The art week turns on the spotlights in Miami, in a lively atmosphere unleashed in the Art Deco district, the exhibitions Untitled and Scope, and in the immense fair of Art Basel Miami, all the way to Design Miami/.
The glow also extends to other districts, to involve the street art area of Wynwood – where Ralph Pucci opens the exhibition Transitions Miami Film Stills – and the Design District with the installation Rock | Roll by Germane Barnes, totemic rocking chairs inspired by the Miami Carnival.
There are many new openings, including the flagship store of Paola Lenti (displaying unique pieces by Estudio Campana, to be auctioned off), the single-brand stores of Rimadesio and Kartell, the sophisticated ‘dwelling’ of Dolce & Gabbana Casa in partnership with Luxury Living Group, along with exclusive presentations: the Modular Imagination project by Virgil Abloh for Cassina at Luminaire Lab, the experiential installation in the showroom of Visionnaire, the Stella McCartney x B&B Italia capsule collection reinterpreting the Le Bambole line designed by Mario Bellini.
Shifting into the ferment of Miami Beach, at Pride Park, the Design Miami/ fair for collecting invites you to plunge into The Golden Age: Looking to the Future, the theme of this edition: “I chose this theme – Didero says – to explore how it can be applied to the ages of human existence, from the past to our collective future. And in a moment when humankind is facing unprecedented challenges, I hope that The Golden Age will offer a source of inspiration, to imagine and shape a brighter future.”
A narrative that unfolds in talks and the vision of over 50 galleries, as well as the Curio section featuring one-offs, rare furniture and special projects that interpret the theme in unique ways. The partner of the fair, Audi presents a digital installation by Andrés Reisinger focusing on the future of mobility; Fendi shows the Triclinium wearable sculptures by Lukas Gschwandtner; Kohler offers Transcendence, a ‘custom hammam’ by Nada Debs; Maison Perrier-Jouët, with Planted Air by Garance Vallée, presents an expression of the concept by which “man is in nature, and nature is in man”; and Dolce & Gabbana adds a collection of Alta Gioielleria.
And there’s more: The Future Orient Express by Accor, Panerai with the installation La Merenda d’Oro, Grand Seiko with “Journey Through the Nature of Time,” USM Modular Furniture with USM NYC by Ben Ganz, a collaboration with PIN–UP Home; AIG Private Client Group with The Collectors Lounge designed by Alexis Cogul Lleonart and furnished by B&B Italia. The Special Partner Project is an installation of chromatic chairs in resin, Come stai? by Gaetano Pesce with Matthieu Blazy for Bottega Veneta.
In a harmonious dialogue between design icons and avant-garde creations, from great masters to rising talents, history is represented by masterpieces of the 20th century, like the design made-to-measure of the Palm Springs movement of the 1960s presented by Converso, including the Brutalist designs by Arthur Elrod.
The talent of French design in the 1900s takes the stage at Galerie Patrick Seguin with the Tour Eiffel coffee table by Jean Royère, flanked by the works of Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret, while the unique furnishings of George Nakashima, a pioneer of the American Studio Craft movement, are the protagonists at Moderne Gallery.
From history to the contemporary, R & Company has invited the famous artist, activist, educator and poet Roberto Lugo to Miami, to transform its digital platform The Village Potter into a physical store that will take on the form of a “neighborhood bodega” in which to find iconic pieces by the creative talent from Philly. All reflecting his mission: to promote inclusion and community.
The radical design of Gufram makes a debut in Curio with a new edition (signed by A$AP Rocky) of the famous Cactus, to mark the product’s 50th anniversary. Crafts and tradition, elements that shape the future by closely mingling with the past, are explored by the new works of artists who experiment with form and material: Jomo Tariku at Wexler Gallery has chosen to create four limited editions of the Meedo Chair inspired by African design, while Harry Morgan makes a debut by reinventing glassblowing and cement casting.
Making by hand also becomes a key factor at Les Ateliers Courbet with the French designer Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance and his series of 8 wall sculptures, a tribute to the expressive nature of ritual masks in western Africa. Each applique is shaped and cast by hand by Maison Intègre, like the totemic Y Lamp.
While Mid-Century styling is revealed with the masters of Brazilian design – Sergio Rodrigues, José Zanina Caldas, Joaquim Tenreiro – at Mercado Moderno and Diletante42 the relationship between the golden age and nature is narrated by The Future Perfect which has invited its artists – Dee Clements, Bradley Bowers, Cody Hoyt – to respond to a question: what is a wonderful world? The resulting works are intense, permeated by a sense of optimism, peace and harmony.
Plump side table by Tuleste Factory, Design Ian Alistair Cochran
In a thematic context devoted to materiality and spirituality, Tuleste Factory explores the color blue in a cutting-edge space centering on the Halo Wall Sculpture by the multidisciplinary studio Facture; BSL is showing the impalpable light sculptures of Ayala Serfaty, while Ippodo Gallery presents the teahouse Ji’An by Shigeru Uchida made with bamboo panels in organic forms.
Finally, the dynamic of digital vs. real is narrated by Harry Nuriev with an interior that coexists in physical space and the metaverse, and by the Milan-based gallery Nilufar, with the Afterglow collection and its iridescent fluid surfaces created by Audrey Large.
