update
Just two months after the first Design Miami/Paris, the fair returns to home soil with a programme set to rival London and Milan’s design weeks
This year’s Design Miami/ (6–10 December) comes at a pivotal time – sandwiched between the wellreceived inaugural Paris fair and its 20th anniversary next year – and looks set to be more exciting than ever.
Long gone are the days when the fair was dominated by mid-century European and antique furniture and, in its place, experimentation abounds, thanks to new curatorial director Anna Carnick. Expect international artists launching works, innovative installations and a plethora of new galleries participating. To greet visitors, London-based designer Lara Bohinc – who has been awarded the Miami Design District’s Design Commission – will showcase ‘Spirit’, a ballooning sculpture at the fair’s entrance. According to the event’s chief executive officer Jen Roberts, this year’s theme, ‘Where We Stand’, will shine a light on ‘design inspired by place, identity, and heritage – and explore the role design plays both in reflecting and responding to the world around us’. Elsewhere, Alcova, the independent design platform founded by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima, will hold its first overseas edition from 5–9 December. As one of the most venerable Milan Design Week events, all eyes will be on its American debut. Here, we preview more highlights… designmiami.com
‘Box’, Max Lamb
If you missed Lamb’s critically acclaimed ‘Box’ exhibition in London, you’ll be glad to know that he’s showing it again with Gallery Fumi at Design Miami/. To promote sustainability, each furniture piece in the exhibition is made from waste cardboard. Scrap material includes storage tubes and corrugated cardboard, while paper-gum tape and wheat-based glue bind the layers together, creating a structural integrity like that of rock or wood. galleryfumi.com
Benches, Samuel Ross
Just ahead of the fair, in November, British multidisciplinary artist Samuel Ross will unveil a series of sculptural benches for Miami Design District – the city’s creative neighbourhood. Made of CNC steel with a white powdered coating, the benches will serve to enliven the streets, while simultaneously addressing Ross’s interest in functionality and the role of furniture in public spaces. ’I hope these pieces promote enquiry, democratising the funnel to philosophy, to meaning and to who gets to enquire,’ says Ross. miamidesigndistrict.com
‘Utopia’ armchair, Lara Bohinc
‘I find rounded shapes naturally comforting,’ Bohinc says of her latest piece, seen here as a prototype before being painted. It’s a chair from a new limited-edition series (there are
