The seventh edition of Design Miami/ Basel took place in Basel, Switzerland June 11-17, and presented 40 of the world's leading design galleries to 22,000 collectors and enthusiasts.
Attendees included a cross section of notable collectors and design personalities including Miuccia Prada, David Chipperfield, Maja Hoffman, Don and Mera Rubell, Beth Rudin deWoody, Peter Brant, Reed Krakoff, Dasha Zukhova, Friedrich Christian Flick, Fernando Romero and Soumaya Slim de Romero, Michael Burke, Helen Schwab, Ronald Dennis, Benedikt Taschen, Ron Arad and Zaha Hadid, as well as museum representatives from the Denver Art Museum, Guggenheim NY, Victoria & Albert Museum, Noguchi Museum, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, The Cooper Hewitt, Cincinatti Art Museum, Musée des Arts Décoratifs Paris, Dallas Art Museum, London Design Museum among others.
"Design Miami/ Basel 2012 was the most important show we have ever held in terms of quality of content and maturity," says Marianne Goebl, director of Design Miami/. "The gallery presentations conveyed outstanding material in carefully curated installations, thus creating a true design experience."
Several galleries presented important historic work within the context of reconstructed interiors. Galerie Patrick Seguin from Paris returned to Basel with a complete 8x12m Metropole Aluminum House by Jean Prouvé from 1949. It was sold to a Swiss collector for an undisclosed sum. Galerie Jacques Lacoste recreated a private cinema room by Jean Royère, originally commissioned for the Shah of Iran's palace.
Galerie Jacques Lacoste
Jousse Entreprise presented a retrospective by Roger Tallon in a grid-like space, inspired by the seminal French designer's 1970s Module 400 furniture system. And New York-based gallery Demisch Danant devoted its booth to the French designer Maria Pergay, featuring work from the 1960s to today in a stunning interior conceived by the designer herself.
Demisch Danant
Design Miami/ Basel welcomed first time participants Gallery Libby Sellers, Salon 94, Galerie BSL, Caroline Van Hoek and Galerie Maria Wettergren with newly commissioned work. Lighting featured heavily in this year's fair. Galerie kreo dedicated its entire booth to a collection of over 100 masterpieces of the history of lighting, of which more than 75% sold on the opening day.
Galerie BSL
A regular highlight for Design Miami/Basel attendees is the fair's Design Talks. The 2012 talks focused on "Design Legacies," exploring family dynasties that have significantly influenced design, art, architecture and engineering over several generations. The Legacies series featured Beth Rudin DeWoody, Kyle Dewoody, Alex Mustonen/Snarkitecture, Nadja Swarovski, Helmut Swarovski, and Eyal Burstein.
Design Miami/ Basel 2012 also saw the introduction of the Master Class Talks in partnership with AD France, aimed at highlighting important movements in design history.
The 2012 'W Hotels Designers of the Future Award' winners, Tom Foulsham, Markus Kayser and Philippe Malouin each presented newly commissioned works based on a brief 'From Spark to Finish', encouraging them to shine light on the create process itself.
Philippe Malouin, W Hotels Designer of the Future Winner
Design Miami/ Basel's partners again actively contributed to the fair's cultural programming, with the Design Perfomance Craftica by Formafantasma for FENDI and Beta by Eyal Burstein for Swarovski Crystal Palace.
