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LIFESTYLE

very October, the art world descends on London
and the capital swells with a noisy cavalcade of
curators, collectors and creatives, many of whom
gravitate towards the big white marquee in
Regent’s Park for Frieze. But in a quiet corner of
Mayfair, an elegant black tent provides a more
Eintimate experience – a place where twentieth-
century art, design and decorative arts comfortably rubs shoulders
with photography, jewellery, ceramics and tribal works. This
month, for the ninth time, the Pavilion of Art and Design (PAD)
will open in Berkeley Square, bringing with it 61 of the world’s
best dealers and galleries.
Among this number is Robin Katz, who not only exhibits at the
fair but also sits on the selection committee. ‘It is a tremendously
sophisticated event,’ he says. ‘It’s small, it’s calm and I love being
part of it.’ Robin is a third-generation dealer; his grandfather owned
an antiques shop in The Lanes in Brighton and his father is Daniel
Katz, a dealer of antiquities whose career has spanned 48 years.
Although he is now the head of his own booming business, Robin
Katz Fine Art, Robin was initially resistant to the lure of the art
world. ‘I spent years trying my best not to follow in my father’s

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Robin in his office; an iron and Stolit cement
sculpture, The Stranger, by Lynn Chadwick sits in the far corner. Facing this is
a small seating area with a Bridget Riley work on paper above the Danish sofa.
Robin at the gallery’s Hill Street entrance. Robin with his colleague, Emma Cousin
(centre). In the gallery, an Arts and Crafts chair bought from dealer and fellow
PAD exhibitor Martin Levy sits next to a colour-block painting by Callum Innes

92 NOVEMBER 2015 HOUSEANDGARDEN.CO.UK