Design Miami/Basel

Design Miami/Basel recently celebrated its 12th fair in Switzerland with an extraordinary list of participating galleries and designers, and an innovative interior layout.

The June 2011 edition of Design Miami/Basel, the sister event to Design Miami held every year in December, saw an increase in both returning and first-time exhibitors, all of whom represent the world’s leading galleries specialising in 20th and 21st century collectable design.

From 13 – 18 June, significant exhibits held by this vibrant roster of more than 40 international galleries were presented alongside the fair’s progressive cultural programme.

The offering of museum-quality design is a testament to the fair’s status as the pre-eminent biannual event for the global design community, in large part due to the rigorous standards of its proposal-based gallery selection process.

This year’s returning exhibitors from Europe, the United States and Asia included Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Dansk Møbelkunst Gallery, David Gill Galleries, Demisch Danant, Galerie Downtown-François Laffanour, Galerie kreo, Galerie Patrick Seguin, Galerie Perrin, Galerie Pierre-Marie Giraud, Gallery Seomi, Hostler Burrows, Johnson Trading Gallery, Jousse Entreprise, Mitterand+Cramer, Nilufar Gallery, R 20th Century, and VIVID Gallery, among many others.

First-time exhibitors included Galerie Doria from Paris, which specialises in furniture and decorative arts from the 1930s, including works by the Union des Artistes Modernes. Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, another first-time exhibitor, is a Berlin-based gallery known for 20th century work with a specialisation in the Bauhaus period. Finally, Modernity from Stockholm offers high-quality 20th century design with a particular emphasis on Italian and Scandinavian designers.

This year, Design Miami/Basel also offered a new programme of awards, design talks and satellite shows aimed at contextualising the gallery presentations with a diverse and lively cross-pollination of ideas from the fields of art, fashion, design and architecture.

One of VISI’s top picks was the “Playground closes at dusk” installation by Nacho Carbonell, pictured above. This outdoor exhibition portrayed the complex relationship between our sense of taste, smell, hearing, sight and touch, and the environment.

More information: www.designmiami.com