It is the global forum to reflect on design and on the paths run by the contemporary project, gathering the most influential designers, gallery owners, collectors, curators and critics from around the world through the displaying of products that best illustrate the trends of the moment. The purpose of Design Miami/Basel, in addition to the commercial aspects, is to celebrate the culture of design. The 2014 Edition is just over, having highlighted how precise are the directions to which design is oriented, providing a compelling overview on the themes that are worth focusing on. Surely relevant is the particular choice of ancient materials for the creation of vital objects, an expression of absolute innovation, as shown by the exhibition of Studio Formafantasma, with De Natura Fossilium, components created by volcano Etna’s lava (read more here), or from the works of the designer Rebecca Horn presented by Elizabeth Cipriani, made by marine fossils. The natural world is therefore closer to objects design: Rowan Mersh’s structures at the Gallery FUMI seem to furl and wave like submerged anemones. What’s new in this edition is the exhibition platform Design At Large, for the presentation of monumental installations, such as Thread Wrapped Architecture by Anton Alvarez, courtesy of Gallery Libby Sellers, or Eske Rex’s Drawing Machine presented by Galerie Maria Wettergren. In a context of mutual influence and interdisciplinarity, is also clear as creativity has a wide range, embracing in design the dictates and aesthetic of the sculpture, which from design takes instead functionality and ease: we see it well in Yonel Lebovici’s work shown by the Galerie Chastel-Marechal. But a key component that can’t be missed in design of every age is the ability to tell a story. The “story-telling” is increasingly crucial in the value of a product. Tell their extraordinary provenience cult objects from the 20th century, as the Lounge Chair by Gustave Axel Berg, designed in 1940, and Charlotte Perriand’s libraries from the Fifties.
