Highlights From The Design Miami / Basel 2019

For over a decade, Design Miami has served as a global platform for emerging and established collectors, designers, curators, gallerists and critics around the world. Each December, the prestigious fair launches alongside its sister show Art Basel in Miami, US and each June alongside Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland. This month from 11 to 16 June, the design fair will see a melting pot of renowned galleries from all over the world showcase avant-garde high-end furniture, architecture, fashion, art and design objects.

Unveiled at the entrance to Design Miami each year, the Design at Large program presents large-scale installations that depict contemporary and historical design. For 2019, Design Miami/Basel has announced the theme of the program as Elements: Earth. Through the program, the works showcased to highlight the relationships between raw materials and waste, artificial and natural, consumption and production.

Under the creative direction of Curatorial Director Aric Chen, nine galleries are brought together at Design Miami to explore the future of materials and resources through a riveting group exhibition. “The growing inescapability of our impact on the planet presents once-unthinkable scenarios for what the future might look like,” says Chen.

Throughout the Elements: Earth program, New York-based Friedman Benda explores the relationship between humans, societies and landscapes with over twenty works on show from the Territories series by iconic Italian architect-designer Andrea Branzi. The works created for the series have been completed over a period of forty years.

Rome-based Giustini / Stagetti art gallery examines the general meaning of production through an evocative installation work, showcasing how design can implement a more eco-friendly use of the earth’s resources. On show are furniture items from the Ore Streams series, made from recycled materials and electronic waste.

Further galleries exhibiting at the Elements: Earth program include Galerie Philippe Gravier, Etage Projects, Galerie VIVID, Mercado Moderno, Jason Jacques Gallery and Joseph Walsh Studio.

Carpenters Workshop Gallery has unveiled nature-inspired new works by renowned artists including Vincenzo De Cotiis, Studio Drift, Atelier Van Lieshout, Campana Brothers, Vincent Dubourg, Wendell Castle and more.

Works include Studio Drift’s Flylight (New York City), made from lights that represent a flock of flying birds, Wendell Castle’s Fallen and Risen chair in bronze, Studio Job’s Tiffany Tree Lamp which is made entirely from resin and Vincenzo De Cotiis’ furniture featuring earthy tones and references to nature.

Never-before-seen works presented by the gallery include a sculptural chair in bronze by American artist Wendell Castleand a clock by Dutch furniture designer Maarten Baas entitled The Grandfather Clock.

See Also: Exquisite Contemporary Design by Eric Schmitt

Jewellery label Boghossian has created a booth that highlights the brand’s multiculturalism and use of ancient crafts through The Gold Thread Project, in collaboration with designer Kia Utzon-Frank and Nada Debs, under the direction of Ralph Boghossian. Boghossian continues to push the boundaries of jewellery craftsmanship by perpetually employing innovative techniques.

For Design Miami‘s Curio Program, the brand produced a limited series of jewels made of 18K gold fabric. Twenty pieces of Gold Thread were presented by the brand exclusively for the Design Miami design fair.

Other galleries participating at this year’s Design Miami /Basel fair include Hostler Burrows, The Future Perfect, Side Gallery, Salon 94 Design and Gate 5. In addition, the show is also home to a Curio Program in which architects and designers challenge traditional design norms through innovative objects and artefacts. Featured at this year’s Curio Program is Swarovski, Armel Soyer, DIMOREGALLERY and more.