In exactly one month, I will be at 2018 Miami Beach edition of Art Basel, and I am starting my journey at
Design Miami/, located right outside the newly remodeled
Miami Beach Convention Center. This year, Design Miami/ is honoring Pedro Reyes and Carla Fernández with the
2018 Visionary Award. Both designers will host a collaborative exhibit inside the Design Miami/ tent and create the graphic identity for the show, and they will also design the installation at the entrance of the tent, which is sure to be stunning.
Last year, Design Miami/ captivated viewers and provided a safe refuge from the chaos of the construction around the Convention Center. In reviewing what I wrote about last year and the photos I took, I thought it would be best to highlight some of the great design the 2017 edition featured.
My favorite booth was
Gallery All by the owners Xiao Lu and Yu Wang - which surprised me given the focus on highly reflective metal furniture. To be honest, the first thing that comes to mind is the lobby at Trump Tower NYC. But designers Hongjie Yang, Zhipeng Tan and Ma Yansong just blew everyone away with their ability to fuse warm fluid organic form with cold polished metal, removing all the garish 1980's aspects of shiny brass.
I love the white metal screen that is barely visible in the picture of the Gallery All booth - here is a detail of the undulating piece, full of sensuous curves fused with hard edges. The perforations would create varied illuminated patterns in all directions, utilizing light from alternative sources.
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| 2017 Nolan |
Another standout was the
Moderne Gallery exhibit, featuring
Michael Gruber Designs as well as this stunning David Ebner walnut cabinet from 1981. The other contents of the booth were captured very well by a photographer at MGD.
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| 2017 Nolan |
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| Moderne Gallery booth by Michael Gruber Designs |
Normally I don't pay much attention to decorative glass work at design shows but
Barbara Nanning's deceptively named Monochrome bowls just stunned me at
Pierre Marie Giraud's booth, which was outfitted with beautifully simple shelves. I read that Barbara Nanning will be back again this year, and I look forward to see what she has wrought.
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| 2017 Nolan |
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| 2017 Design Miami / |
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One last image I have to share, but with hesitation as I do not know the artist who created it, or the gallery that featured it. Unfortunately I was caught up in the moment and did not take careful notes! This picture does not do the sculpture justice, as the choice of material so closely resembled moss that I thought it might have been a cultivated variety I had not known. The just shy of chartreuse color produced an odd optic effect, almost straining the eyes to observe, no doubt enhanced by the intense overhead lighting but also something more was in play. Perhaps the texture of the material worked with the color to diffuse the light slightly, creating a visible aura around the piece that my camera could not capture. If anyone would like to enlighten me as to the creator and the gallery, please leave your thoughts in the comments.
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| 2017 Nolan |
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