The Sculptural Standouts at Design Miami/ Basel

Marking its 15th year as an Art Basel staple, Design Miami/ brings together a selection of the world’s most distinguished galleries and designer presentations to the floor of Messeplatz. This year, the fair followed an environmental and empathetic approach at the hands of Aric Chen, the fair’s curatorial director, who selected “Human Nature” as the overarching theme. Check out our favorite moments from the fair below.  

Black Hole Mirror by Atelier Van Asseldonk

A never-before-seen piece commissioned exclusively for Galerie Scene Ouverte’s booth, the Black Hole Mirror is crafted from more than 1,900 individual mirror fragments that capture and reflect light in compelling ways. The out-of-this-world object fashions an angled reflective landscape, forging the appearance of a hyperrealistic “rendered” piece that visually rearranges reality surrounding it.

State of the World by Mathieu Lehanneur

Using demographic data from the United Nations, the French multi-hyphenate fashions a series of anodized aluminum works that mimic three-dimensional population pyramids from more than 100 different countries. Major events such as wars and baby booms can be read and touched, reminding viewers of their role within a much larger story.

Sucuri Snake by Noemi Saga Atelier

The Brazilian designer scaled her anthropomorphic Sucuri Snake sculpture to new dimensions using Botanic Green, a rare variety of emerald green quartz produced by Pettrus.

Shaping Color by Germans Ermičs

Recalling the minimalists of 1960s Southern California such as James Turrell and Doug Wheeler, the Latvian-born designer wields light, space, and color to catalyze a shift in how we perceive objects. His latest feat is a series of functional sculptures marked by exquisitely glass panes that navigate the subtleties of blue monochromatic tints streaked with a shocking tint of yellow.

Ammonoid Gamma by Misha Kahn

One month after headlining the first-ever design NFT auction for a major house, Misha Kahn maintains his momentum with the red-hot Ammonoid Gamma (2020) that took home Design Miami/ Basel’s award for Best Contemporary Work. The plush piece is an unquestionable highlight within Friedman Benda’s imaginative booth, which conjures a setting layered with innuendo inspired by A Midsummer’s Night.

The Elevator by Crosby Studios

Situated within a glimmering interior reminiscent of a corrugated steel-clad elevator is a series of metallic, parametric furniture pieces. It’s a typical outing for founder Harry Nuriev, whose interiors often blend material, virtual, and augmented realities and evoke transitory space. Embracing a Space Age look and feel, topographic arrangements of finger-like, rubber-coated foam capsules form a glimmering sofa, armchair, and ottoman that almost appear to be moving.

Reflected Surroundings by Maria Bruun

A designer strongly rooted in pushing Danish craft traditions forward, Bruun fashions her own pavilion with monumental mirror modules arranged around a centrally placed circular dining table anchored by stainless steel branches.

Shy Synchrony by DRIFT

Superblue presents Shy Synchrony, a multi-sensory experience by DRIFT, the Amsterdam-based artist duo Ralph Nauta and Lonneke Gordijn. It transforms the expansive downstairs into a poetic, upside-down forest of moving flowers that evokes the impermanence—and sense of wonder—of experiencing nature by mimicking the process of nyctinasty, the cyclic movement of plants in response to the arrival of dusk or dawn. Yoga and meditation sessions will ensue underneath.

Stratus by Markus Hasse

Todd Merrill Studio unveils a breathtaking chandelier by the German sculptor before it takes permanent residence inside The Cortland, a residential building in Chelsea, New York. The nearly 30-foot-long lighting sculpture features interconnected bronze and onyx “vines” and “rings” embedded with LEDs, creating a sweeping landscape of radiant, sculpted illumination.

Carpenters Workshop Jewelry

A new division of the esteemed collectible design gallery first initiated in the pre-pandemic times, Carpenters Workshop Jewelry will present never-before-seen pieces by the likes of kayo Sato, Caroline Van Hoek, and Ane Christensen.