Design Miami/ announces programming highlights for its inaugural Paris fair 

14 September, 2023, Paris - Design Miami/ is pleased to announce preview programming highlights for its inaugural Paris fair at L’hôtel de Maisons, running alongside Paris+ par Art Basel over October 18-22, 2023, with preview day on October 17. 

27 of the world's leading design galleries are set to present historic and contemporary furniture, lighting and objets d’art, tracing the history of collectible design from the early 20th century to the present day, telling stories of influence and innovation through exceptional, rare and iconic objects from around the world. 

Grela Orihuela, Senior VP of Fairs, Design Miami/ says: “We are delighted to be announcing such a rich and diverse program for our inaugural Paris edition. The new fair brings with it exciting opportunities to present world-leading collectible design in a way we have never done before, and we look forward to celebrating together in Paris during this significant new moment for the city’s creative scene”.

The Design Miami/ team is honored that its first Parisian fair will be organized under the High Patronage of the French Ministry of Culture, as awarded by the Minister of Culture, Ms. Rima Abdul Malak, and would like to thank the Ministry of Culture for its support and encouragement. 

Jen Roberts, CEO, Design Miami/ says: “We’re extremely honored to be organizing our first Paris fair under the High Patronage of the French Ministry of Culture. Design Miami/ has such a rich history of collaboration with France’s design community, and we look forward to cultivating this ongoing exchange with the highly valued support of Ms. Rima Abdul Malak”.

Gallery Highlights/

Within the diverse gallery presentations set to go on show, several key thematic threads emerge:

Design in Dialogue with L’hôtel de Maisons/ 

A number of the exhibiting galleries will offer presentations in direct dialogue with the magnificent historic surroundings of L’hôtel de Maisons, some in harmonic conversation, others in striking contrast.

Ketabi Bourdet Design (Paris) will offer a recreation of an 1980s smoking room, to explore the bourgeois and radical side of the era. A selection of minimal 1980s designs by Philippe Starck, Paolo Pallucco & Mireille Rivier, Ronald Cecil Sportes, Jean-Michel Wilmotte, Rei Kawakubo, Christian Duc and Garouste & Bonetti will be on show. Visually, this selection will focus on black aesthetics, metal and geometrical lines, underlining how postmodern furniture can coexist with classic architecture and rich decor. Highlights include rare pieces such as a n°7 chair by Rei Kawakubo, a Tom Double mirror by Philippe Starck, and a Tankette table by Paolo Pallucco & Mireille Rivier. 

First time Design Miami/ exhibitor Galerie Desprez-Breheret (Paris) will conjure the aesthetic of a Parisian hôtel re-designed in the 1970s by a great decorator for a collector. The vision will be furnished with seating by designer Dan Pollock, who crafts monoxyle and singular furniture carved from eco-responsible, dead wood collected in the Californian desert, offering a raw elegance that contrasts with the ornate interiors of the old mansion. Pollock’s works will be complemented by pieces by Jean Touret, Joseph Savina, Odile Noll and Pierre Paulin. 

Reinterpreting the fair’s surroundings via textile, Salon94 Design (New York) will present a grouping of Max Lamb's soft sofa sculptures featuring an upholstery fabric that will respond to the gilded details of the interior of L’hôtel de Maisons. This will be the first time the gallery presents an upholstered work by Max Lamb, each one still uniquely handmade in his studio in London. The Lamb pieces will be presented alongside other designer selections.

Timeless Elegance: The Masters of Historic Design/

In a reflection of the historic beauty of Paris, the gallery programming exudes timeless elegance through the presentation of iconic masters of historic design, including museum-quality works from some of the most defining names of the 20th century, and with strong representation from French galleries. 

Galerie Chastel-Maréchal (Paris) has been situated in the heart of Saint-Germain des Prés since 1994, committed to exhibiting only the rarest and most unusual works from the last century. Significant pieces of work on display in Paris will include timeless highlights by Jean Royère, such as an iconic pair of Oeuf armchairs, defined by gentle curves, and a Tour Eiffel console, striking for its refined elegance. Line Vautrin will also be well-represented, with a selection of exquisite pieces including a Boudoir mirror. Since its opening in 1997, Galerie Chastel-Maréchal has worked tirelessly to discover and promote Line Vautrin’s work. Her Boudoir mirror is especially significant for its innovative method of production: it is crafted from Talosel, a substance made up of thin layers of resin that have been scratched or sanded, worked over heat, inlaid with minute shards of mirror and so subtly coloured that the final product resembles slate or shale, bone or wood worked by time. Notably, Talosel was discovered and patented by Vautrin herself in the 1950s and 1960s. The mirror lures the viewer in,  deforming reality through its witches’ eye - the convex mirror always at the center of her creations. Completing the presentation will be a collection of ceramics by Georges Jouve and André Borderie: elegant, sensitive and timeless pieces. 

Paulin Paulin Paulin and Mobilier National (Paris) collaboratively present an ensemble of furniture designed by Pierre Paulin for Président François Mitterrand, prototyped with the Mobilier National, offered as a limited edition by Paulin, Paulin, Paulin. Mobilier National shares with Paulin Paulin Paulin the same ambition: to protect, highlight, and bring to the public the works of Pierre Paulin as well as the craftsmanship of the Atelier de Recherche et de Création (ARC) through whom Pierre Paulin has created some of his most iconic pieces, prototyped in the national manufactures.

Galerie Jacques Lacoste (Paris) also exemplifies the museum quality curation that Design Miami’s exhibitors have become known for. For the inaugural Paris fair, the gallery will present historical pieces by French designer Jean Royère, whose innovative and fancifully decorative work has been the subject of regular research activity, exhibitions and publications by eponymous gallerist Jacques Lacoste, who first acquired the designer’s archives in 1997. These pieces will be presented alongside other historical works by celebrated designers including Charlotte Perriand, Alexandre Noll, and Diego Giacometti. 

Galerie Patrick Seguin (Paris), is another local exhibitor situated in Paris’s Bastille district. The gallery will present a selection of highlights and historic collectible pieces from several masters of design: Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Jean Royère. These are designers who have been brought into the international spotlight by the gallery, which offers particular expertise in the work of Jean Prouvé. Patrick Seguin has worked vigorously to research and promote his work, which has resulted in exhibitions at Centre Pompidou, Paris, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Venice Biennale. 

One of the most noteworthy 20th century pieces set to be presented at Design Miami/ Paris is Lalanne’s Ane Attelé (grand), 1989, presented by Galerie Mitterand (Paris). The spectacular piece was included in the Versailles retrospective of Lalanne in 2021, at the entrance of the castle.

Contemporary Re-Inventions: New Narratives in Design History/

Paris is a city of the past and present, and this is mirrored beautifully in the gallery programming. Alongside the 20th century pieces set to go on show, audiences will also be presented with innovative and thoughtful contemporary works.

Galerie Kreo (Paris) defines itself as a "research laboratory" dedicated to the production of unique, limited-edition contemporary pieces. In Paris, the gallery will present the best of contemporary design from makers including Marc Newson, Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby and Jaime Hayon. A standout piece by Marc Newson is his Quobus 1,3,6 Monochromatic. Commissioned especially for Design Miami/ Paris, the modular invention can be arranged as a variety of furniture pieces - from a console to a bookcase - via blocks of colored enameled steel with gold brass screws which can be rethought and rearranged countless times. Jamie Hayon’s Hymy Round Coffee Table - Multicolored will be another standout design. The round coffee table is made in the great tradition of Italian stone marquetry, placed on three rounded glossy lacquered legs. These precious materials and the bold pattern adoring the table’s surface embody Hayon’s joyful and celebratory contemporary aesthetic.

Another contemporary highlight comes from Galerie SCENE OUVERTE (Paris), offering a presentation that reimagines three centuries-old materials: marble, ceramics and tapestry, with works by Anna Pesonen, William Coggin, Abel Carcamo, Saraï Delfendahl, Vincent Dubourg, Julien Cedolin, Hervé Langlais, KRJST Studio and Léa Mestres. Marble, with its classical resonance, embraces modern shapes, while tapestry exudes a blend of tradition and modernity. Meanwhile, the ceramics transcend epochs, finding new relevance in functional and artistic forms, echoing the splendor of the mansion's historical heritage.

R & Company (New York)’s presentation will reflect the gallery’s mission to create  new and exciting markets for designers and artists within its contemporary program. In Paris, the gallery will present a selection of innovative works by contemporary designers such as Rogan Gregory, Roberto Lugo, Katie Stout, and Jeff Zimmerman, among others. These contemporary creations will be presented alongside a unique combination of rare and iconic works by iconic historic designers, such as Wendell Castle and Joaquim Tenreiro, allowing visitors to the fair to appreciate the influence of the past on the present as they journey from the past century to the present day.

Transcending Material: Exploring Line and Volume/ 

As with all Design Miami/ fairs, the gallery programming for Paris will platform world-leading craftsmanship, with a deep appreciation for materiality, form, line and volume.

Friedman Benda (New York) presents an ensemble of forward-thinking works by acclaimed European designers and key voices from the United States. Operating at the intersection of contemporary design, craft, architecture, visual art, and cutting-edge technological research, the gallery embraces new ways of making and seeing. Armchairs from Paris-based designer Raphael Navot’s acclaimed Acrostic series are formed of interlocking volumes that explore the nuances of texture, form, palette, and materials. Navot’s work is curated in dialogue with a major highlight of the show: Faye Toogood’s Plot II, from her recent body of work, Assemblage 7. Hand-carved in oak – a material that resonates historically – the work venerates the primacy of traditional artisanal carving techniques and marks its debut on the European continent. Meanwhile, striking juxtaposition is offered by Samuel Ross and Daniel Arsham. Anaesthesia II manifests Ross’ conceptual and layered approach to post-industrial materiality, while Jaffe Desk and Philly Lamp represent a significant departure for Arsham’s development of vocabularies of form and making. Shown for the first time to the European public, seminal Italian designer and architect Andrea Branzi’s newest body of work, Roots explores the tension between the commodified and natural, gestural and methodical, artisanal and industrial. Further material investigation comes in the form of a 3D printed Strange Attractor chandelier by Joris Laarman, among other works.

Sarah Myerscough (London) offers a refined survey of contemporary British and European fine furniture and crafted objects, with particular focus on innovative works of wood. The museum-quality, functional design on show will champion intelligent, sustainable and restorative practices, holding a reverence for natural materials. The collection features critically acclaimed and revolutionary work crafted from English Oak, Ash, Maple, Cedar, Horse Chestnut and Tulipwood - turned, cleft, bleached, salvaged or foraged - and illuminated by glints of immaculately worked Bronze and Gold. Among the key highlights is an exquisite new dresser from celebrated craftsman John Makepeace OBE. Oak, Ash, and British-grown Lebanon Cedar is scorched to a dramatic black and adorned with hand carved swirling undulations. This will be accompanied by a new collection of freestanding, spindle-legged cabinets by Christopher Kurtz, offering contemporary reinventions of classic linenfold language to create anthropomorphic forms. Also on show are Marc Fish’s signature sinuous furniture formed from Mokume-Gane Bronze and 3,000 year old Bog Oak. Fish revives historical sword making metalworking techniques in these statement pieces, producing sumptuous finishes which seem to shimmer and move. Meanwhile, a new series of 3D printed Sand Vessels from Gareth Neal offer enticing new experimental forms that play with the limits of material and technology. 

Galleria Rossella Colombari (Milan) will offer a rediscovery of the aesthetic principles of some of the great Italian architects of the post-war period. An exceptionally rare and unique wooden dining room set and pair of armchairs designed by Fausto Bontempi in the 1960s for Casa Magini (Brescia, Italy) resembles the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, seamlessly blending modernist elements with Wright's distinctive style, exuding elegance and functionality. This will be set in dialogue with a storage unit designed by Umberto Nordio for a residential project, which showcases his meticulous attention to detail and ability to harmonize functionality with aesthetic appeal.

Global Design Dialogues/

Paris’s global outlook is also reflected within the diverse gallery programming, which will bring the best of international design to the city’s doorstep. 

Looking again to Galerie Kreo (Paris), their contemporary presentation in Paris also includes a beautiful cross-cultural dialogue within a single piece: Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby’s Hakone Bench, inspired by the Japanese tradition and its precise joinery. The generous sweeping curved top and monolithic legs are reminiscent of the magnificent Hakone Shinto Shrine on Lake Ashi. 
Crafted in France, each element is produced from the finest European oak.
The bench is constructed from concave and convex forms, generously proportioned and tactile, and the visual interplay between these curves animates the piece as the viewer moves around it. 

Gokelaere & Robinson (Paris) will present remarkable historical furniture that initiates a dialogue between iconic Scandinavian and Brazilian design of the 20th century. Mid-century Brazil marked a major turning point in the field of architecture and design: the country was a land of opportunity for artists who fled Europe after World War II, and the result was an artistic renewal assimilating the best of European creation and traditional Brazilian materials. Gokelaere & Robinson will present a collection of carefully selected pieces of furniture designed by one of the greatest furniture designers in Brazil, Joaquim Tenreiro. Considered the founding father of the Brazilian modernist movement, Tenreiro’s work finds a perfect balance between modernism and traditional values, as he is also a forerunner in the use of rediscovered raw local materials. An exceptionally rare Tenreiro piece set to go on show in Paris is a beautiful pair of armchairs created in the early 1960s. Exquisitely crafted, their delicate and organic structure with beautifully sculpted arm and back rests is a testimony to refinement. Tenreiro’s work will be illuminated by an exceptional piece across the globe: a very rare and exceptional chandelier by celebrated Finnish designer Paavo Tynell. 

Moderne Gallery (Philadelphia) will platform some of the finest works from the American Studio Movement in Paris. Its dominant focus will be on rare and important furniture and lighting by George Nakashima made between 1936 and 1990. Among the exceptional pieces set to go on show is Nakashima’s Kent Hall Floor Lamp, 1965, an elegant walnut structure with a fiberglass infused paper shade, originally designed for Columbia University's Kent Hall. Another highlight is his Conoid Side Table, 1970. The angular structure represents the first line for which Nakashima drew on his architectural training, especially notable in his architectonic bases. Offering a more organic aesthetic is a set of Amoeba Nesting Tables from 1962, formed from English Oak Burl, with a free edge reminiscent of an amoeboid.

Pierre Marie Giraud (Brussels) plans to showcase a carefully curated selection of decorative objects from the United States, Japan, and Europe. The gallery believes that by bringing together artists from different regions, they foster a cross-cultural dialogue in which the rich heritage of each designer converges and intertwines, acting as a testament to the universal language of design and its power to bridge geographical boundaries. Designers set to be presented include Martin Szekely and Jos Devriendt.

Institutional Partner: Mobilier National/

A supporter of craftsmanship and the creative industries since the 17^th Century, the Mobilier National aims to ensure the conservation and restoration of its unique collection, platforming exceptional craftsmanship and savoir-faire. An important venue rooted in France’s heritage, the institution is also a major actor in contemporary creation and promotion of the French decorative arts. With an eye on the future, Mobilier National is pleased to collaborate with Design Miami/ Paris, and to show its commitment and  support to contemporary artistic creation and design. 

Brand Partners & Suppliers/

Design Miami/ is pleased to share confirmed partners for its inaugural Paris fair: Sèvres - Manufacture et Musée nationaux is announced as the Design Miami/ Paris Show Partner; Audi is confirmed as the fair’s Official Automotive Partner; Cova Paris will serve as the Official Food & Beverage Partner; and Crozier Fine Arts is announced as the Shipping Partner for the event. 

Design Miami/ Paris is also delighted to share that Maison Ruinart is confirmed as Official Champagne Supplier. 

NOTES TO EDITORS

Design Miami/ Paris 2023 Galleries
​Demisch Danant/ New York
​Friedman Benda/ New York
​Galerie Chastel-Maréchal/ Paris
​Galerie Desprez-Breheret/ Paris
​Galerie Downtown François Laffanour/ Paris
​Galerie Eric Philippe/ Paris
​Galerie Jacques Lacoste/ Paris
​Galerie kreo/ Paris
​Galerie Meubles et Lumieres/ Paris
​Galerie Mitterrand/ Paris
​Galerie Patrick Seguin/ Paris 
​Galerie SCENE OUVERTE/ Paris
​Galleria Rossella Colombari/ Milan
​Gokelaere & Robinson/ Paris
​Hostler Burrows/ New York
​Jousse Entreprise/ Paris
​Karry Berreby/ Paris
​Ketabi Bourdet Design/ Paris
​Lebreton/ Monaco
​Moderne Gallery/ Philadelphia
​Morentz Gallery/ Waalwijk
​Paulin Paulin Paulin/Mobilier National/ Paris 
​Pierre Marie Giraud/ Brussels
​R & Company/ New York
​Salon 94 Design/ New York
​Sarah Myerscough Gallery/ London
​Thomas FRITSCH - ARTRIUM/ Paris

Design Miami/ Paris 2023 Partners
​Audi
​Maison Ruinart
​Cova Paris
​Sèvres - Manufacture et Musée nationaux
​Crozier Fine Arts

Address/ 
​51 Rue de l’Université 
​75007 Paris, France 

Schedule of Events/ 

Preview Day/ By Invitation Only/ 
​Tuesday, October 17/ 

Show Days/ 
​Wednesday, October 18 - Sunday, October 22/

Press inquiries, please contact/

INTERNATIONAL
​CAMRON
​+44 (0)20 7420 1700
​Hannah Perry/ [email protected]
​Grace Englefield/ [email protected]

FRANCE
​FAVORI 
​+33 1 42 71 20 46
​Grégoire Marot, Amy Ilona, Serge Karboulonis, Anastasia Sagaydak, Eugénie Vignon/ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ [email protected]