The well-to-do and creatives that depend on them descended on Miami last week for Art Basel, Design Miami, Alcova Miami, and other satellite fairs and activations. AN Interior was there on the ground to witness the glitz, glamour, and what lies behind the shiny surface. There was certainly fanfare: A$AP Rocky and Rihanna made an appearance at Design Miami where the rapper’s design studio, Hommemade, presented an entertainment system and a collaboration with Gufram, titled Skyline Carpet. Joe Jonas and Jared Leto also attended the fair. In the Design District, Nami Nori, a temaki restaurant that calls Pharrell Williams partner and advisor, celebrated an opening in collaboration with Modellus Novus.

But there was also substance beyond all the celebrity sighting. The curatorial theme for the 20th edition of Design Miami, led by curatorial director Glenn Adamson, was Blue Sky, which invites imaginative, optimistic, collective, and sustainable design from this year’s exhibitors.

This year’s Alcova Miami was likewise a meaningful round up. As is the case with Alcova, the platform was held in an intriguing location off-the-beaten path; this time in Little Havana’s Miami River Inn. A strong and diverse showing was had along with many features from emerging designers. Across the fairs, material innovation united exhibitions with promising explorations and simply cool presentations.

At Art Basel Miami Beach, one architectural piece caught our eye: The Ad Hoc Order series by Cécile B. Evans at Château Shatto consisted of a 1’ = 1/4” model of the UN General Assembly split apart on wheels. Imagined as the headquarters for the (fictitious) Global Archive of Memory, Management, and Archaeology, the interior is built on the kit-bashed ruins of New York City, complete with the top wedge of the Flatiron Building. It is the set for a film that the artist will debut at the Sharjah Biennial that opens in February 2025.

Through all the installations and presentations, the following stand out among the crowd for technical know-how, innovation, and timeless design. Here are AN’s favorites from Miami Art and Design Week.

Dye, Dye My Darling!

Studio LoopLoop is a research-based design practice based in the Netherlands. At Alcova, the practice, founded by Odin Visser and Charles Gateau, presented a set of vases, a table, and mirrors, all made of aluminum and dyed in romantic, striking hues and patterns from plants. On Thursday night, Visser made an appearance at Moooi’s pop up at the Steelcase showroom in Wynwood, as he previously collaborated with the brand on the NomNom light.

Something Last

At Alcova Miami, Something Last is a group exhibition curated by designer and architect Studio/JIALUN XIONG. The collection revolves around timeless design, focusing on a monochromatic showing and distilled pieces. Cindy Hsu Zell, Devin Wilde, Mary Ratcliffe Studio, Vy Voi Studio, and Xiaoyan Wei contributed designs, as well as Xiong who debuted a new metal dining chair, stool, and end table. Together the show amounted to a pure and meditative exhibition.

NEFERTITI

Architect Marco Zelli presented his modular lighting system, composed of folded aluminum in striking blue and pink with magnets on the top, back, or bottom. Attach the magnet to the wall and create sconces, take it off for a portable table lamp, or stack them together for a sculptural standing light. Perfectly simple in form yet efficient in various settings.

Liminal Cycles

At the Institute of Contemporary Art, Lexus collaborated with the design and research studio Crafting Plastics to create a multisensory installation. The exhibit utilizes Crafting Plastics’ environmentally responsive bioplastic material that is biodegradable and leaves no microplastics behind. Liminal Cycles sees the studio turn the material into four interactive sculptures including the Lexus LF-ZC which turns color as the bioplastic reacts to UV rays. The other sculptures, parts found in the interior of the LF-ZC, incorporate other innovations like tactile responses, a progressive installation of material advancements.

Okoma

Hettler.Tüllmann is a collaboration between Berlin-based designer Katja Hettler and Miami-based architect Jula Tüllmann. At Untitled Art Fair, the duo worked with artisans at People of the Sun to bring traditional Malawian techniques and basket weaving to chair design. The collection, Okoma, also falls alongside their work at Mindy Solomon Gallery’s booth at Design Miami which employs baked mycelium to create organic tables.

Flap Chair

Other seating captured attention of the fair’s attendees—including Rihanna’s. The Flap Chair by Chamar Studio, presented by Æquo gallery at Design Miami, bends and folds rubber in a surprisingly malleable way. The studio’s Sudheer Rajbhar worked with leather artisans in the Dalit community who previously worked with leather until beef was banned in 2015. Sudheer introduced rubber as an alternative to help the community continue their craft.

Popo Chair

Seen in Design Miami’s Talk Space and Basic.Space shop, Los Angeles–based studio Willett debuted his Popo chair in a red and cream colorway. The chair’s softer angularity, utilitarian form, and glossy lacquer make for an elevated staple whether a dining or work chair. It comes wrapped in a timeless style.

Big Wooden Bell Chair I and II

Part of Objective Gallery’s showing, Sam Klemick presented a new iteration of her Bell chair. It uses lumber that Klemick salvaged from construction sites around Los Angeles. The pieces are put together like patchwork textiles (an ode to the designer’s experience in fashion) to create a carved wood upholstery.

Makers in Place: Kohler Celebrates 50 Years of Arts/Industry

For 50 years, Kohler and the John Michael Kohler Art Center have hosted a residency, inviting artists to learn from makers at their factories to further their creative vision. The artists and their work from these residencies have been put together in this anniversary showcase. Works include a double urinal that elucidates the trans experience by Nicki Green, pottery from Theaster Gates, and a ceramic drum set by Scott Carter.

Miami Reef Star

To protect against rising sea levels in Miami, the BlueLab Preservation Society has commissioned OMA to create The ReefLine, a 7-mile long underwater public sculpture park, snorkel trail, and purpose-built reef. As a precursor to the upcoming ReefLine, Carlos Betancourt and architect Alberto Latorre present Miami Reef Star, 46 star-like and 3D-printed modules using CarbonXinc and Coral Lok to later be installed under the water.

Pathway

Art Basel landed again at the Miami Beach Convention Center as the eye of the Design Week hurricane. The fair hosted more than 75,000 attendees, who appreciated art on view from 286 galleries across 38 countries and territories. Spatial, urban, or design-related pieces popped up across the floor: A Candida Höfer opera interior here (Konrad Fischer Gallerie), a billboard-like Arthur Jafa there (Sprüth Magers), and a car-focused Robert Bechtle (Waddington Custot) over yonder. Of particular interest was the installation Pathway by Zhu Jinshi in the Meridians area, which layered semicircular sections of fireproof Xuan paper that visitors could inhabit as a “commentary on the current fractured state of the world.”