A major event for professionals and amateurs of the discipline, Design Miami.Basel offered a new edition where the great classics and promising stars combined wonderfully.
PULP
For the Parisian gallery Pulp, it was a time for tribute. A tribute to the much-missed Gaetano Pesce, who passed away this year, shortly before the last edition of the Salone del Mobile in Milan. The exhibition notably featured a collection of the maestro's early pieces, arranged in a scenography inspired by an Italian garden. Visitors were invited to stroll around the pieces as they might have around antique sculptures. Among the famous pieces were the Pratt Chair No. 7 and the Sick (or Sikh) cabinet, handcrafted by Gaetano Pesce himself for the exhibition.
PULPGALERIE.COM
CRAFT TECH TOKYO
Bridging the gap between traditional Japanese craftsmanship and contemporary technology is the goal of Craft Tech Tokyo, an initiative launched last May by Hideki Yoshimoto and Maria Cristina Didero. For its appearance at Design Miami.Basel, internationally renowned designers were invited to draw inspiration from the six prefectures of Japan's Tohoku region, and especially from their artisanal expertise. For example, Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis collaborated with artisans from Akita on Kawatsura Shikki lacquerware, while Ini Archibong celebrated Tsugaru Nuri lacquer with a unique musical installation.
CRAFT-X-TECH.COM
for Objects with Narratives at DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL 2024
© Courtesy of Alexander Popelier
OBJECTS WITH NARRATIVES
The Brussels gallery made its debut at Art Basel with an exhibition dedicated to the work of designer and craftsman Ben Storms. Inspired by the potential of materials, this creative artist presented Liquid Solids, a project whose scenography embraced the concept of fluidity. While the floor was covered in water, consoles, coffee tables, and even partition walls appeared frozen, as if in a process of transformation. In addition to glass pieces evoking stone and water, and onyx pieces reminiscent of sediment, the Crushed series, made of welded metal sheets, formed a silhouette that also suggested fluidity.
OBJECTSWITHNARRATIVES.COM
MAXIME FLATRY
This was also the very first participation in Design Miami.Basel for the Maxime Flatry gallery. For this inaugural event, this Parisian address, well-known to 20th-century design enthusiasts, honored the tragic figure of Jean-Michel Frank. A singular figure of the Art Deco movement with an unparalleled style, the French decorator established a minimalist aesthetic that blended perfectly with French craftsmanship. The exhibition, titled "Furnishing by Unfurnishing," focused on this quest for simplicity, "which involves essentializing forms and spaces."
MAXIMEFLATRY.COM
© Courtesy of Archiv Franz West, David Zwirner, and Galerie Eva Presenhuber
© Courtesy of Franz West Privatstifung, Vienna, and Galerie Eva Presenhuber
EVA PRESENHUBER GALLERY
Another major name celebrated this year is Franz West. While the artist is known for his massive, raw, and colorful sculptures, the Viennese artist also distinguished himself in the design of aesthetic pieces. This is an opportunity to discover them.
PRESENHUBER.COM
FRIEDMAN BENDA
A leading figure in the design world across the Atlantic, on both the East and West coasts, Friedman Benda crossed the ocean this year. His goal? To highlight the "dynamic voices" of influential figures such as Enrico Marone Cinzano, Ini Archibong, Wendell Castle, Ettore Sottsass, and Barbora Žilinskaitė.
FRIEDMANBENDA.COM
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