NOW OPEN: DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL 2024
Basel, 11 June 2024 - The 18th edition of DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL is now open, spotlighting rare and unique presentations of collectible design from over 25 exhibitors at the fair's established location, the Basel Messeplatz. Running June 11-16, 2024 (with preview day on June 10), this year’s fair offers ten debut exhibitors, platforming world-leading contemporary and historic collectible design across its gallery, Curio and Design at Large program. The fair also honors the late Gaetano Pesce (1939 - 2024) through a special tribute exhibition in the fair’s entrance hall, and a number of highlight works from across his expansive career included within the exhibition programming.
PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS.
BEST OF SHOW AWARDS.
Design Miami is delighted to announce this year’s Best of Show award winners, selected by this year’s jury: Simon Andrews (Advisor), Jeremy Morrison (Advisor) and Lee Mindel (Architect).
Best Historical Design Object: Pratt Chair no.7 by Gaetano Pesce at Pulp Galerie
Gaetano Pesce’s Pratt chair n°7, awarded Best Historical Design Object, is presented at Pulp Galerie’s debut Basel Curio, which offers an exhibition dedicated to the works of the late designer. The chair was first shown at the Centre Pompidou 1996 exhibition of Pesce’s work, Le temps des questions. In Basel, the chair is presented alongside other works from the 1996 exhibition within a booth scenography inspired by an Italian garden, an invitation to visitors to promenade around the pieces as if viewing antique sculptures.
Best Contemporary Design Object: FIRE OPENS STONE by Samuel Ross at Friedman Benda
The Best Contemporary Design Object award was given to Samuel Ross’s FIRE OPENS STONE (2022) at Friedman Benda (New York/Los Angeles). This limited edition bench is part of Ross’s Course series, inspired by his experience as a child in the brutalist housing blocks of London’s Brixton neighborhood. The rough stone and concrete elements riff on the visual language of public architecture and play spaces.
Best Gallery Presentation: Galerie Meubles et Lumières
Paris-based Galerie Meubles et Lumières earned the Best Gallery Presentation Award with an installation of 1960s avant-garde French designs set within a dramatic black scenography. Standout pieces include a rare beige-and-white suite of seating by Christian Adam, an exquisite rosewood sideboard by Michel Boyer, and iconic aluminum and foam Module 400 chairs by Roger Tallon.
Best Curio Presentation: Craft x Tech
Craft x Tech (Tokyo) is a pioneering initiative founded by Hideki Yoshimoto / TANGENT with the curatorial direction of Maria Cristina Didero, aiming to bridge the gap between traditional Japanese craft and contemporary technology. Following an inaugural exhibition in Tokyo this May 2024, the initiative has now travelled to Europe for its debut in Design Miami's Curio program. In a convergence of tradition and innovation, international creators were invited to create work inspired by six craft districts from Japan's Tohoku region. Among the highlight outcomes, Dutch creator Sabine Marcelis has worked with Akita artisans to infuse Kawatsura-Shikki lacquerware with contemporary vitality; while Ini Archibong, based in Switzerland, celebrates Tsugaru-Nuri lacquerware with a unique musical device.
REMEMBERING GAETANO PESCE.
This year’s edition of DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL features a number of tributes to the late Gaetano Pesce.
Visitors are greeted by a collaborative presentation situated in the entrance hall, with pieces from returning gallery Friedman Benda (New York/Los Angeles), and debut galleries Pulp Galerie (Paris) and downtown+ (Paris). The tribute celebrates Pesce as one of the most independent-minded designers of recent times, whose profound career acted as an influential hand in shaping the present-day design landscape. The three galleries come together to capture the breadth of Pesce’s extraordinary career, defined by constant innovation to create what he referred to as “objects of our time”.
In addition to its contribution to the entrance hall tribute, Pulp Galerie (Paris) also makes its DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL debut within the Curio program to present an exhibition dedicated to Pesce. The presentation places a spotlight on an impressive collection of early pieces, most of which have been acquired from the private collection of Dutch photographers Petra and Erik Esmerg, who shot many of Pesce’s works over his celebrated career. Pulp Galerie have presented its selection of works by Pesce in a unique atmosphere, designed to evoke strolling through an Italian garden, an invitation to visitors to promenade around the pieces as if viewing antique sculptures. Notable pieces on display include an array of works that were first shown at the Centre Pompidou 1996 exhibition, Le temps de questions, including the Pratt chair n°7 (winner of fair’s Best Historic Design Object) as well as Sick (or Sikh) Cabinet, handmade by Pesce himself for the exhibition.
Galerie Gastou (Paris) places a spotlight on the materiality of plastic, through exploring contrasting design philosophies expressed by designers including Shiro Kuramata’s quiet simplicity, and Gaetano Pesce’s Baroque extravagance, alongside works by additional names. This striking juxtaposition aims to promote the beauty of plastic, while creating a harmonious dialogue between seemingly opposing styles. Through careful curation, the exhibition showcases the spectrum of ways plastic can be used: crafted to convey the balance of Kuramata’s minimalism, to the lavish theatricality of Pesce’s designs.
Meanwhile, a special satellite project is situated in the entrance hall, presented by Capsule in collaboration with do you read me?! and Kodoji Press. The project offers a special reading space dedicated to the radical genius of Pesce, featuring some of the late Italian designer's most celebrated pieces, including his instantly recognisable modular sofa created for Meritalia in a spectrum of bold colors.
Friedman Benda, Pulp Galerie, and downtown+ honor late design icon, Gaetano Pesce at DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL 2024 (Image credit: Ivan Erofeev for Design Miami)
Friedman Benda, Pulp Galerie, and downtown+ honor late design icon, Gaetano Pesce at DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL 2024 (Image credit: Ivan Erofeev for Design Miami)DESIGN AT LARGE.
Design Miami’s Design at Large program punctuates the fair with large-scale works of design that offer moments of ambitious sculpture and conceptual and industrial innovation. Highlights from this year’s programming include Rino Claessens’ Modular bench (2023), presented by Galerie SCENE OUVERTE (Paris). The contemporary work is formed of 28 glazed ceramic modules, offering 14 seats in a curving, abstract formation. The connected pieces - brushed and sponged in a richly textured, deep blue - can be dismantled and rebuilt. Claessens’ experimental ceramic work is inspired by a trip to Arita, Japan, known as the ‘cradle of porcelain firing’. The modular system underlying the bench allows for its scale, offering the freedom to create furniture for which the ceramic kiln is no longer a size limit. An historic highlight of the Design at Large program comes in the form of a collaborative presentation from Ketabi Bourdet x downtown+ (Paris). Together, they present Robert Wilson’s Hamletmachine table and chairs, designed for the premiere of the eponymous play staged at NYU Theater in New York in 1986. Wilson is a celebrated director and visual artist, whose stage furniture plays an integral role in the total effect of his plays. The Hamletmachine table and chairs are impactful in their dramatic minimalism. Galerie Downtown-LAFFANOUR (Paris) presents Stéphane Maupin's 'acoustic bubble' suspensions, created in 2002 for the Tokyo Eat restaurant at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Meanwhile, Marie Piselli (Paris) presents her debut digital work, OUI CLOCK - a powerful visual spectacle offering an alternative approach to time, measured not in quantitative hours, minutes or seconds, but rather via a qualitative measure that sees units of time based around moments shared, and moments alone, designed as a reminder of the importance of shared experiences and emotions.
NOTES TO EDITORS
DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL Galleries
Angela Weber Möbel (Zurich)
Friedman Benda (New York/Los Angeles)
Galerie Downtown-LAFFANOUR (Paris)
Galerie Eric Philippe (Paris)
Galerie Eva Presenhuber (Zurich)
Galerie Gastou (Paris)
Galerie kreo (Paris)
Galerie Meubles et Lumières (Paris)
Galerie Mitterrand (Paris)
Galerie Patrick Seguin (Paris)
Galerie SCENE OUVERTE (Paris)
Ketabi Bourdet Design (Paris)
Lebreton (Monaco)
MAXIME FLATRY (Paris)
Objects with Narratives (Brussels)
Pierre Marie Giraud (Brussels)
Thomas Fritsch-ARTRIUM (Paris)
Thomsen Gallery (New York)
DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL Curios
193 Gallery (Paris)
Craft x Tech (Tokyo)
downtown+ (Paris)
Karry Berreby (Paris)
Mameluca (Lisbon)
Nick Thomm (Melbourne/Los Angeles)
Nolwa Studio (Hyderabad)
Pulp Galerie (Paris)
Spazio Nobile (Brussels)
DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL Design at Large
Ketabi Bourdet x Downtown+ (Paris)
Marie Piselli (Paris)
Galerie SCENE OUVERTE (Paris)
SPECIAL PROJECT
Friedman Benda (New York/LA), Pulp Galerie (Paris), and downtown+ (Paris) honor late design icon, Gaetano Pesce
SATELLITE PROJECT
Do you read me?! And Kodoji Press x CAPSULE lounge (Berlin)
Visiting the Fair
Public Show Days/
Tue, Jun 11 & Wed, June 12: 10am - 7pm
Thur, Jun 13 — Sat, June 15: 11am - 7pm
Sun, Jun 16: 11am-6pm
Tickets to the fair are available for purchase HERE.
About Design Miami
Design Miami connects the world through extraordinary collectible design, with live fairs that bring together galleries, designers, brands, experts, collectors, and enthusiasts. Each edition of Design Miami features museum-quality 20th and 21st century furniture, lighting, and objets d’art from the world’s top, expertly vetted galleries, in addition to showcasing immersive design collaborations with celebrated brands. Design Miami’s flagship fairs take place alongside Art Basel in Miami, Florida, each December, in Basel, Switzerland, each June, in Paris, France, each October in conjunction with Paris+ par Art Basel, and now, in Los Angeles this May 16 - 20, 2024. Design Miami is also accessible 365-days a year through designmiami.com, a content-rich digital marketplace featuring works from leading galleries and original editorial and video content on Forum Magazine.
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