Gaetano Pesce, Pratt Chair, 2020. Resin, 94 x 48.3 x 50.8 cm.
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DESIGN MIAMI | Top 10 Contemporary Designs
In 1984, having recently moved to New York, the Italian-born designer Gaetano Pesce began a series of chair experiments at The Pratt Institute by hand-injecting resin of different densities into molds, thus testing both the material's structural properties and the distinction between design and art. The chairs here are a recent continuation of that series.
Gaetano Pesce, Pratt Chair, 2020. Resin, 94 x 48.3 x 50.8 cm.
Nacho Carbonell is known for his tactile approach to sculpture, which plays with textures, experimental techniques, and natural materials. Skillfully handcrafted, the Cocoon lamp series is organic in form, yet created from industrial materials, including metal mesh,, broken glass, sand, smashed concrete and steel. Using a unique form of plaster invented by the designer himself, Carbonell transforms the hard, seemingly masculine materials into poetic, growing, feminine shapes. Key highlights include exhibitions at the Museum of Applied Arts (Vienna) and Groninger Museum (the Netherlands), as well as being named Designer of the Future at Design Miami/Basel. “I like to see objects as living organisms, imagine them coming alive and being able to surprise you with their behavior. I want to create objects with my hands; then I can give them my personality. I turn them into communicative objects that can arouse one’s feelings and imagination. In short, what I want to create are objects with a fictional or fantasy element that allow you to escape everyday life,” - Nacho Carbonell.
Nacho Carbonell, Tin Laying Bubble Table Lamp, 2020. Recycled beer bottle glass, tin, metal wire, metal welded branch, concrete base, silicon cable, light fittings, 41 x 64 x 80 cm.
Contemporary Lebanese designer Khaled El Mays designed this "Palmea" wall unit in wicker, wood, leather, and brass, with fur seat in Lebanon this year.
Khaled El Mays, Palmea Wall Unit, 2020. Wicker, wood, leather, brass with fur seat, 80 x 60 x 230 cm.
Jaydan Moore's quickly growing following finds him in such distinguished collections as the Carnegie, the MFA Houston and the Honolulu Museum of Art. His newest piece titled ""Platter Shatter"", is particularly beautiful. Using only the flat elements of found trays, it undulates in a tapestry-like manner. From Curator Glenn Adamson: “There is nothing like seeing the work in person- particularly this work, with its impressive scale achieved through repeated but continuously inventive accumulation"
Jaydan Moore, Wall Platter, 2020. Found silver-plated platters, 182.9 x 182.9 x 5.1 cm.
Nigerian-American designer Ini Archibong explores the power of ritual in this work, which aims to encourage mindfulness. Inspired by tribal artifacts, the cryptic granite statue holds small “totems” for each day of the month, to be carried around as a way of imbuing daily life with ceremony.
Ini Archibong, Ritual Calendar, 2017. Creole beige marble, 36 x 36 x 124 cm.
hettler.tüllmann is the collaboration between designer Katja Hettler and architect Jula Tüllmann. After many years working abroad in Paris and New York they returned to Berlin and founded hettler.tüllmann in 2005 and the label redmaloo – accessories for electronic devices in 2006. Their work focuses on furniture, accessory and interior design, always integrating sustainable material and traditional craftsmanship. hettler.tüllmann looks for an idea behind each product, be it functional or emotional. hettler.tüllmann’s concept is to be minimal, traditional and modern all at the same time, taking natural materials and re-introducing them into modern life.
hettler.tüllmann, Nest #1, 2015. Wood and natural fiber, 78 x 50 x 54 cm.
Continuing with Haygarths interest in ceramic animal figurines which embellish many shelves and mantlepieces in residential homes throughout the world, Island is the confined home of a menagerie of exotic and native birds. Their habitat is restricted, but they live side by side and in harmony, illuminated by a soft warm light. Although they can fly away they choose to stay and live together on their private idyllic island. Haygarth's work is an anthropoligical exploration of the human condition of collecting. Through approporation of perceived mundane objects and discarded materials, organised in critical mass, there is a vision of something new, with newconnotation and narrative. Haygarth’s process follows a precise methodology: He collects and then classifies the pieces of a huge 3D puzzle based on choice and assembly. The material is then organised by colour and function.
Stuart Haygarth, Island, 2016. Corian, Spun Metal Shade and Ceramic Birds Figurines, 40 x 40 x 55 cm.
German born Iris Eichenberg, heads the metals department at Cranbrook Academy of Art since 2006. As the name implies, The Centerpiece takes on a strong presence on a table or any surface. Flowerless stems that allow (re)arrangement, fitting into the base in a pegboard manner. The angles and spaces between the stems create a striking composition.
Iris Eichenberg, Centerpiece, 2020. Wood, brass, leather, 53.3 x 73.7 x 91.4 cm.
This one-off piece represents OrtaMiklos’s interpretation of California’s freewheeling surf culture nearly 60 years after its heyday. Through the Surfing USA chair, the European designers ask where this mythologised America, and the idealism of its Baby Boomer generation, stand today.
OrtaMiklos, Surfing USA Chair,2020. Styrofoam, steel, fiberglass, polyester resin, paint, lacquer, 115.6 x 82.6 x 123.2cm.
"Through the influence of hip-hop, history, and science fiction, my artwork explores Afro-futurism, a projected vision of an imagined future which critiques the historical and cultural events of the African Diaspora and the distinct black experience of the Middle Passage. While also exploring deeper social issues which broaden the conversation between all of humanity. From these themes my art practice is based on research, and references the visual traditions from the Caribbean, the American South, and the African continent. I work in clay as a historical and creative base material to inform memories of the past. The handling of clay reveals the process and shares the markings of its maker. Ceramics becomes a bridge to conceptually integrate disparate objects and or images for the purpose of creating new understandings and connections with the material, history, and social-political issues. I compare the construction and deconstruction of materials to the remix in rap music and how human beings adapt to different environments and reinvent new identities. These ceramic objects are vessels, each making symbolic allusions to the black body. My current work also utilises printmaking. This medium allows my artwork to be an activist voice for the treatment of marginalised people in society. Aesthetically the artwork combines bold colours, geometric shapes, strong graphic imagery, pattern, and repetition to communicate the rhythmic motion in music. Although discussing provocative and heavy subjects the use of humor with bright and bold colour schemes initiates an atmosphere of personal interpretation and reflection to the work of art."
Donté Hayes, Basin, 2020. Stoneware (black clay body), 46 x 43 x 10 cm.
In Remember 2020, Michelle Erickson reclaims the Revolutionary War slogan “Don’t Tread On Me” while connecting former NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s silent pose of protest against racial injustice with the image of a kneeling slave made famous by Josiah Wedgwood’s 1787 abolitionist medallion “Am I Not A Man and A Brother.” In “The Party’s Over,” Erickson critiques America’s current political landscape by transposing portraits of contemporary political figures onto Paul Revere’s satirical 1774 engraving “The Able Doctor.”
Michelle Erickson, The Party's Over, 2018. Slipcast porcelain, artist’s designed ceramic transfers, overglaze hand painted gold enamel and luster, L 45.72 W 35.56 H 5.08 cm.
The global forum for design is back bringing together the most influential collectors, gallerists, designers, curators and critics from around the world in celebration of design culture and commerce. In its latest, virtual incarnation, Design Miami continues to broaden awareness of modern and contemporary design.
Here are this year’s top 10 contemporary designs selected by a stellar jury that included Miami design collector and connoisseur Al Eiber, Wolfsonian–FIU Chief Curator Silvia Barisione, Design Miami/ Director of Exhibitions Jillian Choi and New York architect and design expert Lee Mindel, who served as Jury Chair.
(more about the works in the gallery above)
#1 Pratt Chairs by Gaetano Pesce (2020), presented by Salon 94
Gaetano Pesce, Pratt Chair, 2020. Resin, 94 x 48.3 x 50.8 cm.
#2 Tin Laying Bubble Table Lamp by Nacho Carbonell (2019), presented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery
Nacho Carbonell, Tin Laying Bubble Table Lamp, 2020. Recycled beer bottle glass, tin, metal wire, metal welded branch, concrete base, silicon cable, light fittings, 41 x 64 x 80 cm.
#3 Palmea Wall Unit by Khaled El Mays (2020), presented by House of Today and R & Company
Khaled El Mays, Palmea Wall Unit, 2020. Wicker, wood, leather, brass with fur seat, 80 x 60 x 230 cm.
#4 Wall Platter by Jaydan Moore (2020), presented by Ornamentum
Jaydan Moore, Wall Platter, 2020. Found silver-plated platters, 182.9 x 182.9 x 5.1 cm.
#5 Ritual Calendar by Ini Archibong (2017), presented by Friedman Benda
Ini Archibong, Ritual Calendar, 2017. Creole beige marble, 36 x 36 x 124 cm.
#6 Nest 1 Chair by hettler.tüllmann (2015), presented by Mindy Solomon Gallery
hettler.tüllmann, Nest #1, 2015. Wood and natural fiber, 78 x 50 x 54 cm.
#7 Island by Stuart Haygarth (2016), presented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery
Stuart Haygarth, Island, 2016. Corian, Spun Metal Shade and Ceramic Birds Figurines, 40 x 40 x 55 cm.
#8 Ethereal Low Table by Marc Fish (2020), presented by Todd Merrill Studio
#9 Centerpiece by Iris Eichenberg (2020), presented by Ornamentum
Iris Eichenberg, Centerpiece, 2020. Wood, brass, leather, 53.3 x 73.7 x 91.4 cm.
#10 Surfing USA Chair by OrtaMiklos (2020), presented by Friedman Benda
OrtaMiklos, Surfing USA Chair,2020. Styrofoam, steel, fiberglass, polyester resin, paint, lacquer, 115.6 x 82.6 x 123.2cm.
The jury also recognised two Honorable Mentions:
Basin by Donté Hayes (2020), presented by Mindy Solomon Gallery
Donté Hayes, Basin, 2020. Stoneware (black clay body), 46 x 43 x 10 cm.
The Party’s Over by Michelle Erickson (2018), presented by the artist
Michelle Erickson, The Party’s Over, 2018. Slipcast porcelain, artist’s designed ceramic transfers, overglaze hand painted gold enamel and luster, L 45.72 W 35.56 H 5.08 cm.
Info is sourced from Design Miami’s website and press release.
