Design Miami 2017

The 13th edition of Design Miami (6-10 December) recently concluded. The global creative community descended  on the city, all in the name of design and art. Seeing an energized focus on the expanding Design District this year, CoBo Social invited Al Eiber to share his top picks in Design Miami 2017.

 

Le Corbusier
Les Huit
Tapestry
Robert Four
89 × 117 7/10 × 1 1/5 in
226 × 299 × 3 cm Edition 2/2AP/5+2 AP

Al Eiber’s take on the work: This Le Courbusier tapestry is a rare example designed by one of the most important architects of the 20th century.

 

Joris Laarman
Maker Chair (Voronoi)
2014
Walnut
30 71/100 × 23 31/50 × 25 59/100 in
78 × 60 × 65 cm
Edition of 15

Al Eiber’s take on the work: Joris Laarman is probably the hottest young industrial designer. Currently Joris has a large exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum.

Ettore Sottsass

Kachina 6
2006
Blown glass
19 × 12 1/4 × 9 1/2 in
48.3 × 31.1 × 24.1 cm

Al Eiber’s take on the work: Ettore Sottsass is one of my favorite architects. His glass pieces and his 1960’s ceramics are especially great and collectable.

Kengo Kuma

Urushi Project, Chandelier
2017
31 1/2 × 78 7/10 × 31 1/2 in
80 × 199.9 × 80 cm

Al Eiber’s take on the work: This chandelier by this brilliant Japanese architect is fantastic.

STUDIO 65

“Bocca” Sofa
1973
Red stretched upholstery over polyurethane foam
Gufram
83 × 32 × 36 in
210.8 × 81.3 × 91.4 cm

Al Eiber’s take on the work: The Italian Radical Design work is finally receiving appropriate recognition as a historically important period. Look for pieces designed by Archizoom, Superstudio and Studio 65.

The Haas Brothers
George II
Silverware Hex Display Case
2015
Hex Tile, Walnut
Unique Hex Tile Display Case with Carved Walnut Top with seventy-two slots.
37”L x 30.5”W x 32”H.

The Haas Brothers
George II
Silverware Set
2015
Sterling Silver
Unique sculptural silverware produced in Sterling silver, comprised of six pieces.

 

Al Eiber’s take on the work: The Haas Brothers made this Silverware which they named George II. It is one of the most stunning flatware sets I have ever seen.

 

Fall Auctions under way

Albert Paley Brooch $ 26,250
Gaetano Pesce-4 Nobody’s Perfect Chairs $ 8,125
Ettore Sottsass Carlton Bookcase $ 26,250
George Nakashima Table Lamp $ 18,500

David Rago Auctions had a series of sales this past weekend including a single owner sale of Mark McDonald and a very strong sale of Modern Design. Prices remain strong and most lots did well. Check out ragoauctions.com/auctions website for the many lots including great furniture, glass, and ceramics offered.

 

Sottsass Glass Exhibition

The next segment of the exhibition series Le Stanze del Vetro is on at the Fondazione Cini in Venice from the 10th April to the 30th July 2017. It is an exhibition of  Ettore Sottsass glass. Overseen by Luca Massimo Barbero (director of the Institute of Art History at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini), Ettore Sottsass: il vetro is the centennial celebration of the birth of this iconic Italian architect.

The exhibition display by Annabelle Selldorf has over 200 different pieces, all designed between 1947 and 2007. A wide selection comes from the Ernest Mourmans collection and some are exhibited for the first time in history, exactly like the sculptures which flank the staircase, made in 1999 for Qatar Sheikh Saud bin Muhammad Al Thani. One-off pieces and real works of art in glass and crystal, made for some of the most important glass manufacturers in Italy and around the world. There’re collections for Vistosi, sculptures by Toso Vetri d’Arte, iconic lamps designed in the eighties for Venini, as well as pieces made for experimental glass workshop Cirva di Marsiglia, namely just some of the brands which can claim to have worked with Ettore. And obviously, this exhibition couldn’t be complete without designs for top brands like Baccarat, Alessi, Egizia, Fontanarte, Swarovksi and Serafino Zani for whom Ettore experimented in cut glass.

Without a doubt, Ettore Sottsass: il vetro is a really unique experience (the first time an exhibition focuses entirely on Ettore Sottsass’ glass designs). Ettore’s glass designs “are more like real characters”, in fact like exhibition curator Luca Massimo Barbero points out  “they are about the real world as much as an imaginary one”. Plus, glass skilfully moulded with other materials like plastics or polycarbonate turns into art which looks to the future.

 

Where: Fondazione Cini, Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Italy

When: 10 April – 30 July 2017