The world’s most accredited fair dedicated to vintage and collectible design is returning to Basel for the eighteenth edition
DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL is returning to its iconic Swiss location at Basel’s Messeplatz un’from June 11 – 16, 2024. The fair is ready to welcome an array of displays showcasing the best of collectible design.
Stories of Materiality at DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL 2024
Among the French exhibitors, Galerie Gastou will place a spotlight on the materiality of plastic through projects by Shiro Kuramata and Gaetano Pesce. The careful curation will aim to promote the beauty of plastic, while creating a harmonious dialogue between seemingly opposing styles.
Ph: Alexander Popelier
Ph: Alexander Popelier
La Galerie Mitterrand, invece, riunirà le opere iconiche della famosa coppia di designer François-Xavier e Claude Lalanne. La mostra presenterà una Choupatte unica di Claude Lalanne, risalente agli anni ’60, insieme a una serie di tre Oies di François-Xavier Lalanne. Le Choupatte è una delle prime opere di Claude Lalanne. Attraverso quest’opera il designer esprime il suo utilizzo più virtuoso della tecnica della galvanoplastica, mediante la quale le foglie di cavolo vengono immerse in un bagno elettrolitico per ottenere impronte di rame.
Lastly, Galerie kreo will explore themes of materiality through the lens of technology. The gallery will present TRANSFORMERS by German industrial designer Konstantin Grcic, a collection of nine pieces – ceiling lights, floor lamps, tables, and consoles – meticulously crafted from sleek black or silver anodized aluminum.
Spazio Nobile and Craft x Tech in the Curio program
Within the Curio program, Spazio Nobile (Brussels) will present LUNISOLAR – a duo exhibition between Taiwanese designer, Pao Hui Kao, and acclaimed Norwegian ceramicist, Ann Beate Tempelhaug. Pao Hui and Tempelhaug mutually explore the essence of stoneware porcelain, paper, and lacquer.
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. Participants 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.
Exhibitions on design history
Making its DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL debut, Maxime Flatry (Paris) will present an exhibition dedicated to the timeless legacy of Jean-Michel Frank. First-time exhibitor Galerie Eva Presenhuber (Zurich/Vienna) will present a solo exhibition dedicated to works by Franz West.
Galerie Downtown-LAFFANOUR (Paris) will celebrate icons of 20th century design, through a presentation focusing on the works by renowned Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret and Serge Mouille. Galerie Patrick Seguin (Paris) will also recognize this significant era of design through a carefully curated exhibition of collectible works by Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Jean Royère.
from Maxim Flatry
Lastly, Pulp Galerie (Paris) will present a Curio exhibition dedicated to the works of the late Gaetano Pesce, offering 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. The booth scenography is inspired by an Italian garden, an invitation to visitors to promenade around the pieces as if viewing antique sculptures. Key highlight pieces include furniture first shown at the Centre Pompidou 1996 exhibition, Le temps des questions, including the Pratt chair n°7 and Sick (or Sikh) Cabinet, handmade by Gaetano Pesce himself for the exhibition.
DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL 2024: beyond boundaries
Friedman Benda (New York/Los Angeles) torna a DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL 2024 con un’allestimento che mette in mostra le opere scultoree di otto designer visionari, tra cui Ini Archibong, Wendell Castle, Enrico Marone Cinzano, Carmen D’Apollonio, Misha Kahn, Samuel Ross, Ettore Sottsass e Barbora Žilinskaitė. Ketabi Bourdet Design (Parigi) unirà, invece, in un’unica mostra il lavoro di Philippe Starck ed Elizabeth Garouste.
Global focus
Angela Weber Möbel (Zurich) will show a selection of Italian, American, and Nordic design from the first half of the 20th century at DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL. From American icons including Frank Lloyd Wright, Samuel Marx and Vladimir Kagan to the pinnacle of Italian design expertise from the likes of Gio Ponti. Galerie Eric Philippe (Paris) will continue this conversation between international designers through a dialogue with American and Swedish Modernism. Highlights will include a small steel sofa by Paul László; a large bronze gong by Harry Bertoia; a walnut shelf by Philip Lloyd Pwell; a brass suspension lamp by Swedish architect Carl Axel Acking; and lamps by Finnish designer Paavo Tynell.
Thomas Fritsch-ARTRIUM (Paris) will present an array of French ceramics dating between 1945 and 1970. Highlight designers include Pablo Picasso, Jacques Pouchain, Georges Jouve, and Jean Derval, amongst others. Thomsen Gallery (New York) will also focus on Japanese craft – specifically, Japanese bamboo baskets made by great masters of Japanese bamboo art, including Iizuka Rōkansai, Tanabe Chikuunsai, and Maeda Chikubōsai.
Design at Large
Design Miami brings its Design at Large program to Basel installing a selection of three large-scale works of design. Galerie SCENE OUVERTE (Paris) presents Rino Claessens’ Modular bench (2023): formed of 28 glazed ceramic modules, it offers 14 seats. The connected pieces – brushed and sponged in a richly textured, deep blue – can be dismantled and rebuilt. The modular system underlying the bench offers the freedom to create furniture for which the ceramic kiln is no longer a size limit.
Moving away from the physical and into the digital, multidisciplinary creative Marie Piselli (Paris) presents her debut digital work, OUI CLOCK | AURORA (2024) – 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.
Ph Tadayuki Minamoto
Lastly, at DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL 2024, Ketabi Bourdet x LAFFANOUR (Paris) will offer a presentation of 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.
