Modernity London design gallery opens in Pimlico

Modernity London opens in new design hub Newson's Yard with 200 sq m of the finest Scandinavian design. Discover the highlights

Nordic design gallery Modernity is first over the threshold at London's Newson's Yard, the eagerly anticipated new design hub in Pimlico. And what an entrance it makes. Stretching to 200 sq m across two floors, Modernity London is brimming with elegant Danish furniture, Finnish lighting, Swedish textiles and art.

As you would expect for a trailblazing gallery that has specialised in Nordic midcentury design for 25 years – both from its Stockholm base and, more recently, London showrooms in Cavendish Square and Westbourne Grove – superstar works with plenty of 000s on the price tag are on offer.

Centre stage are some Alvar Aalto plywood works, created for the Paimio Sanatorium in Southwest Finland between 1928 and 1933 (it's now a museum). ‘Many of Aalto's signature pieces were made for Paimio,’ says Modernity founder and director Andrew Duncanson. 'He used plywood because [the sanatorium] was full of tuberculosis patients, so furniture had to be easy to wipe clean.’

Less practical but more fun is the ‘Sleigh’ chair (£145,000) by Danish designer Börge Mogensen. Made in 1953, it sits on Brazilian rosewood ‘skis’ (while the Swedes and Finns opted for local woods, the Danes favoured exotic woods). A mahogany smoking table by Danish designer H Brockmann Petersen offers a throwback to a bygone era. With storage for tobacco, lighters and pipes, and equipped with wheels, it can be positioned right next to an armchair before one lights up.

Finnish master Tapio Wirkkala had an extremely delicate touch, as marquetry and bowls from the 1920s and 1930s reveal. ‘Wirkkala came across two elderly men in Finland who were making airplane propellers from plywood, and he started making sculptures in what he called aeroplane veneer. It's very fine and very hard to work with.’

Duncanson started collecting international design while he was still living in his native Scotland, but switched to Scandinavian midcentury when he moved to Sweden, opening Modernity Stockholm in 1998. He professes to have no emotional attachment to the pieces he sells.

‘But there is one piece that intrigues me the most right now. It's by Stig Lönngren, who is a new discovery,’ he says pointing to a serving trolley. Designed in 1947 by the Swede for his own use, it's a delightful assemblage of artful joinery and has a slide-out glass surface and a removable rattan basket. ‘Lönngren is not known outside Sweden, but his workmanship is equivalent to that of Danish designer Peder Moos, who was, and still is, the most highly prized of Danish designers.’

When it comes to lighting, Finnish maestro Paavo Tynell led the way, and a 1940s ceiling lamp with star-shaped brass and rattan shades made from window blinds throws dazzling shadows across the gallery. ‘Tynell hated seeing bulbs, so he spent his years producing pieces that hid them from the naked eye.’

Plain English, And Objects, The Lacquer Company, and Nina Campbell are among the next arrivals to move into Newson's Yard. They will need to impress, because Modernity London has set the bar very high.

Newson's Yard, 57 Pimlico Rd, London SW1W 8NEmodernity.se

Emma O'Kelly is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. She joined the magazine on issue 4 as news editor and since since then has worked in full and part time roles across many editorial departments. She is a freelance journalist based in London and works for a range of titles from Condé Nast Traveller to The Telegraph. She is currently working on a book about Scandinavian sauna culture and is renovating a mid century house in the Italian Lakes.

New additions to the Rado True Thinline watch collection reinterpret exotic plants

By Hannah Silver•Published 4 June 23

Part art and design studio, part sustainability practice, Heron Preston's L.E.D. Studio builds on the world he has built at his eponymous New York City-based fashion label. Here, he tells Wallpaper* more

By Pei-Ru Keh•Published 4 June 23

Punta del Este offers everything, from party to relaxation; all enveloped in idyllic countryside and a rich cultural offering

By Rainbow Nelson•Published 4 June 23

Clerkenwell Design Week 2023 is back (23 – 25 May 2023): our guide to key locations and special launches

By Rosa Bertoli•Last updated 25 May 23

By Rosa Bertoli•Published 19 May 23

London-based studio Glithero presents new work at Gallery Fumi (until 24 June 2023), a ‘hands-on’ collaboration with the designers’ creative community

By Rosa Bertoli•Last updated 30 May 23

Now open, London Design Biennale 2023 (until 25 June) follows a theme of ‘The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations’, led by Aric Chen and Het Nieuwe Instituut

By Rosa Bertoli•Last updated 2 June 23

PAD London (until 16 October 2022) returns for a new edition presenting historical and collectible design

By Rosa Bertoli•Last updated 21 October 22

The new west London location includes gallery space as well as a restaurant, a hidden garden and events spaces, and makes its debut with displays of works by David Adjaye and Jose Zanine Caldas

By Rosa Bertoli•Last updated 3 May 23

Made in London is a photographic journey through the capital's surprisingly rich and diverse manufacturing scene, capturing everything from aircraft interiors to cardboard boxes, and everything in between

By Jonathan Bell•Last updated 12 December 22

As the London Tube map grows to include two brand new stations, we speak to the designer safeguarding its famous design codes

By Hannah Silver•Last updated 6 October 22