Tag: wallpaper

by Amy Serafin, Wallpaper*

Back in 1987, the same year architect Jean Nouvel gained international acclaim for his Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, he also presented six aluminium objects at an exhibition held by the French non-profit VIA (Valorisation de l’Innovation dans l’Ameublement), to a much smaller audience. They included an adjustable table on X-shaped legs, an aluminium-and-rubber folding screen, and a very slick toolbox.

These were Nouvel’s first efforts at design – none of which was ever manufactured. But since then the French Pritzker Prize-winner has produced more than 100 pieces of furniture and design, from lamps to doorknobs, while turning out major architectural projects such as Barcelona’s Torre Agbar, the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, One Central Park in Sydney, the upcoming Louvre Abu Dhabi and New York’s 53W53 tower. In 1995, he founded Jean Nouvel Design (JND) as a sister company to his architecture firm, Ateliers Jean Nouvel.

And yet it is no simple feat to go out and buy a Jean Nouvel dining room set. ‘Most of my objects remain confidential,’ he says. ‘Nobody really knows my jewellery, for example. And we’ve worked on chairs few people have seen.’ That’s about to change, as Nouvel sets out to make his furniture more accessible to the general public – and, at the same time, is unveiling the first museum exhibition ever devoted to his design.

Last year, at a celebration for his 70th birthday, the architect confided to his friend Franck Argentin that he wanted to give his design studio a boost. Argentin is the founder of RBC, a network of contemporary furniture showrooms in the south of France. The two first met about 25 years ago at a bullfight; twice a year, Nouvel stays at Argentin’s house in Nîmes during the corridas.

Argentin shared some ideas about how JND might move into higher gear. Then Nouvel asked him to head up the design studio, knowing he could bring his keen eye for what sells, as well as his high-level contacts with furniture manufacturers such as Vitra, Poliform and Cassina. ‘I’m looking to work with producers that are serious and significant,’ Nouvel says, ‘and Franck is in a position to talk with them frequently.’

Argentin accepted, taking up the new position in January of this year (he continues to run RBC). ‘It wasn’t my plan, but the challenge excited me,’ he says, sipping espresso from a polished stainless steel cup Nouvel designed for Alessi. 

The first part of Argentin’s strategy was to create greater synergy between the design and architecture firms. As he explains, ‘Neither side really knew what the other was doing anymore, even though they all work for the same person.’ He moved the JND studio, located in a building next to the architecture studio in Paris’ 11th arrondissement, from the third floor to the ground floor – a simple but effective change. ‘Jean used to drop in to our offices maybe three times a month. Now, when he’s in France, he stops by four times a week.’

Closer collaboration means that JND can piggyback more easily on Nouvel’s architectural commissions. For each new building project, Argentin meets the project leader, to explore how JND can contribute to the interiors and furnishings. ‘That in turn seduces furniture manufacturers,’ he explains. ‘If we know we can already sell 2,000 chairs, it’s more appealing than saying, “We’d like you to produce this, but we don’t know if it will sell.”’

For example, JND suggested designing the kitchen, bathroom and closets for the sales centre of Monad Terrace, a luxury condominium complex that Nouvel is working on in Key Biscayne, Florida. ‘The client is extremely flattered,’ says Argentin, ‘because he has a kitchen designed by Jean expressly for his project, not necessarily more expensive than the one he planned to buy, and afterwards it will be produced around the world.’ The studio completed the designs in time for Nouvel and Argentin to present them at the Salone del Mobile last April, including cabinet panels made of a patented aluminium honeycomb under glass. Nouvel was particularly enthusiastic about his first bathtub. ‘I designed it in marble and wood to be luxurious and rare, but not flashy,’ he says. 

Describing himself as an architect who does design, rather than a designer, Nouvel approaches both fields the same way, using context and function as the starting point and avoiding any recognisable style. His designs are clean and precise – they canlook deceptively simple. He strives for what he calls ‘elementarity’, or a solution that seems obvious once it has been found.

‘When I talk about elementarity – or the essence of a table, a storage system, an office – it’s about how furniture can transform the way we work,’ he says. ‘My “Cases” system is a game of construction that defines the geometry of an office, whether you work facing someone, or with separations between people, or at big common tables. Furniture can provoke evolutions in our attitudes about life.’

Working at common tables in an office furnished with ‘Cases’, the JND team tackles everything from furniture to industrial design to interiors. It has designed braided vinyl flooring for the Swedish company Bolon, as well as a rug made of a single, exceptional sheet of marble for the Italian producer Citco. Its interior design work ranges from a private house in the vineyards of Bordeaux to a chain of new Cacharel clothing boutiques throughout France. And it does scenography, too, such as 62 black shipping containers of different heights for exhibiting replicas of the Lascaux cave drawings in Gwangmyeong, South Korea.

Often, Nouvel will revisit a piece of furniture and improve it over the years – his team refers to these as his ‘obsessions’. It is currently reworking his perforated leather ‘Skin’ sofa from 2008, as well as his 1991 cube-shaped ‘Elémentaires’ armchair, both for Molteni & C. If you visit the JND agency, you’ll come upon more of these obsessions, such as the ‘Oxymore’ chair that he has been tinkering with for more than a decade (now produced by Figueras), with rigid lines but a soft back that reclines. A sleek, cherry-red ‘LessLess’ table is a descendant of one that he designed in 1994 for the Fondation Cartier in Paris. 

Against a back wall sits a striking 5m-long wooden ‘Table au Km’, which Nouvel designed as part of a series of limited-edition pieces for the  gallery and Galerie Patrick Seguin in 2011. ‘I’m a specialist in tables,’ the architect says. ‘I find them inspiring. I don’t know if there’s a psychological reason – maybe because of their stability. And there’s an idea of mass and transformability. I like tables you can unfold, extend, stack on top of each other. I see geometric games and combinations.’

Geometric combinations are also the basis for a brand new prefabricated house Nouvel designed for Revolution Precrafted, a venture by the Filipino developer Robbie Antonio. In a nod to Jean Prouvé’s demountable houses, Nouvel designed 6m x 6m modules, each divided by sliding doors into quadrants, so the space can be structured in different ways. The units can exist on their own or linked together, and small blocks containing a kitchen, a bathroom or a closet can be attached to the exterior. The walls are insulated sandwich panels, aluminium outside and wood on the interior. Each house is transportable and easy to install in a matter of days. 

The prefab house is being displayed in the Jardin des Tuileries in October, as part of the FIAC contemporary art fair outdoor exhibitions programme in collaboration with the Louvre. Just steps away, the first museum exhibition dedicated to Nouvel’s design will take place at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, from 27 October to 12 February. Titled ‘Jean Nouvel, mes meubles d’architecte’, the show is an overview of Nouvel’s most important pieces going back 30 years, including those original objects for VIA. Certain items will be shown to the public for the very first time, such as seating for the public areas in the soon-to-open Louvre Abu Dhabi.

‘It was high time’ for such an exhibition, says the museum’s director, Olivier Gabet, who got to know Nouvel while overseeing the Louvre Abu Dhabi project. ‘He’s one of the great architects of our time.’ Gabet recalls walking through the Musée des Arts Décoratifs with Nouvel and being struck by the architect’s passion for the Middle Ages and Renaissance collections. They decided to go beyond the temporary spaces and install the Nouvel exhibition throughout the entire museum, all 2,000 sq m, including the permanent collections and the Advertising and Graphic Design museum that Nouvel himself designed in 1998. 

The show is divided into two general themes. An overview of Nouvel’s various design philosophies, from elementarity to transformable furniture, occupies the temporary spaces. The second part, in the permanent galleries, is a dialogue between the museum’s historic collection and Nouvel’s work, such as the limited-edition ‘Triptyques’ mirrors he created for the Gagosian gallery and Galerie Patrick Seguin.

The mirrors, of various sizes, measure up to 2.3m in height and extend as wide as 3.7m when unfolded. Their glass is slightly blurry and softly coloured, giving a new perspective to age-old sculptures and furniture from the collection. ‘They exist to reveal the space around them, reflecting objects in another geometry, another light,’ the architect says.

Hearing him talk, it’s clear that Nouvel is eager to finally put his body of design on public display, and in such a prestigious setting. ‘To show one’s own objects alongside masterpieces from earlier centuries, you need courage, some pretentiousness,’ – he pauses for a moment – ‘and a bit of humility, too.’

As originally featured in the November 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*212)

INFORMATION

‘Jean Nouvel, mes meubles d’architecte. Sens et essence’ is on view until 12 February 2017. For more information, visit Jean Nouvel’s website and Les Arts Décoratifs website

ADDRESS

Musée des Arts décoratifs
107, rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris

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BY ROOKSANA HOSSENALLY, Wallpaper*

Paris’ International Contemporary Art Fair (FIAC) usually revolves around the gigantic Grand Palais museum with satellite events across the city. This year, however, things are a little different. FIAC’s 43rd edition (running until 23 October) is the largest to date, with a line-up of 186 galleries from 27 countries, as well as an ever-diverse offering including a contemporary dance section and new On Site venues like the Petit Palais and Palais de la Découverte museums. 

‘Offering the Petit Palais, such a prestigious venue, built at the same time as the Grand Palais for the 1900 World Expo, was a desire many exhibitors expressed,’ explains fair director Jennifer Flay. ‘And to see contemporary sculptures like Damien Hirst’s white marble Anatomy of an Angel exhibited among the paintings of Gustave Courbet for instance, helps to see things in a new and different way.’

Flay is also eager to see the Avenue Winston Churchill that runs between the two museums – where several artworks will be shown – restored to a pedestrian esplanade as it was in the 1900s. In addition, the event will also see the reopening (after a decade) of the forgotten corridor between the Grand Palais and the Palais de la Découverte science museum, emphasising the building of links between space and time, as opposed to putting up walls. 

In fact, many of the installations outside the Grand Palais will explore the unofficial theme of utopia. ‘Although it’s not a deliberate response to what’s going on at the moment, there is a link,’ says Flay. 

Another must-see on Flay’s list is Ugo Rondinone’s installation of ten 5m-high sculptures of gnarly olive trees and anthropomorphic stone figures on Place Vendôme. ‘It’s not an easy space to occupy, and this is by far the largest footprint we’ve had on the square,’ says Flay.

In the Tuileries Gardens, Pezo Von Ellrichshausen further explores the unofficial theme with a mock-up of the lighthouse he plans on building in Lampedusa to help guide immigrant boats, built from bits of washed up wood from shipwrecks. Nearby, architects Jean Prouvé and Jean Nouvel contribute with their all-terrain emergency housing, a response to homelessness caused by natural and political disasters. For Flay, this FIAC is more meaningful than ever. ‘We are so thrilled to present these pieces in this context because it makes us think about the terrible situation immigrants are in. But also about possible solutions.’

INFORMATION

The 43rd edition of FIAC is on view until 23 October. For more information, visit the FIAC website

by Rosa Bertoli, Wallpaper*

For the third year, Design Miami/ Basel presented the large-scale projects of Design at Large, welcoming visitors to the South Hall of Messe Basel. 

Eschewing a traditional booth, the Design at Large initiative invites gallerists to take part in a curated project that explores different points of view on design. This year, publishing heiress Martina Mondadori(opens in new tab) took the helm of the project, focusing on the theme of nature and outdoor living, explored via an eclectic mix of structures and installations. 

Mondadori chose the theme of ‘Landscape’, she says, to ‘invite designers and galleries to confront themselves with the outdoors and re-imagine the space within gardens’. Mondadori cites inspirations such as 19th century British follies and Italian garden labyrinths as the starting points for her theme. The reactions from the nine participants were eclectic and diverse, proving that such a remit can excite and inspire creative ideas. 

Installed like a canopy at the very entrance to the fair were Tom Price’s ‘PP Trees’ (created in collaboration with Victor Hunt gallery), an eerie forest made of polypropylene pile that invites visitors to question attitudes towards plastic and nature. 

Inside the space, Galerie Patrick Seguin participated with the 1956 ‘School of Villejuif’ by Jean Prouvé, a temporary emergency structure for the Parisian suburb which in true Prouvé fashion could be installed and dismantled in a short time. The prefab acted as an anchor in the large venue, with further installations dotted around it in the cavernous hall. These included Kengo Kuma’s ‘Owan’ pavilion, part of Galerie Philippe Gravier’s ‘Small Nomad House Project’, an initiative dedicated to the marriage of art and architecture. Nearby, Dimore Studio’s ‘Verande’ took a completely different approach; presented like an outdoors and indoors space at once, the tent was furnished with Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci’s outdoors collection hidden in a deep forest of palm trees and enlivened by blue curtains and a soft breeze produced by the ceiling fans. 

Nearby, two installations were presented in close conversation with each other: Masatoshi Izumi and Koichi Hara’s ‘Stone Tea House Meditative Alcove’ and Enea Landscape Architecture’s bamboo composition offered a corner of tranquil serenity. 

On the other side of the show, Dutch designer Kiki van Eijk’s ‘Civilised Primitives’, developed with Nilufar, was a collection of handcrafted objects in bronze that invited viewers to ponder about survival in the present world. The collection was displayed under a large Bedouin-style tent featuring an abstract watercolor motif by the designer, in collaboration with print specialist Exposize. 

Ron Arad’s ‘Armadillo Tea Canopy’, presented by Robbie Antonio’s Revolution Pre-Crafted Properties, is an independent shell structure for indoor or outdoor use, a multifunctional piece which can offer shelter as well as serve as a meditation space. The modular canopy is composed of five individual shells fixed together with exposed brackets and fixings, with the possibility of extending it by adding further elements. 

Visitors to the fair took full advantage of Alexandra Kehayoglou’s ‘No Longer Creek’ installation, created in collaboration with Artsy. The Argentine rug maker reimagined the now transfigured Raggio creek, north of Buenos Aires, and through her work brought back to life its vegetation. People could walk and rest on the large tapestry, immerse themselves in its landscape and interact with the piece – it is in fact a Design at Large tradition that visitors often have the chance to get up close and personal with the structures and installations on show, offering a more intimate experience with design and expanding its boundaries beyond the gallery walls. 

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Design Miami/Basel website

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Related Links: About Robbie Antonio , Contact

by Rosa Bertoli, Wallpaper*

Until two years ago, Martina Mondadori was mainly known as the heiress of her family’s editorial empire. Born and bred in Italy, Mondadori comes from the illustrious family owning the eponymous publishing house, of which she now sits on the board.

Publishing, it seems, is second nature for Mondadori: following a degree in philosophy from Milan’s state university, since 2006 she has been involved in various editorial projects, such as the Cultural Content Factory, which she founded ten years ago, specialised in the creative and editorial direction of projects related to art, book publishing and design, subsequently working for Italian magazine Tar before founding Anew, an editorial platform mixing contemporary art and fashion.

But it is in 2014 that her name became more clearly associated with art and design publishing, when she founded Cabana, a visual periodical she launched in collaboration with German creative director Christoph Radl. Structured like a chunky visual journal, the quarterly publication gathered Mondadori’s visual world and presented it through a collection of tableaux, illustrations and essays on art and design. This move was inspired by her own love of collecting, and observation of contemporary craftsmanship which she distilled into what she describes as a very specific visual universe.

This year, the Cabana universe collides with Design Miami/ Basel, as Mondadori was invited to curate the latest instalment of the annual Design at Large programme as well as contribute a graphic makeover to the fair’s identity. ‘Rodman [Primack] was one of the first supporters of Cabana,’ says Mondadori. ‘He admired its diversity and how it offered a nostalgic aesthetic element in a world where conceptualism seems to be the rule.’

The eclecticism behind Cabana is very telling of Mondadori’s own collecting attitude: ‘I have always been interested in different arts and crafts, and mixing important pieces with flea market finds.’ Mondadori collects painted ceramics from Central America and Eastern Europe, and Italian design from the 40s and 50s, Giò Ponti and stil novo. From her contemporaries, she admires the works of similarly eclectic souls: Martino Gamper, Dimore Studio and Bethan Laura Wood, designers that are very representative of what she calls the ‘Cabana mood.’

A Design Miami/ Basel initiative now in its third year, Design at Large offers an oversized point of view on design. Previous curators focused on temporary structures and what goes on inside of them, and for this third edition, Mondadori decided to give the show a change of scenery. Her selection focuses on the outdoors; she developed the theme of Landscape in collaboration with Primack and invited galleries and designers to explore this theme.

‘Historically, architects have always been attracted to gardens and parks,’ she explains, citing ancient Greek gardens and 19th-century English follies. ‘I loved to see the diversity of the projects we commissioned, rich of formal and creative ideas.’ The selection ranges from ’s Armadillo Tea Pavilion to Dimore Studio’s leafy veranda, presenting the duo’s debut outdoors collection. There is ’s abstract Owan structure, merging abstract forms with architectural thinking, and Kiki van Eijk’s ‘Civilised Primitives’, a collection of bronze objects that explore primitive survival in a modern world.

‘Both Cabana and Design Miami/Basel are concerned with environments and living spaces,’ says Mondadori. For her, she explains, what is most interesting about merging these two aesthetics is to create a break and a strong contrast. ‘In a way, Cabana represents the exact opposite of Design Miami/ Basel: aesthetic vs form, decoration vs concept. Combining them is the most interesting challenge!’

INFORMATION

Design Miami/Basel runs from 14–19 June 2016. For more information, visit the website

by Ann Binlot, Wallpaper*

For the occasion of Art Basel, British architect Hugh Dutton created a rare oasis of calm in the middle of Hong Kong. The Swire Properties Lounge – located on the Level 1 Concourse opposite the Hall 1C entrance of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre – provided select visitors with a place to relax and have a drink or snack while perusing the seemingly endless aisles of galleries at Asia’s biggest art fair, which ended its five-day run on 26 March.

For the lounge, Dutton referenced the Climate Ribbon he designed for the almost-finished Brickell City Centre by Swire Properties in Miami, a city that has a very close connection to both Art Basel and the Hong Kong-based real estate developer. The floating ribbon took the shape of a figure eight, a symbol of infinity and continuity, winding around the front column where the circular bar area was situated, before completing the figure eight around the opposite column. In front of the bar was an area for visitors to take a break from the crowds and discuss the myriad works of art they had just viewed while enjoying the view of the harbour. The figure eight echoes, according to the press release, ‘Swire Properties’ commitment to environmental sustainability’.

‘The essence of this lounge design is about creating a canopy — a shelter over people to come and celebrate and enjoy Art Basel,’ explained Dutton in a short film on the project. ‘And to do that, we have this idea of creating a fluid ribbon that begins at one end, and then just wraps around a column and then engages with the people and the shelter and then comes back down again. So it’s a simple movement in light, picking up the light we have from the harbour, and celebrating architecture and design, science and art, here at Art Basel in Hong Kong.’

In partnership with UTA Fine Arts, the Swire Properties Lounge also hosted a number of talks during Art Basel touching upon topics like temporary architecture, art disruption in fashion and art in malls. Invited to participate as a panelist, Dutton engaged in conversation with artist Larry Bell, UTA Fine Arts head Josh Roth, Serpentine Gallery director Hans Ulrich Obrist, curator and art dealer Jeffrey Deitch, Paddle8 co-founder Alexander Gilkes, M+ curator Aric Chen and collector Robbie Antonio.

INFORMATION 

For more information, visit Swire Properties’ website

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Related Links: About Robbie Antonio , Contact

by Pei-Ru Keh, Wallpaper

Next week, the world’s design and art communities will embark upon their annual five-day sojourn to Florida’s balmy climes to attend Design Miami (2 – 6 December). Now in its 11th year and bolstered by the city’s rapidly developing Design District, this year’s edition promises to be the most diverse to date. Among the week’s obligatory poolside parties and soirées, works by established and emerging designers from galleries across five continents will tempt buyers while a packed programme of installations, retail-driven projects, happenings and talks looks set to delight. We put this year’s must-see events on the map…

‘Terra Continens’ table by Karen Chekerdjian

Carwan Gallery
Dedicated to internationalising Middle Eastern contemporary design since opening in 2010, the Beirut-based Carwan Gallery has been a key figure in promoting cross-cultural collaborations. Its Miami efforts focuses on one designer, Karen Chekerdjian, a pioneering design force who founded her design studio in Beirut more than 12 years ago. Presented for the first time on this side of the Atlantic, the works on view represent the best of Chekerdjian’s career and highlights her ability to experiment with unexpected materials.

Design Miami, Meridian Avenue and 19th Street, adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach
2 – 6 December, www.designmiami.com(opens in new tab), www.carwangallery.com(opens in new tab)

‘Unbuilt’ models in Harvard GSD’s central studio space, Gund Hall, designed in 1972 by Harvard GSD alumnus John Andrews. Photography: Steven Brahams

Harvard Graduate School of Design
As we first reported in our December issue (W*201), Design Miami tasked a student team from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD) to devise its entry pavilion, marking the first time the fair has collaborated with an educational institution in such a significant way. The students, who are currently in their second year at GSD, tapped into the collective catalogue of unrealised projects from their peers to create Unbuilt, a canopy of hand-milled, pink foam models, which will be accompanied by an app for easy identification so as to ensure that each project and designer has its day.

Design Miami, Meridian Avenue and 19th Street, adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach
2 – 6 December, www.designmiami.com(opens in new tab), www.gsd.harvard.edu(opens in new tab)

‘Anil’ chair by Zanini de Zanine, 2012

Espasso and Arte Club Jacarandá
Flying the flag for Brazil’s plentiful creative contributions is a special exhibition of the country’s art and design offerings curated by Espasso and the Rio de Janiero-based collective Arte Club Jacarandá. With highlights including paintings by the iconic artist Carlos Vergara and the equally celebrated Carlito Carvalhosa, and furniture by Zanini de Zanine, Sergio Rodrigues and Claudia Moreira Salles, the exhibition paints a holistic portrait of Brazil’s collectible art and design scene. To top it off, the exhibition will be staged in the penthouse of the Shore Club hotel, which will officially be part of the Fasano family when it reopens in 2017.

Fasano Hotel and Residences at Shore Club, 1901 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach
Open to the public 3 – 6 December and by appointment 7 – 31 December, www.espasso.com(opens in new tab), www.fasanoshoreclub.com(opens in new tab)

‘Model Art Pavilion’ by Gluckman Tang

Revolution Pre-Crafted Properties
Taking collectible design to the next level is Revolution Pre-Crafted Properties, a limited edition collection of prefabricated living spaces (pavilions and homes included), brought to you by gallerist/collector Edward Tyler Nahem and real estate developer/collector Robbie Antonio. Conceived by Antonio, the project will feature contributions by more than 30 leading architects, designers and artists. The series launches in Miami with fully realised constructions of Zaha Hadid’s VOLU Pavilion and Gluckman Tang’s Model Art Pavilion. 

Design Miami, Meridian Avenue and 19th Street, adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach
2 – 6 December, www.designmiami.com(opens in new tab), www.revolutionprecrafted.com(opens in new tab)

‘Untitled’, by Laddie John Dill, 1971. Courtesy of the artist and Ace Gallery Los Angeles

LAX – MIA: Light + Space
Amongst the numerous Art Deco hotels currently being rejuvenated in Miami is The Surf Club, located in Miami Beach. Soon to be reopened with a new Richard Meier design and operated by The Four Seasons, the property in collaboration with Fort Partners will host ‘LAX – MIA: Light + Space’, an art exhibition curated by Parallel, comprising architecture curator Terence Riley, architect John Keenen and art historian Joachim Pissarro. Focusing on Los Angeles’ Light and Space art movement of the 1970s and featuring works by DeWain Valentine, Larry Bell and Helen Pashgian, the exhibition will show how the movement’s ethos and aesthetics reflect the ideology behind Meier’s concept for the redesigned hotel.

The Surf Club, 9011 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach
1 – 12 December, www.thesurfclub.com(opens in new tab)

‘BMW’ rug by Seletti Wears Toiletpaper.

Toiletpaper, Gufram and Seletti
We’d jump at any chance to step into the colourful, irony-soaked world of Toiletpaper, the provocative art publication from Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari. The visual maestros will takeover the lounge at the Untitled art fair with new carpets from the Seletti Wears Toiletpaper collection, which makes its debut in Miami. The space will also be dressed with the brand’s iconic furniture produced by Gufram.

Untitled, Ocean Drive and 12th St, Miami Beach
2 – 6 December, www.art-untitled.com(opens in new tab), www.toiletpapermagazine.org(opens in new tab), www.seletti.it(opens in new tab), www.gufram.it(opens in new tab)

‘Self Portrait’ by Andy Warhol

MoMA Design Store
Granted that most of the art collecting does take place at the numerous fairs that sprout up in South Beach, a visit to the Delano Hotel is definitely in order, especially if you are an Andy Warhol fan. Thanks to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Design Store, the Andy Warhol Foundation has teamed up with The Skateroom – a collective that invites contemporary artists to create art on skateboards – on a limited edition collection of skate decks. Installed throughout the legendary hotel, there will be boards featuring 32 varieties of Campell’s soup cans, as well as triptychs with Gold Marilyn Monroe, Guns, Car Crash, Self Portrait and Detail of the Last Supper. Each will be available for purchase in limited quantities.

Delano South Beach, 1685 Collins Avenue, South Beach
30 November – 6 December, www.momastore.org(opens in new tab), www.delano-hotel.com(opens in new tab)

Design Miami’s identity has been conceived by illustrator Pierre Le-Tan this year

Design Miami capsule collection by Pierre Le-Tan
While we’d all like to leave Miami with a work of art or a piece of collectible design, sometimes it’s just not the case. This year, however, worthy souvenirs come in the form of a collection of Design Miami merchandise featuring illustrations by Pierre Le-Tan. Depicting a range of Miami-related motifs, such as palm tress, Art Deco architecture and key lime pies in Le-Tan’s playful style, the offbeat range includes socks, umbrellas, scarves and bow ties. With offerings for both men and women, the 11-piece limited edition collection will be available at the fair’s new Market.

Design Miami, Meridian Avenue and 19th Street, adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach
2 – 6 December, www.designmiami.com(opens in new tab)

Inspired by the sky’s degradé hues, New York design studio Snarkitecture will transform the exterior of one of Netjets’ signature private planes

Netjets and Snarkitecture
The official partner of Art Basel for the last 14 years, Netjets is the only way we would fly to Miami if the choice were up to us. This year, the private jet company has recruited Snarkitecture to create an installation that will put its Signature Series Global 5000 aircraft in the spotlight. Staged at the Landmark Aviation private jet terminal in Miami International Airport, Snarkitecture will reimagine the jet’s exterior as a sight pilots flying at dawn or dusk usually experience: an ombré-tinted sky. 

Landmark Aviation, Miami International Airport, 5700 NW 36th St, Miami
1 – 6 December, www.netjets.com(opens in new tab), www.snarkitecture.com(opens in new tab)

Site-specific poolside painting by Katherine Bernhardt at Nautilus hotel

Artsy and Sixty Hotels
We first waxed lyrical about Sixty Hotels’ newest addition, Nautilus, fresh after it was given the Jason Pomeranc treatment. Now, the hotel group has teamed up with Artsy for a week’s worth of programming, ranging from performances and installations to a designer popsicle truck, naturally. Food aside, Artsy has commissioned the artist Katherine Bernhardt to create an original pool painting for the hotel, thus continuing a tradition of which David Hockney, Keith Haring and Pablo Picasso have all contributed to.

Nautilus, 1825 Collins Ave, Miami Beach
30 November – 6 December, www.artsy.net(opens in new tab), www.sixtyhotels.com(opens in new tab)

Render of ‘El Sol’ by Fernando Romero

Swarovski
The Mexican architect Fernando Romero is the driving force behind El Sol, a statuesque geodesic structure composed of 2,880 custom-made Swarovksi crystals that will take over the company’s booth at Design Miami. Designed at a scale of one billion times smaller than the sun, the sculpture mimics the sacred geometry that the ancient Aztec and Mayan civilisations used to construct their pyramids, which were conceived to observe the skies – with the added benefit of modern technology, of course. The installation is made up of an intricate puzzle of precision-cut crystals, each individually coated in Swarovski’s Aurora Borealis coating. Lit from within, it will evoke the sun’s pulsating force to an inspiring degree.

Design Miami, Meridian Avenue and 19th Street, adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach
2 – 6 December, www.designmiami.com(opens in new tab), www.swarovski.com(opens in new tab)

‘Fragments’ dining table by Lex Pott for The Future Perfect

The Future Perfect, Lex Pott and Calico Wallpaper
A longtime stalwart of the New York design scene, retail platform The Future Perfect makes its debut at Design Miami this year with an immersive installation that showcases the work of the Dutch designer Lex Pott and Brooklyn-based Calico Wallpaper. The environment will present newly commissioned stone furniture by Pott against handpainted gradient wall coverings from Calico made using pulverised minerals and stones. The backdrops will also be painted live onsite, bringing a performance aspect to the exhibition.

Design Miami, Meridian Avenue and 19th Street, adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach
2 – 6 December, www.designmiami.com(opens in new tab), www.thefutureperfect.com(opens in new tab), www.lexpott.nl(opens in new tab), www.calicowallpaper.com(opens in new tab)

‘6 x 6 An Improvisation’, by Larry Bell, 2014-2015. © The artist. Courtesy of Chinati Foundation.

White Cube
Leave it to White Cube to veer off-piste, taking its Miami presence to a satellite venue for the first time. In addition to its booth at Art Basel Miami Beach, the international gallery pitches up in the Melin Building with a bewitching installation by the artist Larry Bell, a leading exponent of California’s Light and Space movement. 6×6 An Improvisation was first exhibited at The Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas from 2014-2015 and is made up of 30 glass panels that respond to changing light conditions at different times of day. The glass, which has been treated with a nickel-chrome finish, produces an effect that’s both dramatic and visually complex.

Suite #200, Melin Building, 3930 NE 2nd Ave, Miami
2 December – 9 January 2016, www.whitecube.com(opens in new tab)

Render of Fendi’s pavilion at Design Miami

Fendi
Moving house is always a good opportunity to clear out the rafters. In Fendi’s case, its recent relocation to new headquarters in Rome’s historic business district at the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana – otherwise known as Square Colosseum – revealed a series of unrealised furniture designs envisioned by architect Guglielmo Ulrich for the district. Under Fendi’s watch, Ulrich’s designs for an S-shaped sofa, gold-capped lampshades and a rosewood table among others, have been beautifully brought back to life – almost 70 years after they were first conceived.

Design Miami, Meridian Avenue and 19th Street, adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach
2 – 6 December, www.designmiami.com(opens in new tab), www.fendi.com(opens in new tab)

Lambs wool blanket by Ella Kruglyanskaya (left) and tea towels by Peter Saville

House of Voltaire
The London-based art charity Studio Voltaire brings its beloved pop-up retail concept House of Voltaire to the beaches of Miami this year. Armed with a new collection of specially commissioned homeware, accessories and clothing, House of Voltaire will move into a temporary home at New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Miami Beach. Visitors can procure tea towels by Peter Saville; lambs wool blankets by the artists Marc Camille Chaimowicz and Ella Kruglyanskaya; and ceramics by the fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic. They will also be able to peruse other sought after projects, such as a limited edition silk top by Ilincic and Eva Rothschild and a photographic collaboration between Simone Rocha and Kim Gordon.

NADA, 4441 Collins Ave, Miami Beach
3 – 5 December, www.studiovoltaire.org(opens in new tab), www.newartdealers.org