by Caroline Roux
Given the current state of the news cycle, to give Design Miami the over-arching theme of “Blue Sky,” as this year’s newly minted curatorial director Glenn Adamson has done, could either be considered ironic or delusional, or maybe just sweetly optimistic.
Still, the Miami edition of Design Miami (it started in the Floridian city in 2005, hence the name), is known for its more lotus-eating vibes. If the exhibits at the Basel version tend to the historic, and Paris is the ideal spot for elegance and style, then Miami is the place for the experimental and the upbeat.
For Marc Benda, of New York’s Friedman Benda, it is these top collectors who come on day one who tend to make the venture a success. “But southern Florida is a massive market. There are locals who come back several times,” he says. “There is an openness in the Miami mindset, and I’ve often launched designers’ careers here, including [maximalist] Misha Kahn and [gothic crafter] Chris Schanck.” This year, he has a two-part booth. On one side: the first-ever furniture project, clad in multi-colored Mexican tiles, by the exuberant architect Javier Sanosiain; on the other a new lamp—called Robo—by the Italians Formafantasma, that plays into their insistence on rigor and restraint.
Where once contemporary design, and even near-historic work, was measured in quality and significance against 18th century furniture and porcelain, or the now questionable category of tribal art, as Marc Benda points out, “It is now measured against the contemporary art market. But we have a much more limited inventory.” However, Sarah Myserscough believes that “Design feels like it’s on a firmer footing right now than the art market. But then, the price points aren’t as high. And people need to furnish their homes.”
