Design Miami/ returns December 4–8, 2019, for its fifteenth edition, with an impress line-up of gallery and Curio presentations from thirteen countries, including two galleries exhibiting for the first time at Design Miami/, Erik Thomsen Gallery and Galerie Scene Ouverte.
This is Aric Chen’s second fair as Curatorial Director, following his debut at Design Miami/ Basel in June. Chen will continue to direct the fair’s focus toward the material future of the planet with the theme Elements: Water, a companion to Design Miami/ Basel’s theme Elements: Earth.
See below for highlights to look forward to this December.
Looking Ahead: Design Miami/ Highlights
Commissions in Glass
Cristina Grajales Gallery will present A Forest for Paul Thek, a solo exhibition of works in glass by visionary stage director and visual artist Robert Wilson. Wilson’s collection is inspired by the American artist Paul Thek (1933–1988) and produced in collaboration with the Corning Museum of Glass (New York) to translate Thek’s poetic landscapes into images of nature entombed. R & Company will also partner with the Corning Museum of Glass on a solo show of objects by master glass artist Jeff Zimmerman, whose advanced glassmaking techniques result in organic shapes that are at once evocative of the natural world and futuristic. A portion of the booth will also debut an immersive installation of new sculptural works handmade by Rogan Gregory.
Contemporary Solo Shows
Friedman Benda has collaborated with acclaimed artist Daniel Arsham on an immersive installation that breaks away from the traditional art or design fair constraints to transform the space into an imagined domestic setting. The project began when Arsham developed a collection of objects in dialogue with his Long Island home and expanded it into a fictionalized environment. Wexler Gallery will create an immersive installation by artist and activist Roberto Lugo, that seamlessly fuses high design, graffiti, hip hop, craft history, pop culture, and porcelain. The installation consists of two large-scale funerary urns, a ceramic teddy bear, and graffiti-inspired wallpaper, a reference to the make-shift memorials for victims of gun violence often found on the sidewalks in the kinds of neighborhoods in which Lugo was raised.
Rare, Historical Works
Of the 20th Century works coming to Design Miami/, Lebreton will present a rare exhibition of original works by Suzanne Ramié and the Madoura Studio. Ramié was one of the most influential ceramic artists of the twentieth century, known for experimenting with firing techniques, colorful enameled glazes, and references to ceramics of ancient civilizations. Moderne Gallery will be showing a selection of important, rare furniture, including Paul Frankl’s Speed Lounge Chairs and Coffee Table made for his own New York City apartment in 1933. One of Frankl’s most famous designs, the chairs were usually fully upholstered, however he made this unique set for himself using cork, as he was an early pioneer of the material.
Tracing further back, Erik Thomsen Gallery will bring large, medieval ceramic storage jars from Japan to the fair. Hand-built with uneven profiles and grainy surfaces, the anonymously-made objects came into favor over four hundred years ago by Japanese tea masters who appreciated them for their wabi-sabi, a traditional aesthetic centered on the acceptance of imperfections.
Kerr Fine Art will present Africa: Traditions-Art-Design, a Curio that explores traditional sacred and ceremonial art and its continued impact on modern and contemporary aesthetics. An interactive screen will explain the geographic and cultural context of each object and offer a closer look at these important artifacts.
Creative Collaborations
Maison Perrier-Jouët celebrates its eighth collaboration with the fair by inviting designer Andrea Mancuso of Analogia Project to reinterpret the historic producer’s Art Nouveau heritage through a new, unexpected champagne experience. Drawing on Design Miami’s 2019 theme of Elements: Water, Lexus is creating an immersive installation will evocative of sunshowers, bringing the natural, outdoor phenomenon inside. The installation will also create an environment based on the Japanese concept of Engawa – a similar concept to a sunroom – that serves as a communal gathering space.
Design Miami/ 2019 Galleries/
Carpenters Workshop Gallery – London, New York, Paris, and San Francisco
CONVERSO – Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
Cristina Grajales Gallery – New York
Didier Ltd – London
Erastudio Apartment-Gallery – Milan
Erik Thomsen Gallery – New York
Friedman Benda – New York
Functional Art Gallery – Berlin
The Future Perfect – Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
Galerie kreo – London and Paris
Galerie Patrick Seguin – London and Paris
Galerie Philippe Gravier – Paris
Galerie Scene Ouverte – Paris
Galerie VIVID – Rotterdam
Galleria Antonella Villanova – Florence
Gallery ALL – Beijing and Los Angeles
Heritage Gallery – Moscow
Hostler Burrows – New York
Jason Jacques Gallery – New York
John Keith Russell – South Salem
Lebreton – San Francisco
Magen H Gallery – New York
Mercado Moderno – Rio de Janeiro
Moderne Gallery – Philadelphia
Ornamentum – Hudson
Pierre Marie Giraud – Brussels
& Company – New York
Salon 94 Design – New York
Southern Guild – Cape Town
Todd Merrill Studio – New York
Design Miami/ 2019 Curio/
Broached Commissions presents Broached Recall
ESPASSO presents ‘Fine Tuning” by Claudia Moreira Salles
Mindy Solomon Gallery presents: Diasporic Voices: Redefining Our Cultural Perspectives Through Design
Peter Blake Gallery presents ‘A Return to Form | French Modern Design’ – A Survey Exhibition of Antoine Philippon & Jacqueline Lecoq
Kerr Fine Art presents Africa: Traditions-Art-Design by Reynold C. Kerr
Sarah Myerscough Gallery presents White Perma by Marcin Rusak
Wexler Gallery presents Street Shrine 1: A Notorious Story by Roberto Lugo
Schedule of Events/
Preview Day/ By invitation only
Tuesday, December 3/
Press Preview/ 1–7PM
Members Preview/ 11AM–12PM
Collectors Preview/ 12–7PM
Vernissage/
Wednesday, December 4/ 11AM–1PM
Public Show Days/
Wednesday, December 4/ 1–8PM
Thursday, December 5/ 11AM–8PM
Friday, December 6/ 12–8PM
Saturday, December 7/ 12–8PM
Sunday, December 8/ 12–6PM