Design Miami returning with Collectible Design

Johanna Grawunder, Carpenters Workshop Gallery

The global forum for design returns with the best of the new, the cream of the classics and some of the most exciting ideas in the field. From December 4-8, 2013, nearly three-dozen galleries from around the world will gather in Miami Beach to present modern and contemporary collectible design. 

From a delicate earring to a full-scale pre-fabricated house, in materials ranging from 
stone to gold to technological refuse, the world’s leading design galleries are readying their 
most exciting pieces for the ninth edition of Design Miami/. This annual highlight of the 
collector’s calendar will once again bring together museum-quality masterpieces of the 
20th century, important contemporary works and groundbreaking commissions from 
emerging talents under one (impeccably designed) roof. 

The program of exhibitions presented by carefully selected galleries from Europe, the 
United States and Asia will be enriched by a dynamic series of design talks, site-specific 
installations and satellite events. 

“We have consistently expanded our program over recent years,” says Marianne Goebl, 
Director of Design Miami/. “This December, visitors to the fair will discover the widest range of historic positions to date as well as new work, which will debut in Miami.” 

Key design references from the 20th century include a full-scale house by JeanProuvé from 
1944, which will be exhibited, for the first time in public, by Galerie Patrick Seguin. Galerie 
Downtown is showing a resonant collection of works by Charlotte Perriand inspired by her 
friendship with the Borot family, and her relationship with their house in Montmartre which 
she reconfigured and furnished for their changing needs over many years. Didier Ltd will 
pay homage to the game changing 1973 Jewelry as Sculpture as Jewelry exhibition from 
the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Boston, including several unique pieces on display 
from the original show.

Wieki Somers, Galerie kreo

In the contemporary program, women in design are strongly represented this year, with 
Demisch Danant focusing on Maria Pergay, whose production of spare, organically inspired 
work in metal spans the last half century. Carpenters Workshop Gallery will bring new 
works by Johanna Grawunder, a designer redefining the use and presence of lighting in the 
interior. New works by Hella Jongerius will be presented by Galerie kreo, showcasing both 
her particular sensibility for color and her melding of craftsmanship with modern 
technique. A joyous curiosity, the work of pioneering German toy maker Renate Müller 
continues to delight; R 20thCentury will use the fair as a platform to preview her 
latestworks.

Charlotte Periand, Gallery Downtown-François Laffanour

An international selection of galleries will present focused solo shows as part of the Design
On/Site program. ArtFactum Gallery, Beirut, brings Marc Baroud & Marc Dibeh’s sculptural 
meditations on metal frame furniture. Caroline Van Hoek, Brussels, is presenting new 
jewelry works by Gijs Bakker, co-founder of the Dutch design enterprise Droog. Conceptual 
jewelry will take center stage at Elisabetta Cipriani with highly-colored pieces by kinetic 
and op-artist artist Carlos Cruz-Diez shown in a custom designed booth. Wonderglass, 
London, will be stringing up a sublime, oneiric, contemporary glass chandelier by multidisciplinary designer Nao Tamura. The alchemy of off beat materials is at the heart of 
Jonathan Muecke’s collection for Volume Gallery, which includes works in coal slag and 
epoxy, carbon fiber and silicone.