Design Miami in Pride Park, Miami Beach. Photo: James Harris
Seeking Out Personal Histories at Design Miami
The annual fair brings together the newest and most coveted names in design, and this year’s theme focuses on identity, heritage and community
With art and design enthusiasts flocking to South Florida this December for Miami Art Week, dealers are preparing to bring their freshest objects and artworks to events across the city. But Design Miami (December 5–10), returning for its 19th year and located in a tent in Pride Park, just across the street from the Miami Beach Convention Center, remains the best opportunity to view and collect the top names and rising stars in the field.
This year, the fair’s curatorial director, Anna Carnick, has chosen the theme “Where We Stand,” focusing on how design engages with global issues. More than 40 exhibitors have responded by bringing objects and projects that celebrate ideas of place, community, heritage, and the power of shared roots and interconnectivity. Here are the top five stands to look out for at Design Miami 2023.
The Future Perfect, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
Chris Wolston, Earthly Delight Vessel 4, 2023, bronze. Photo: David Sierra and Radha Leon, courtesy: the artist and The Future Perfect
With locations in architecturally stunning homes in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, The Future Perfect is known for supporting cutting edge and visually stunning designs. This year, it’s showcasing a range of objects, such as elegant lamps made with stone by duo Chen Chen and Kai Williams and a Minimalist, geometric chandelier in painted brass and powder-coated aluminum by Karl Zahn. Joining these are bronze vases by Chris Wolston that celebrate the flora and fauna of Colombia, drawing attention to the importance of natural resources to the country’s culture, economy, and ecology.
Friedman Benda, New York and Los Angeles
Frida Escobedo, Creek Chair, 2022. Photo: Timothy Doyon, courtesy: Friedman Benda and Frida Escobedo
New York- and Los Angeles-based veteran gallery Friedman Benda is presenting an international array of designers whose aesthetics find a common language. Among them are Jerusalem-born, Paris-based Raphael Navot, whose curvilinear silk, cashmere, and oak couch is paired with a stainless steel chair covered in a draping nickel ball chain by Mexico’s Frida Escobedo. Both complement the smooth curves of British designer Faye Toogood’s marble tables. And a vibrant selection of vases by the Modernist Italian designer Ettore Sottsass stand alongside a mirror by contemporary American designer and sculptor Misha Kahn, reflecting their shared passion for color.
Southern Guild, Cape Town and Los Angeles
Justine Mahoney, Pearl Diver, 2020, patinated bronze. Photo: Hayden Phipps, courtesy: Southern Guild
Specializing in African artists and designers, as well as those from the diaspora, Southern Guild is known for putting heritage and community at the core of its program. The Cape Town gallery is a regular exhibitor at Design Miami, and just announced its first US outpost, opening in Los Angeles this February. It is presenting a rich array of works, including ceramics by South African ceramicist Andile Dyalvane, who explores healing through his Xhosa ancestral traditions. The Cape Town-based Justine Mahoney, meanwhile, considers personal and collective issues around the consequences of Apartheid through her bronze, mythological figures.
Cristina Grajales, New York
Virginia San Fratello, Furry Totems, 2022–23, 3D printed light fixtures, Courtesy: Cristina Grajales Gallery
New York-based, Colombian-born art dealer Cristina Grajales is known for her collaborations with leading international artists and designers. Her gallery is presenting a dynamic booth, including sleek wooden chairs with intricate tattoo-inspired line decorations by Paraguayan designer Pedro Barrail. And a forest of vibrantly hued, 3D-printed light fixtures by American artist Virginia San Fratello are meant to evoke a brighter, more connected future, after the period of darkness and isolation experienced globally during the pandemic.
Carpenters Workshop, London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles
Maarten Baas, Grandfather Clock — The Son, 2022. Courtesy: Carpenters Workshop Gallery
Digging deep into Dutch designer Maarten Baas’s inner psyche, the international design gallery Carpenters Workshop is presenting his newest take on a classic piece of furniture – the grandfather clock. But rather than building a tower of polished, carved and dark stained mahogany, Baas’s version looks like a hastily nailed together treehouse, with the LED clock face displaying a child-like figure that updates the time using finger paints.
