Design Miami/ Basel's 2014 edition broadens in scope and ambition

A museum-like room with colorful tufts of fabric of fabric in the background mounted on a black-painted curve wall and some hanging off the ceiling. Oak coloured long table and chair.

Design Miami/ Basel's new Design at Large programme of installations juxtaposes Jean Maneval's 1968 Bubble House (presented by Jousse Enterprise) with Sheila Hicks' Séance installation, brought to the fair by Demisch Danant

(Image credit: press)

By Rosa Bertoli

last updated 12 October 2022

in Features

Basel's annual art fair might be the Swiss city's superstar event but its concurrent edition of Design Miami/ has grown into an equally sophisticated younger sibling. This year, former Phillips de Pury chairman Rodman Primack has stepped in to take the helm of both the design fair's US and Swiss shows, following the departure of director Marianne Goebl. And visitors to the Messe Basel halls are in for a treat, thanks to a stellar line-up of participating galleries, as well as an impressive series of installations.

A key new initiative is Design at Large, an ambitious series of installations presented by participating galleries and curated by Barneys creative director Dennis Freedman, an avid collector of post-war experimental design. Focusing on an 'exploration of conceptual ideas and materials', Freedman has created an immersive program of works by the likes of Anton Alvarez and Sheila Hicks, as well as past masterpieces, including Jean Maneval's 1968 futuristic Bubble House. 'I'd like to see more ambitious collectors that think beyond traditional parameters,' declared Freedman, pointing to the eclecticism and scale of the offerings.

Elsewhere at the fair, Jamie Zigelbaum's Triangular Series is another standout work, greeting visitors at the entrance to the halls. The American artist-cum-designer drew inspiration from his lifelong observations of mathematical patterns and harmonious forms that shape our lives and world, creating an installation of shard-like tetrahedral lights suspended from the ceiling. Responding to people's movements below with changes in light intensity, it offers fairgoers quite a welcome.

Designer Konstantin Grcic is also stopping visitors in their tracks with his pavilion for Audi, built from parts of the new TT Coupé. The easy-to-dismantle structure combines futuristic design with a nod to the nostalgic, echoing midcentury icons of prefab architecture also on display in the fair, such as the F 8x8 BCC House by Jean Prouvé and Pierre Jeanneret, as well as Maneval's Bubble House. The result is a lively dialogue between old and new within Messe Basel.

Amid the galleries' offerings, we noted a strong focus on materials, with designers developing projects that point attention to the raw material. Ymer et Malta is presenting a collection that plays with marquetry and different types of wood. Inspired by French carpentry traditions, the Parisian gallery commissioned five designers to produce pieces that reinvent the technique in a contemporary way.

Meanwhile, Studio Job worked with Swiss manufacturer StonetouCH to present 'Detour,' a series of objects using marble as a starting point for research on material and colour. Street cones and bricks are made from marble, instead of their classically more humble materials, in a characteristically witty Studio Job twist. 'Design can be anything,' say the designers, commenting on this body of work and their approach. '"Anything" is the hardest part.'

Off-site, Vitra campus is proving a major hub for the fair's visitors - both with its current offer of the Konstantin Grcic Panorama exhibition and the recent unveiling of the loft installation by Ilse Crawford (W* 184) that unites the Swiss company with its recently acquired Artek. New on campus is a large-scale work by Carsten Höller: a viewing deck and spiralling slide, which joins a roster of buildings and pavilions by big-name architects and creatives.

With its wide-ranging focus, Design Miami/ Basel is a testament to its director's mission: 'To think beyond the everyday to what we can do next; this is what design is about.

A wood ring made from trapezodial pieces of wood held together with a metal clasp with colorful tufts of fabric of fabric in the background mounted on a black-painted curve wall — Other Design at Large contributions include Galerie Kreo's Wood Ring by Chris Kabel, made from 100 trapezoidal pieces of wood from the same pine tree, held together with a metal clasp

Multiple Thread Wrapped Architecture in different forms (- Arch &Vertical) and sizes with black-painted curve wall in the background — Curated by Barneys creative director Dennis Freedman, the Design at Large programme is wide-ranging and eclectic. Pictured is Anton Alvarez's Thread Wrapped Architecture 290414, presented by London-based gallerist Libby Sellers

A man in a suit standing with both hands up on his side (shoulder lenght) on a metal square box in front of a large portrait frame that beams and mimics his posture to create an angel — Dominic Harris' Ice Angel is presented as part of Design at Large by Priveekollektie. Harris' work shows his penchant for digital art, and this piece is a combination of performance art and technology, with an LED screen responding to people's movements and creating images that look like snow angels made by children

A drawing machine. A square board on the floor with a long sheet of white paper and 2 pendulars at 90 degrees angle — Eske Rex's Drawing Machine is also part of the Design At Large display. Presented by the Galerie Maria Wettrgren, the drawing machine is simple structure that creates a unique pattern with the movement of two pendula

Multiple shard-like tetrahedral lights in different sizes suspended from a ceiling in a dark room — Jamie Zigelbaum's Triangular Series greets visitors at the entrance to the fair. The American artist-cum-designer drew inspiration from his lifelong observations of mathematical patterns and harmonious forms that shape our world, creating an installation of shard-like tetrahedral lights suspended from the ceiling

A sketch of Multiple shard-like tetrahedral lights in different sizes suspended in the air — A sketch of Zigelbaum's installation, which responds to people's movements below by changing in light intensity

A futuristic mobile pavillion in oak colour with 7 entrances with the doors open (lifted up) with geometric shaped windows and metal platforms for each entrance. — Konstantin Grcic's TT Pavilion for Audi is made from parts of the new TT Coupé and can be easily dismantled for transportation. Created to fit into both urban areas and more rough landscapes, the TT Pavilion merges the futuristic and the nostalgic

A large white rectangular board placed against a white wall with threads moving around pins in a geometric pattern — A corner of the fair is dedicated to ECAL's collaboration with The Woolmark Company and Mover sportswear, produced by Product Design Master students during a workshop headed by Camille Blin and Ronan Bouroullec. 'In Wool We Trust' is a collection of six projects exploring the versatility of wool in a poetic way. Here, Vincent Dechelette's 'Comet' is an abstract (and hypnotic) representation of the weaving processes

An up close image of threads moving around pins in a geometric pattern against a white background — In Dechelette's work, a thread moves around the space in a geometric pattern

A string of merino wool fluttering from a metal pole being blown by a black metal floor fan an in an all white room — Dominic Schlögel's interpretation focuses on the lightness of the material, featuring a string of merino wool fluttering from a metal pole

A room with white walls and white rectangular box in the middle with a projector placed on it and projecting on the wall a man snowboarding — 'Fubuki' by Takafumi Nemoto played on the parallel between snow and wool, and created a projection that uses wool fibers spinning in water, exemplifying a snowstorm

A man in tshirt, jeans and shoes staring at a larg e artistic display of wool hanging from the ceiling depicting the transition of wool from its raw state to refined weave — Seraina Lareida's 'Metamorphosis' explores the story of wool (from its raw state to refined weave) through tapestry

A woman photgraphed in a grey room looking up at a large metal round knitting loom hanging from the ceiling spinning yarns of wool — 'Threaded' by Charlotte Baverel is a playful installation of spinning yarns, focusing on the simple beauty of the wool

A caucasian hand holding up a white wool-like cotton candy . Photographed against a grey background — Another whimsical view of the material is presented by Carolien Niebling, who has created a 'Woolcandy' bar to offer visitors a sweet souvenir of virgin wool-like cotton candy

A display of street cones and bricks made out of pebbles on a geometric shaped white platform. A square shaped glass is place on the cones (made from pebbles) to create a table. A stack of 2 bricks on the bricks (made from pebbles) divided by clear glasses. — Studio Job has worked with Swiss manufacturer StonetouCH to present 'Detour,' a series of objects using marble as a starting point for research on material and colour. Street cones and bricks are made from marble, instead of their classically more humble materials, in a characteristically witty Studio Job twist

A display of items made from pebbles. On the left, is a medal-like sculpture with a black base and gold top. In the middle is 4 layers of bricks made out of pebbles with a black cement tray attached. On the right is a shovel with wood handles and blade made from gold pebbles. — 'Design can be anything,' say Studio Job, commenting on this body of work. '"Anything" is the hardest part'

A room with a white shelf on a white wall stacked with books. A brown long bare dinner table. A camouflage-looking rectangular box placed on a white platform. a round black platform with colourful lines. Thick brown table with uneven legs — Another interesting use of material can be found at the booth of Parisian gallery Ymer et Malta. 'Marquetry: the Sleeping Beauty,' is inspired by French carpentry traditions and includes five works where designers interpreted the technique in a contemporary way

A coffin-like shaped sculpture in shades of steel with small squares, placed on sticks as support and captured against a white background — Part of 'Marquetry: the Sleeping Beauty,' the cloudInChest by Benjamin Graindorge uses 2000 pieces of wood in 17 different shades

A suspended marble office space. Brown leather sofa with wooden legs. Suspended Marble desk. — Galerie Armel Soyer is displaying Ramy Fischler's 'Visionary Office,' a suspended marble office space whose aesthetic plays with tension and power. The unusual setting includes hi-tech features, with the desk featuring a panel to control light and sound, and the tryptich doubling as a soundsystem. *Photography: Gilles Pernet*

A display of a building in a museum. Jean Prouvé and Pierre Jeanneret's restored F 8x8 BCC House from 1942. — Galerie Patrick Seguin's contribution this year includes Jean Prouvé and Pierre Jeanneret's restored F 8x8 BCC House from 1942. *Photography: courtesy of Galerie Patrick Seguin*

LEFT: White unsually sculptured lamp with orange glass set against a white background; RIGHT: A sofa with the base created using crates and a textured printed fabric for the cushion — Carpenters Workshops Gallery's new pieces include 'Les Amis' lamp by Atelier Van Lieshout and Kendell Geers' 'Thrown for a King'

A viewing tower, with twirly slide and steps made out of steel with a transparent roof installed outside the building with trees in the background — Away from the fair itself, Vitra's Weil Am Rhein campus is proving a major hub for visitors, who can see (and experience) a new large-scale work by Carsten Höller, the latest addition to the roster of buildings and pavilions by big-name architects and creatives. The 'Vitra Slide Tower' serves as a 30.7 metre-high viewing point, clock and piece of playful entertainment

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Hall 1 Süd
Messe Basel
Messeplatz Basel
Switzerland

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Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.

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