Galerie Maria Wettergren Wins Best Contemporary Work at Design Miami.Paris

Mathias Bengtsson’s Membrane Chair at Galerie Maria Wettergren, Design Miami.Paris

Galerie Maria Wettergren’s presentation at Design Miami.Paris, with Mathias Bengtsson’s Membrane Chair (2026) at center. Photo: Courtesy of Maria Wettergren

Founded in 2010, the gallery expands its Nordic repertoire with South Korean, Indian and French-Togolese creators and wins an award at Design Miami Paris 2026.

By Samuel Navarro Serpa

Based in the Marais district of Paris, Galerie Maria Wettergren took part in the fourth edition of Design Miami Paris, which closed Sunday, Oct. 25, at L’hôtel de Maisons in the Faubourg Saint-Germain. It left with a trophy: Mathias Bengtsson’s Membrane Chair (2026) was named Best Contemporary Work by the fair’s jury.

Membrane Chair (2026), by Mathias Bengtsson. Photo: Courtesy of Maria Wettergren

With the trophy, a program that puts architecture, artisanal craft, science and new technologies in dialogue gains visibility.

Saint-Germain and the Marais

Maria Wettergren opened Galerie Maria Wettergren in 2010 in Saint-Germain and moved it to a larger property in the Marais in 2020.Her curatorial approach favors conceptual works, material research and strong sensory appeal.

Installation view of the gallery’s presentation at L’hôtel de Maisons, in Paris. Photo: Courtesy of Maria Wettergren

Either one-of-a-kind or in limited editions, the pieces fill the rooms across five areas: collectible furniture, textiles, sculpture, ceramics and glass. Solo shows and catalogs round out the program, documenting each creator’s path.

At the Galerie Maria Wettergren booth, the Scandinavian and European selection covered a range of materials

Made of stainless steel, the Membrane Chair, by Danish artist Mathias Bengtsson, who lives in Stockholm, measures about 77 by 126 by 87 centimeters. It belongs to a limited edition of eight copies, presented for the first time at the event. Its design comes from a computer program the artist created, in which a “digital seed” grows in a virtual environment. According to Design Miami.Paris organizers, the piece combines advanced technology and organic aesthetics in a sculptural presence.

Works by Camilla Moberg. Photo: Courtesy of Maria Wettergren

Around it, the Scandinavian and European selection covered a range of materials. In glass, the gallery showed blown work by Finland’s Camilla Moberg, mirrored pieces by fellow Finn Ilkka Suppanen and works by Denmark’s Tora Urup. Lotte Westphael, also Danish, handled porcelain.

Works by Emilie Palle Holm. Photo: Courtesy of Maria Wettergren

Textiles here speak in two voices: the sculpture in thread and metal by Norwegian Gjertrud Hals and the jacquard weaving of the ORIORI series by Emilie Palle Holm, from Denmark. Among the furniture, Rasmus Fenhann showed the Kumiko shelves, Ditte Hammerstrøm presented lacquered pieces, and Boris Berlin, born in Russia and based in Copenhagen, exhibited the Low Grid. Laura Bergsøe worked wood with silver and diamonds. Akiko Kuwahata, from Japan, and Ken Winther, from Denmark, jointly sign the Silhouette lamp and the Tram table.

Recently, Galerie Maria Wettergren began to include artists from South Korea, India and Africa

Works by Inhwa Lee and Deokho Kim. Photo: Courtesy of Maria Wettergren

Recently, Galerie Maria Wettergren began to include artists from South Korea, India and Africa. In Paris, porcelain came from Inhwa Lee and Deokho Kim, ceramics from Hyejeong Kim, born in Japan and based in South Korea, and silver from Hyejeong Ko. Coming from India, Dhruv Agarwwal brings furniture and light fixtures.

Works by Estelle Yomeda. Photo: Courtesy of Maria Wettergren

Africa, for its part, enters through French-Togolese Estelle Yomeda, who lives between Paris and Lomé and works with Togolese wood. That geographic shift does not erase the signature of the region that gave rise to the gallery.

Innovative production processes sum up the gallery’s selection criteria: the method of making weighs as much as the final form.

Museums and awards

A fixture on the calendars of PAD (Paris and London), TEFAF (Maastricht and New York), FOG (San Francisco) and India Art Fair (New Delhi), the gallery works with international collectors and museums. Pieces from its catalog reach institutions such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Cooper Hewitt in New York, Mudac in Lausanne, Designmuseum Danmark and Design Museum Finland.

Long before this week’s trophy, the gallery had already accumulated recognition. In 2013, it made the Art+Auction Power 100 list. A year later, Maria Wettergren received the Finn Juhl Prize for promoting Scandinavian designers on the international art circuit.