A Swiss Fair Aims to Put Design Galleries on the Global Map

Design Miami/ is actually nowhere near Miami this month. The fair, which gathers the most notable collectible design from around the world for audiences full of collectors, makes its return to Basel, Switzerland from June 13-18. This year Design Miami/ Basel embraces a new format, intending to bring about a more intimate experience by highlighting the most influential galleries that have established and continue to build the market for collectible design.

“This special edition of Design Miami/ Basel presents an exciting opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future of our flagship Swiss edition,” says Grela Orihuela, senior VP of fairs. “Together with our participating galleries, we look forward to celebrating the fair’s history as a platform that has helped uncover and establish some of the greatest names across both historic and contemporary design, while continuing to spotlight new and emerging talent.”

What to see at the Design Miami/ Basel Galleries

The 26 participating galleries each focus on what makes design lasting, and how iconic designs shape designs of the future.

Historic design is always a focus for the Basel fair. Galerie Patrick Seguin (Paris) has been an industry authority, shaping tastes particularly when it comes to the work of French legends like Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret, and Le Corbusier. In fact, the gallery’s show will include a selection of chairs by Jean Prouvé—Metropole, Cité, and Antony—as well as three aluminum pieces by Prouvé.

Galerie Gastou (Paris) enters the gallery programme with themes of brutalism and surrealism. Pieces by Dominique Zimbacca and the Ateliers de Marolles founder Jean Touret bring the Brutalist side, while 1970s Italian lights such as the Arcangelo Metropolitano by Ugo la Pietra, the Astéroïde lamp by Sottsass, and the Delirium Yum by Ingo Mauer illuminate the display with an air of surrealism, boosted by the presence of the Cage Bed by Max Ernst.

Roly Poly Chair, by Faye Toogood at Friedman Benda. Courtesy of Angus Mill

Other gallery presentations focus on the impact of the past on the designs of today, tracing the evolution of design over time. Galerie Downtown-LAFFANOUR (Paris) presents the past and present in masterpieces across the 20th century—Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret—and contemporary pieces by designers—Ron Arad, Choi Byung Hoon, and Ettore Sottsass.

Similarly, Friedman Benda (New York) will present “Iconoclasts and Icons,” a collections of touchstones in the evolution of contemporary design over eight decades pivoting on the work of ten designers: Ron Arad, Daniel Arsham, Estudio Campana, Wendell Castle, Misha Kahn, KAWS, Joris Laarman, Gaetano Pesce, Samuel Ross, Ettore Sottsass, and Faye Toogood. Friedman Benda connects the diverse creative works—prototypes, sketches, and final designs across the designers’ individual styles: “… to represent the chaos of contemporary design, distilling the explosive creative forces unleashed by the unending possibilities in our field,” says Marc Benda, the gallery’s owner.

Louis XXI Human Porcelain, 2010 by Andrea Branzi at Mouvements Modernes. Courtesy of Mouvements Modernes. Copyright Gérard Jonca and Sèvres Cité de la Céramique

In tribute to the Néotù gallery, a major proponent of collectible design in the 1980s, Mouvements Modernes (Paris) will present designs from the late 20th century to today. Work by the famous, unconventional duo Garouste & Bonetti converse with contemporary creations such as the vegetal Branches Series by Fabien Petiot and a poetic textile piece by Daniela Busarello and a Sèvres porcelain designed by Andrea Branzi.

Other galleries highlight materiality, craftsmanship, and technical accomplishment, like Galerie SCENE OUVERTE (Paris) will likewise showcase designers and artists who have mastered their material. Hervé Langlais made Arches 2 using Nero Antico marble, while Studio TERRE presents LOLA (2022), inspired by the Mediterranean and created using Murano glass beads and terracotta powder.

Similarly, Pierre Marie Giraud (Brussels) presents new artworks and hand-picked collectibles from leading artists in ceramics and glass is displayed alongside a selection of Japanese crafts including lacquer and bamboo. Galleria Antonella Villanova (Florence) homes in on talent in a particular craft: jewelry. The artists offer aesthetic, conceptual iterations of traditional jewelry designs, combining ancient techniques with contemporary materials and sensibilities.

Gokelaere & Robinson (Paris) celebrates iconic, historic furniture by Scandinavian and Brazilian designers, linked by their strong sense of intimacy and refined design. Pieces include Jorge Zalszupin’s Guanabara table, made of differently colored rectangles of Jacaranda that give the table a patchwork feel.

Additional Programming at Design Miami Basel

Special Project Satellite: At the Skatepark by Caroline Van Hoek/

Designer Caroline Van Hoek presents “At the skatepark” for this year’s Special Project Satellite. The presentation features works of jewelry that are inspired by the ramps, structures, and the youthful, rugged culture of skateparks displayed within a booth entirely covered in graffiti by David Neirings.

Flap³ by Cyril Lancelin/

Cyril Lancelin – Flap³ – Google Atap – Design Miami Basel – Epinay 2023 – photo (c) Cyril Lancelin

Cyril Lancelin-Flap³ (2023) is an interactive artwork that explores the relationship between the viewer, the artwork, and technology. Flap³ uses 12 miniature radar sensors developed by Google ATAP that understand human motions at various scales to allow viewers to shape the artwork through their movements and speed.

Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council presents Traditional Methods in Modern Design/

Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council presents Traditional Methods in Modern Design

Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council is a UAE-based Council working to empower local craftswomen who practice traditional Emirati crafts to preserve indigenous craft heritage for future generations. The exhibit is a research-based demonstration of the ongoing effort to question and uncover ways of making and consuming within the domestic and built realms, from Emirati inspired tableware made through a variety of different weaving techniques to chairs created using palm-based weaving techniques, dyes, and materials.

All Galleries

Foreign Agent
Friedman Benda
Galerie DOWNTOWN Francois Laffanour
Galerie Eric Philippe
Galerie Gastou
GalerieJacques Lacoste
Galerie kreo
Galerie Maria Wettergren
Galerie Matthieu Richard
Galerie Meubles et Lumières
Galerie Mitterrand
Galerie Pascal Cuisinier
Galerie Patrick Seguin
Galerie SCENE OUVERTE
Galleria Antonella Villanova
Galleria Rossella Colombari
Gokelaere & Robinson
Jousse Entreprise
Ketabi Bourdet Design
Lebreton
Morentz Gallery
MOUVEMENTS MODERNES
Pierre Marie Giraud
Thomas Fritsch-ARTRIUM
Thomsen Gallery

Digital access to the fair, including an immersive 3D tour, is available via designmiami.com beginning June 13.