort Standard, Literature and War.
The exhibition area is located to the rear, in which pieces in the debut exhibition are exhibited on two parallel red base that flank a central sidewalk.
Crushed velvet curtains offer a backdrop for the work, while the floor is covered with a chess board made of speckled black and white tiles.
Other objects and merch are kept in a wooden unit that includes a four-time four-grille with open boxing shelves that is placed over the back wall in front of a mountain scene.
Parts that are contained in the showcase area about tables, seating, storage and lighting that come from 27 designers and studios.
All work is also available via an associated online shop and the 1st DIBS e-commerce platform.
Next week Dudd Haus will bring pieces from a curated group of 12 designers to the New York Collectible Fair from September 4th to 7th, 2025 in the WSA building in Water Street.
The stand offers a sculptural stool made of melted plastic, candle holder that is formed with the remains of the road construction mass gap, a painted wooden table that was built with corpse and tap connections, and much more.
“The highlights include two pieces by Mike Newins – a carved limestone table from the quarries in the south -Indiana and a scrying mirror made of black glass – and a screen of Carl Durrow made of stainless steel, aluminum and structured wire glass, together with a variety of other bold, experimental work,” kept dees.
“As a collective, our practices extend several disciplines and aesthetics – together they create a uniform voice that questions conventional design standards.”
Jonald Dudd was founded by Held, Lydia Cambron and Ben Garthus as an alternative to the typical gallery-based model and offers representation and advocacy in the name of individual practitioners outside of capital-oriented institutions.
Since its opening exhibition, the platform has more than 200 artists and designers “causing their practices disrespectful works that challenge both industry and cultural conventions”.
Photography comes from Matthew Gordon.