This year's Design Miami/ was a smashing success—arguably the most elegant and visually-stimulating edition of the fair to take place so far.
Featuring an expertly-chosen selection of collectible design works from some of the world's top galleries, the affair attracted a record-number of attendees (35,800 people, to be exact), and generated equally stunning sales figures.
Among the bevy of notables who flocked to the vibrant scene were architect Zaha Hadid; model and entrepreneur Elle Macpherson; actors Owen Wilson and Jane Fonda; musician André 3000 Benjamin; hotelier André Balazs; and collectors Peter Brandt, Tico Mugrabi, and Barry Friedman.
The nearly three-dozen galleries selected for the 2014 edition are rooted in cities all over the globe, from Miami's own Wynwood art district (a first-time shower at Design Miami/), to as far as South Korea, Lebanon, and South Africa.
"Growth Table" by Mathias Bengtsson from Galerie Maria Wettergren – Photo by James Harris
This December marked the launch of Design Curio—"cabinets of curiosity" that offered immersive environments spanning beyond the traditional scope of the fair's gallery programs. This year's innovative submissions included a virtual reality, coral-eye view of the world and a shrunken architectural masterpiece, plus a space dictated by coolly regular grids and another by Memphis Group's pop geometries.
The edition—which summoned intriguing themes, from gorillas (courtesy of Studio Job at Carpenters Workshop Gallery and Bronze Age at Southern Guild) to mobius strips (as jewelry crafted by Gijs Bakker at Caroline Van Hoek, woven in bamboo by Shouchiku Tanabe at Pierre Marie Giraud, and 3D-printed by Janne Kyttanen at Gallery VIVID).
"Ephemerā" by Mischer’traxler – Photo by James Harris
This year's fair also witnessed some noteworthy design collaborations from Design Miami/'s partners, including Mischer’traxler Studio's magical Ephemerā installation with Perrier-Jouët, which featured responsive plants growing out of an oak table top and mirrors; Jeanne Gang and James Balog’s Thinning Ice, a captivating meditation on global warming created in partnership with Swarovski; Audi’s first concept car from new Head of Design Marc Lichte; and Dimore Studio’s sensual Roman Lounge, fashioned for luxury brand Fendi.
Jeanne Gang and James Balog’s installation for Swarovski, "Thinning Ice" – Photo by Steve Benisty
