What happens when furniture is considered not simply as a complement to art, but as part of the same visual conversation? At Waddington Custot in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue, Invisible Collection explores this relationship through an exhibition that brings together the abstract paintings of French artist Fabienne Verdier and works by a selection of contemporary designers.
The presentation marks Invisible Collection’s first regional residency, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of both the design gallery and Waddington Custot’s Dubai space. Conceived as an ongoing collaboration, the project will see furniture and objects selected in response to the gallery’s changing exhibitions, allowing new relationships to emerge between art and design.
At the centre of the inaugural presentation is the work of Fabienne Verdier, whose practice moves between Eastern and Western artistic traditions. Having studied Chinese painting and calligraphy, Verdier developed a distinctive approach to abstraction, working with large, custom-made brushes suspended from the ceiling. The resulting gestures, sweeping across the canvas, reflect an exploration of movement, material and the physical act of painting.
Alongside her works, Invisible Collection’s co-founders Isabelle Dubern-Mallevays and Lily Froehlicher have assembled pieces that approach craftsmanship through different materials, techniques and cultural references.
Among them is the Orion Incense Table by Oud Architecture, a piece that draws on Art Deco geometry while incorporating elements of Middle Eastern decorative traditions. Mother-of-pearl and aluminium are inlaid into wood, bringing together contrasting materials through a process that requires considerable technical precision.
Elsewhere, Leo Sentou’s Faubourg Collection joins works by Jacques Doucet, including the Avenue Du Bois Sofa upholstered in Dedar alpaca fabric. Doucet’s contribution also includes a special-edition lamp created with Atelier Lison de Caunes, whose expertise in straw marquetry brings a traditional decorative technique into a contemporary context. Furniture and lighting by Hamrei, 11 Varenne, Louise Liljencrantz and Juliana Lima Vasconcellos complete the selection.
Beyond the individual pieces, the exhibition raises a broader question about the way art and design coexist. Rather than treating furniture as a neutral backdrop for paintings, the residency proposes an environment in which objects, materials and artistic practices can be considered together, each contributing a different perspective.
For Invisible Collection, the Dubai presentation also reflects an evolution that has been taking shape over the past decade. Founded in 2016 as a digital platform dedicated to collectible design, the gallery has gradually expanded its activities beyond individual furniture pieces, developing complete residential interiors and collaborations that bring together designers, artisans and collectors.
This approach is closely connected to the French tradition of the ensemblier, in which furniture, decorative arts and architecture are conceived as elements of a coherent interior rather than separate disciplines.
Dubai offers a new setting for this philosophy, particularly through the encounter between European decorative traditions and the region’s own material and artisanal heritage.
The current presentation remains on view until the end of January 2027, while the residency will continue beyond the exhibition. As the artworks at Waddington Custot change, so too will the accompanying selection of design pieces, extending the conversation between the two disciplines.
Invisible Collection × Waddington Custot
Waddington Custot, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai
7 November 2026 – end of January 2027
