The inaugural edition of DESIGN MIAMI.LA concluded yesterday, Monday 20 May 2024, following a five day show at a private Holmby Hills estate. The new West Coast fair offered a dynamic program of collectible design, serving as a testament to California’s rich design heritage as an international arbiter of taste.
The new West Coast fair was met with a very positive reception from the creative community of Los Angeles and beyond. Many notable attendees from across Design Miami’s global network visited the inaugural event, including names from across industries: Jasmine Tookes, model and Juan David Borrero, Snapchat executive; Olivia Lopez, multihyphenate; A$AP Nast, rapper; Rich Mnisi, fashion designer; Samuel Ross, designer, Jessie Andrews, designer, producer, model, DJ; Mickalene Thomas, artist; China Chow, actress and model; Ryan Murphy, screenwriter, producer, and director, Dr. Woo, tattooist; and Nobu Matsuhisa, chef; Zack Bia, DJ and record producer; Emily Oberg, wellness entrepreneur; Carly Steel, presenter and actress; and Balthazar Getty, actor and musician, and Rosetta Getty, fashion designer. Internationally recognized interior designers Brigette Romanek, Pamela Shamshiri, Tommy Clements, and Waldo Fernandez were also in attendance.
The inaugural DESIGN MIAMI.LA also recorded a series of notable sales across its contemporary and historic collectible design offering. The Future Perfect (Los Angeles / New York / San Francisco) and Charles Burnand Gallery (London) reported strong sales and interest across their programming, with The Future Perfect committing work by JB Blunk to a notable collector during the week. Southern Guild’s (Cape Town / Los Angeles) diverse contemporary programming was also met with a strong response, and the gallery was pleased to sell a significant, large-scale wishbone sculpture, Helena, by Adam Birch; sales continued to the final day of the fair, with the sale of a Rich Mnisi chaise. Todd Merrill Studio (New York) reported a positive response, including the sale of its 12-foot demi-lune chromium yellow sofa, which took centre stage of its curated presentation. Ornamentum (Hudson) reported sales of multiple works ranging from precious metals and diamonds to more experimental mediums, while Moderne Gallery (Philadelphia) reported successful sales on its collection of ceramics. Strong sales were also reported from Curios Nick Thomm (Melbourne / Los Angeles) and James de Wulf (Los Angeles).
EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS
The fair’s program thoughtfully bridged the past with the present, using Los Angeles’s design legacy as a touchpoint to explore how the city continues to inspire and shape global design conversations. DESIGN MIAMI.LA welcomed the leading international collectible design galleries, to showcase the best in contemporary and historic design.
Highlights include Southern Guild’s (Cape Town/Los Angeles) sensitively curated exhibition which explored narratives of hyper-sentimentalism, nostalgia, ecological concerns, craft traditions, and social politics. Exhibiting designers included Zanele Muholi, Zizipho Poswa, Porky Hefer, Andile Dyalvane, Rich Mnisi, Cheick Diallo, and others. Meanwhile, local LA-based gallery, Twentieth Gallery (Los Angeles) presented a blend of international contemporary design with groundbreaking avant garde talent, creating an environment that merged design and art into an innovative aesthetic vision. Moderne Gallery (Philadelphia) presented never before seen pieces by George Nakashima, from a single estate, in conversation with contemporary works by esteemed designer Miriam Carpenter.
Curated by Ashlee Harrison, the DESIGN MIAMI.LA Podium exhibition, titled Masterworks of Collectible Design, provided a historic and contemporary survey of design’s pivotal moments, in a curated selling exhibition that paid homage to the masters of design, and propelled their visions into the contemporary realm.
An engaging Design at Large program showcased works in dialogue with the surroundings of the Holmby Hills Estate. A selection of fifteen pieces from a total of 8 galleries were presented throughout the house and across the gardens. Highlights include award winning set designer and artistic director, Shona Heath’s Lilyfoot. Created in collaboration with 1882 Ltd (Stoke-on-Trent) Lilyfoot is a limited-edition sculptural light crafted in stoneware, wood, and opalescent glass. BASIC.SPACE (Los Angeles) presented works by Korean ceramic designer Hun Chung Lee. Working at the intersection of sculpture and function design, Lee’s work references traditional Korean ceramic craft, while incorporating a contemporary, whimsical playfulness.
DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL PREVIEW.
This June, DESIGN MIAMI.BASEL will return to its established location at the Basel Messeplatz for its 18th edition, to be held from June 11 – 16 2024, with Preview Day on June 10. As the leading global forum for design, Design Miami’s Basel fair will present a celebration of many of the world’s leading design galleries.
Highlights include a rich program of gallery and curio presentations including 9 debut exhibitors. From these engaging exhibitions, key thematic threads emerge, with galleries presenting thought-provoking contemporary works addressing stories of materiality and boundary pushing design; to exhibitions celebrating significant moments in design history with rare historical pieces.
Upon entering the Messeplatz, audiences will also be greeted by a collaborative gallery presentation by Friedman Benda (New York/LA), Pulp Galerie (Paris), and downtown+ (Paris), in remembrance of the late Gaetano Pesce (1939 – 2024).
