Design Miami/ Basel 2021 explores ‘human nature,’ high modernism, French mid-century classics at fifteenth edition in September

Basel, August 2021/ With over 40 gallery presentations set to be showcased at Design Miami/ Basel in September (21-26) the upcoming edition of the fair will present a wealth of historical and contemporary works, from rare masterpieces to new works that examine our relationships with the world around us. For the first time, each of the pieces will be available to view and shop online at www.designmiami.com while also displayed on the show floor of the Messeplatz. 

“This year’s presentations really offer an insightful snapshot of the current design market - from incredible works by icons from Prouvé, Lalanne, and Picasso, through to contemporary masterpieces such as Misha Kahn and Daniel and Boris Berlin. As we look forward to welcoming people back to Basel to experience these works and meet with the experts, we’re also excited to debut for the first time in Basel our online shopping and viewing experience, where all pieces on the showfloor will be available to view and shop online in real time,” Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Design Miami/.

Within the rich array of materials, some themes to be found include: 

Lamp, 2021 by Abel Carcamo at Galerie Scene Ouverte, courtesy of Galerie Scene Ouverte

Le Brochet, 1973 by François-Xavier Lalanne at Bailly Gallery, courtesy of Bailly Gallery

HUMAN NATURE/

Many of the gallerists, designers and partners are responding to HUMAN NATURE, this year’s Design Miami/ Basel curatorial theme exploring the evolving relationship between humans, nature--and human nature. In the downstairs hall, Design Miami/ and Superblue present the largest installation of DRIFT’s Shylights, the multi-sensory work inspired by the movement of plants as they respond to the sun and the moon - a process known as ‘nyctinasty’. As well as the immersive design experience, to be augmented by an interactive component, the space will play host to a series of programs during the week of the fair, from meditation sessions to modern dance performances. French designer Mathieu Lehanneur joins this year’s Design at Large program with a new work entitled State Of The World, a snapshot of our world today using demographic data provided by the United Nations and illustrated by an assemblage of anodized aluminum sculptures derived from three dimensional population pyramids of different countries. At Galerie Mitterrand, also part of the 2021 Design at Large program, Austrian artist Peter Kogler will present a new set of high and low tables in different sizes. The glass tables are silk screened with images that explore a world increasingly governed by the flow of information and electronic communications and connect to the physical experience of placelessness and disorientation felt by many. 

Design Miami/ Basel’s Curatorial Director, Aric Chen said: ​ “HUMAN NATURE asks how we might rethink the relationship between humans, nature, and human nature. The question of sustainability and planetary survival is not simply technical, but also cognitive, cultural and philosophical. As it becomes increasingly clear that human-centric worldviews and approaches are no longer tenable, we want to explore how design offers possibilities for reimagining our relationship with non-human beings and intelligences in more viable ways.”

FOUND OBJECTS/

At Antwerp’s Everyday Gallery, new work by Lionel Jadot is collaged from an eclectic assortment of found objects collected from around the world. Not employing any sketches or plans, Jadot instead puts his work together using a process only known by the artist, with the pieces assembled in the playful cadavre exquis working method. Atelier Van Asseldonk’s Blackhole Mirror at Gallery SCENE OUVERTE cobbles together a miscellany of exuberant objects through an approach based on techniques of collage and powered by DIY artisan techniques. The designers see themselves as contemporary craftsmen or rather ‘engineers of the future.’

Black coral side table, 2021 by William Coggin at Galerie Scene Ouverte, courtesy of Galerie Scene OuverteConsole _ Green Table Urushi, 2017 by Aldo Bakker at Carpenters Workshop Gallery

JAPANESE DESIGN/

With so much attention turned towards Japan for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, it is unsurprising to also see a strong representation of Japanese design and craft at Design Miami/ Basel. New York-based dealer Erik Thomsen returns to Basel with another exquisite showcase of traditional Japanese basketry, complemented by Japanese ceramic jars from the 15th-17th centuries; Japanese gold lacquer boxes from the 20th-21st centuries; and Japanese folding screens. Gallery Japonesque debuts for the first time in the Curio program with work by acclaimed contemporary artisan Masatoshi Izumi and glass pieces by Akihiro Isogai. Experts in Japanese crafts, Brussels gallery Pierre Marie Giraud will bring a selection of exquisite decorative pieces to Basel including new work by self-taught ceramicist Kazunori Hamana. Based in Isumi, Hamana spends his time working as both a craftsperson and a fisherman. His artworks take inspiration from once-inhabited shells that look as if they have been washed smooth by the sea and often feature engravings and scratches that reflect the seaside environments of Hamana’s home. Carpenters Workshop Gallery will capture the serenity and spirituality of a traditional Japanese garden, viewed through a contemporary lens with an exhibition called Curating Nature. The artworks shown all demonstrate the beauty of harmonious composition, with the wild nature of their materials tamed by expert processes. None is more carefully considered than Aldo Bakker’s Console/Green Table Urushi, the long form of which suggests a path through disorder to enlightenment. Central to Japanese garden curation is visually acknowledging the flow of time, shown in Bakker’s use of Japanese urushi lacquer, the pigmented layers of which grow only more vivid as they age. ​ 

HIGH MODERNISM REDUX/

The lasting legacy of 20th century modernism makes another strong showing, whether through new pieces referencing brutalist works from the past or forward thinking ideas from the 1960s that have endured the test of time. At Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Rick Owens has collaborated with his life partner and artist Michele Lamy to develop a monochromatic, monolithic furniture and large-scale sculptural work for Design at Large that draws a connection between brutalist architecture, minimalism, and modernism. Shanghai-based Objective Gallery debuts in Basel with two new collections of work by Chinese designer Chen Furong. Included in the showcase is the sculptural Chaise lounge from Furong's Weight of Shadow collection which embodies the designer’s vision to create pieces that reference past generations and cultures while creating understated designs with longevity.

JEWELLERY/

Hemmerle, the fourth generation family-run jeweller from Munich, debuts at Design Miami/ with an exhibition of contemporary pieces that highlight Hemmerle’s commitment to experimentation. With only 150 pieces made by the atelier each year and some taking over 500 hours to complete, each design is a representation of Hemmerle’s workmanship and innovation. Earrings crafted from diamonds, aluminium, bronze and white gold reference the cracked earth of the American Southwest while a yellow-brown diamond is set in bronze and oxidized to reflect natural textures demonstrating how unconventional materials can be fused together to create pieces of exceptional beauty. Carpenters Workshop Gallery will debut Carpenters Workshop Jewellery (CWJ) at Design Miami/ Basel. A new division first initiated in 2019, many of the pieces on show were conceived before the pandemic and have been developed and completed during periods of lockdown and quarantine to be displayed for the first time as part of this year’s Curio program. The debut presentation will include new work by designers such as Kayo Saito, Caroline Van Hoek and Ane Christensen.

BRAZILIAN MID CENTURY/

Continuing to prove its popularity amongst collectors, Brazilian mid century design will have a strong showing at Design Miami/ Basel in September. Renowned Brazilian gallery Mercado Moderno returns to Basel as a Curio to present a collection of works that demonstrate the gallery’s curatorial vision including the "slow design" of the Brazilian designer Ines Schertel. A retrospective of iconic works by Geraldo de Barros produced by Unilabor, the furniture cooperative founded in São Paulo by de Barros and friar João Batista Pereira, will be on show at SIDE Gallery. Unilabor was intended as a new social model of factory, where workers and artists came together to realise a communitarian vision for production and society. Belgian gallery Gokelaere & Robinson, specialists in the great designers of the 20th century, will present works by Brazilian modern masters such as Joaquim Tenreiro in conversation with other 20th century design icons like Alvar Aalto.

DESIGN MIAMI/ CURIOS/

Curio is an exhibition platform that invites designers, architects, curators, innovators and gallerists to present total environments of objects, textures, artifacts and ideas that challenge and contextualize familiar design narratives. Curios are interspersed amongst Design Miami’s gallery program, infusing the fair with inventive snapshots of today's design landscape.

Let Me Talk, 2020 by Lionel Jadot at Everyday Gallery, courtesy of Everyday Gallery

Merge Series, 2020 by Ok Kim at Ok Kim, courtesy of Ok Kim (4)

Carpenters Workshop Gallery presents Carpenters Workshop Jewellery

Carpenters Workshop Gallery will debut its new Carpenters Workshop Jewellery (CWJ) program at Design Miami/Basel. New pieces never shown before will be exhibited including the first-ever jewelry pieces by designer Aldo Bakker, a series of rings by Hunrod, and a unique collaboration earring designed by Charlap Hyman Herrero and Christopher Thompson Royds.

Converso presents Americana: Early Mass Modern Objects for Industry

Converso is pleased to present Americana, a major West Coast collection of exemplary early modern industrial objects amassed over the last 30 years and presented at Design Miami/ Basel 2021 for the very first time. A true connoisseur's collection, Americana includes the choicest, rarest examples of industrial design production by canonical modern giants: radios, clocks, fans, hair dryers, waffle irons,and harmonicas designed for mass consumption by the likes of Charles Eames, Alvar Aalto, Alexander Girard, Raymond Loewy, Henry Dreyfuss, and John Vassos, alongside other designs ​ produced by legendary early modern manufacturers such as Bendix, Kisco, Emerson, Motorola, and General Electric.

Everyday Gallery presents a solo exhibition of works by Lionel Jadot

As well as being a renowned interior architect, Lionel Jadot is also an artist, designer and sculptor. For Design Miami/Basel, Everyday Gallery will present a solo exhibition of his work based on an earlier gallery exhibition, Enthrone Detrone. Jadot will conceptualise an immersive space to illustrate his sculptural and intuitive upcycling instincts, including the Paravent Japanese Cupboard and the plaster moulded Elm Chandelier, made from found materials gathered and sourced from all over the world.

Galleri Format Oslo presents “Symmetric Matrix” by Edith Lundebrekke and “Spatial Drawing” by Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl

Showing works commissioned specifically for Design Miami/Basel, Galleri Format Oslo will highlight innovative and high quality Scandinavian contemporary crafts by Edith Lundebrekke and Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl. Lundebrekke will present a complete installation of large unique reliefs of wooden bars mounted directly on the wall of the booth – a three-dimensional installation with a striking visual effect. Kaldahl has created two large-scale ceramic sculptures specifically for the fair. Kaldahl works with the expressive power of abstract, non-narrative form to directly impact the viewer’s sensuous experience of the artwork. 

Gallery Japonesque presents "Ki" 

Following the gallery’s 2016 Design at Large presentation, Gallery Japonesque presents new work by Koichi Hara as part of the 2021 Curio program, 気—Ki, referencing a natural energy considered the foundation of the universe, a life force. Masatoshi Izumi’s stonework Tsukubai (water basin) is central, flowing real water within the space. In the background is ​ Hiromichi Iwashita’s trilogy of a one-of-a-kind wallpaper that ‘breathes’ a curve superimposed on a straight line drawn with a 6B pencil. Though monochrome, the color, sound, and smell are both visible and hidden. Akihiro Isogai’s glasswork Fountain series shares the space reflecting an inner spring, upwelling.

Harry Nuriev presents Silver Room

For his fourth Design Miami/ Curio installation, Crosby Studios founder Harry Nuriev will present Silver Room, a new collection of parametric furniture situated within a surreal, silver living room environment. In response to our dystopian present, Nuriev takes inspiration from the space-age aesthetic of the 60s and looks toward the future by creating a collection of eco-leather furniture comprised of finger-like capsules. The futuristic forms are paired with silver drapes reminiscent of Versailles decadence, which frame celestial light boxes that illuminate the interior.

Maria Brunn presents Reflected Surroundings

Danish designer Maria Bruun presents a collection of full body mirrors in solid oiled walnut stands as proud pillars in the space. As in a hall of mirrors, our attention is drawn into the room by the impressive mirror modules that stand as monoliths, arranged around a centrally placed circular dining table in stainless steel. The dining table serves ​ as the centre of the exhibition with its base that branches out and anchors it. Bruun invites us into a sensuous space where every detail is carefully crafted, allowing for complete aesthetic self-awareness. 

Mercado Moderno presents Brazilian Warmth by Ines Schertel

One of Brazil’s most renowned design galleries, Mercado Moderno, founded by Alberto Vicente and Marcelo Vasconcellos in Rio de Janeiro in 2001, presents a curation of works that reflect the gallery’s curatorial vision. The "slow design" of the Brazilian designer Ines Schertel ​ - here portrayed by the sensitive eyes of the French photographer Vincent Lappartient - translates the warmth of Brazil through the use of wool, showing that creativity with materials has always been a hallmark of Brazilian design. 

Nadja Zerunian presents Forbidden Fruit

Vienna-based Nadja Zerunian gallery brings a visual story to Basel through a still life presentation - Forbidden Fruit - ​ that explores how objects, in particular fruits and plants, have acted as visual symbols for human moral codes through the ages. Having always been fascinated by the different symbols and legends related to faith, and how they affect society, Zerunian showcases a collection of precious creations that allow us to revisit pre-formed cultural assumptions and prejudices. The gallery specialises in collaboration with local artisans and craftspeople around the world. Produced in collaboration with traditional Roma craftspeople in Transylvania and master artisans from Austria, Albania, Georgia and Romania, the unique objects presented at Basel include works crafted from copper, silver, gold, enamel, glass, ceramics, wood and found objects. Hand carved, engraved and mouth-blown, the pieces offer a tale without words: objects, frozen, hesitantly waiting to continue never-ending stories.

Objective Gallery presents Weight of Shadow & Revelation of Gaia by Chen Furong

Objective Gallery debuts in Basel with a narrative environment that has been divided into two distinct halves, the light and the dark, that showcase two new collections by Chinese designer Chen Furong. The Weight of Shadow collection shows Chen's appreciation for weight and volume, and light and shadow, through the clean-cut silhouettes of a lounge chair, screen cabinet and side tables. On the contrary, the Revelation of Gaia collection is displayed in a silky white tableau with five objects – a table with two benches, a mirror and a cabinet - that have been crafted using cashmere goat hair, giving the pieces an ethereal quality and projecting Chen’s vision of a strong and soft spirit with inner strength and tenderness. 

OKKIM STUDIO ​ presents Merge Series

The Merge series, initially created in 2016, was inspired by the stone stacks found around a Buddhist temple. People made their wishes by carefully adding each stone to the stacks in a delicate balance. Ok Kim, the artist, sympathized with their desires and prayers, prompting her to explore the act of stacking as a formative language in her artworks. She “stacked” colors layer by layer with her own lacquering technique to symbolize accumulated wishes. Like a wish that becomes more apparent over time, the process deepens the lacquer’s transparency and luster. In addition, her collection includes paintings and multi-purpose sculptures that serve as art objects, side tables, or stools.

Paul Bourdet Fine Furniture Presents The French 80s

For its debut at Design Miami/ Basel, Paul Bourdet Fine Furniture will present a summary of its program and of the work the gallery has done over the past two years to rediscover French 1980s design. The project will feature vintage rare and important pieces by major designers from that time such as Philippe Starck, Jean-Michel Wilmotte, Martin Szekely, Gilles Derain and Robert Wilson. These pieces were hunted and collected over the past six years and represent a coherent overview of 1980s and ‘90s French design in its radicality and diversity. The pieces will be showcased in a ‘power office’ embodying the spirit of that era.

Todd Merrill presents a Monumental Cloud Series LED Sculpture by Markus Haase.

Todd Merrill Studio brings the site-specific Markus Haase Cloud Series LED Sculpture as a solo exhibition, before it takes its permanent residence in a newly designed New York City highrise. Haase is one of the few artists working today crafting unique works in bronze by hand in his studio. Rather than employing production or using the casting process as a mechanism for making multiples, each of his bronze and onyx light sculptures is completely unique and hand-crafted. He carves each circular form in foam before using a self-developed technique of casting that destroys the original, rendering each one-of-a-kind. Onyx is then hand-carved and merged with the bronze, diffusing the internal LEDs. Referencing natural forms and systems, the works are produced with a jewelry-like finesse. ​ Commissioned for a new 26-story condominium building in New York City, the nearly 30-foot bronze, onyx and LED suspended sculpture will welcome visitors to the lobby of the luxury building. 

DESIGN AT LARGE/

Design at Large presents large-scale works of historical and contemporary design, showcasing ambitious architectural installations that feature both conceptual and industrial innovation. Design at Large is intended to be a site of discovery for visitors to the fair, presenting a selection of works that explore a particular theme inspired by current topics in design.

Magnus Installation, 2021 by Joseph Walsh at Joseph Walsh Studio, courtesy of Andrew Bradley

Untitled, 2013 by Peter Kogler at Galerie Mitterrand, courtesy of Galerie Mitterrand, photo_ André Morin

Carpenters Workshop Gallery

Created by Rick Owens in collaboration with life partner and artist Michele Lamy, Carpenters Workshop Gallery will present a monochromatic, monolithic furniture and large-scale sculptural work for Design at Large. Incorporating materials such as alabaster and styrofoam, Owens and Lamy make a firm connection between brutalist architecture, minimalism, and modernism. While the aesthetic and materials are not conventional, they strongly demonstrate the same capacity to create organic and simple shapes that resemble weight, monumentalism, and a sense of form that goes beyond human nature. 

Galerie Mitterand

For Design At Large, Galerie Mitterand presents new work by Austrian artist Peter Kogler, a series of high and low tables in different sizes. Made of silk-screened glass held in a metal frame, the tables feature a joyful and colorful abstract mesh pattern by the artist.

Mathieu Lehanneur

Mathieu Lehanneur presents a new project, “State of the World," at Design Miami/ Basel. The 2020 global pandemic reintroduced into our consciousness a feeling of fragility and transience. From Europe to Asia or from America to Africa, the world has never reacted so synchronously to the possibility of death. State of The World is a freeze frame of all living humans today in over 100 countries, illustrated in a collection of anodized aluminum works that arise from a three-dimensional population pyramid of different countries. Offering past, present and future evidence of the fate of world populations, the black spined silhouettes derive their almost primitive yet decorative shapes to demographic data provided by the United Nations. 

Joseph Walsh Studio

Joseph Walsh will launch new works, the Magnus Sculpture and Dining Table, at Design Miami/ Basel. Magnus is a drawing in air, an idea and an emotion expressed through form that is serene or complex, created to engage with the viewer in a physical and intuitive way. The title Magnus, from the Latin for large or great, reflects the scale and presence of these sculptures which encircle the viewer and redefine the architecture of the spaces for which they are designed. The series represents Walsh’s approach to material and form, from the intimate scale of an object to hold in the hand to the monumental scale of an object to stand within. The grace and flow of the finished forms belies the complex process, from sketch models to design development, prototyping and engineering, through which they have been realised.

Noemi Saga Atelier

Noemi Saga Atelier presents SUCURI SNAKE, SCULPTURE 2020 Bichos do Brasil, a series of wooden sculptures that represent Brazilian animals for Design Miami/ Basel. Balancing figurative and minimalist features, the Sucuri Snake was scaled up to new dimensions in a stone called Botanic Green, an emerald green quartzite produced by Pettrus, a quarry located in Bahia, Brazil. Its modules are built in different heights, suggesting movement and inviting the audience's interaction.

Design Miami/ Basel 2021 Galleries/ 

AGO Projects/ Mexico City

Angela Weber Möbel/ Zurich

Bailly Gallery/ Geneva, Paris

Carpenters Workshop Gallery/ London, Paris, New York

Etage Projects/ Copenhagen

Friedman Benda/ New York

Galerie Eric Philippe/ Paris

Galerie kreo/ Paris

Galerie Maria Wettergren/ Paris

Galerie Mitterrand/ Paris

Galerie Patrick Seguin/ Paris

Galerie Philippe Gravier/ Paris

Galerie SCENE OUVERTE/ Paris

Galleria Rossella Colombari/ Milan

Geoffrey Diner Gallery/ Washington D.C.

Gokelaere & Robinson/Brussels, Knokke

Hemmerle/ Munich

Jousse Entreprise/ Paris

LAFFANOUR-Galerie Downtown/ Paris

Lebreton/San Francisco ​ 

MANIERA/ Brussels

Morentz/Waalwijk

Pierre Marie Giraud/Brussels

SIDE Gallery/ Barcelona

Thomas Fritsch-ARTRIUM/ Paris

Thomsen Gallery/ New York

Design Miami/ Basel 2021 Curios/

Carpenters Workshop Jewellery/ London, Paris, New York

CONVERSO/ Chicago

Everyday Gallery/ Antwerp

Galleri Format Oslo/ Oslo

Gallery Japonesque/ San Francisco

Harry Nuriev/ Brooklyn

Maria Bruun/ Copenhagen

Mercado Moderno/ Rio de Janeiro

Nadja Zerunian/ Vienna

Objective Gallery/ Shanghai

OKKIM STUDIO/ Seoul

Paul Bourdet Fine Furniture/ Paris

Peter Blake Gallery/ Laguna Beach

Todd Merrill Studio/ New York

Design Miami/ Basel 2021 Design at Large/ 

Carpenters Workshop Gallery/ London, Paris, New York 

Galerie Mitterrand/ Paris 

Joseph Walsh Studio/ Cork

Mathieu Lehanneur/ Paris 

Noemi Saga Atelier/ Sāo Paolo

Schedule of Events/

Preview Day/ By Invitation Only

Monday, September 20/

Collector’s Preview/ 12-6 PM

VIP Preview/ 6-8 PM

Public Show Days/

Tuesday, September 21/ 11 AM - 8 PM

Wednesday, September 22/ 11 AM - 8 PM

Thursday, September 23/ 11 AM - 7 PM

Friday, September 24/ 11 AM - 7 PM

Saturday, September 25/ 11 AM - 7 PM

Sunday, September 26/ 11 AM - 7 PM

Notes to Editors

Design Miami/ is the global forum for design. Our curated, multi-platform marketplace cultivates global communities of galleries, studios, brands, experts, collectors, and enthusiasts who share our passion for the art of design. We deliver unique design experiences through our celebrated fairs, events, and curated digital platform, designmiami.com. Our mission is to transform how the world explores, exchanges, and collects design. 

Since launching our first fair in 2005, we have dedicated our efforts to the elevation and celebration of design. This year, our biannual collectible design fairs will take place from September 21 – 26 in Basel Switzerland (rescheduled from June 2021 dates) and from December 1 – 5 in Miami Beach, Florida. Each fair will feature selling-exhibitions of museum-quality 20th and 21st century furniture, lighting, and objets d’art from the world’s top, expertly vetted galleries. Moreover, in December 2020, we unveiled Design Miami/Podium at the Moore Building in Miami, Florida and we are thrilled to present Design Miami/Podium x Shanghai in partnership with Made in House this November 4 – 14, 2021. 

All Design Miami/ fairs and exhibitions are now presented in a hybrid format. Exhibited works will be available to purchase for a limited time at our expanded digital platform, designmiami.com. In addition to a click-to-collect shopping experience at Design Miami/Shop, Design Miami’s online event experience will feature 3D interactive tours, virtual programming and engaging storytelling at the Forum Magazine. Designmiami.com exists to amplify the work of participating Design Miami/ galleries and studios to a broad global audience, and provides unprecedented access to exceptional design, 365 days a year.