My Highlights from Design Miami/ Basel 2013

I gravitate to expressions of form that work to say something about structure, materiality, or absolute nonsense (but with taste). I was surprised to see how I leaned towards a mix of the classics (like Nakashima and Prouvé) and also the newer attempts at crafting durable relationships between human beings and the material world.

Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq, 3002 Chair, 'Comfort' Collection, 1964 - Demisch Danant

Putting unlikely (but likely) pieces together that create both visual and physical comfort is rare.

Benjamin Graindorge, Mirage, YMER & MALTA

What we see is rarely really what we imagine, and by making a mirror less honest, we get to dream.

Bina Baitel, Shagreen, 2012-2013 - NextLevel Galerie

We tend to think of light as casting rays, and never think of it as being subject to the rules of gravity.

George Nakashima, Slab coffee table - Sebastian + Barquet

A tree really wants to be a tree — and not a table — and thus supporting its desire to stand tall seems only fair.

Hella Jongerius, Nlebla table, 2013 - Galerie kreo

There’s always a classic form to be reinterpreted with strength and ingenuity — Hella often achieves this by some magical skill of hers.

Jean Prouvé, Swing jib lamp, ca. 1950 - Galerie Patrick Seguin

Light is most useful when you can put it somewhere — especially where it is needed, like a candle, but with some modicum of control.

Nucleo, Primitive Table, 2011 - Gabrielle Ammann // Gallery

We tend to count on a table as being the epitome of utilitarianism, which this table provides, and yet its underpinnings are the exact opposite of humility.

Pierre Jeanneret, Coffee table, 1952-56 - Galerie Patrick Seguin

A coffee table has so much functionality inherent to it — like a personal computer — and thus giving it a great deal of utility is what I always want.

Humberto and Fernando Campana, Leather Alligator Banquete chair, 2011- Galleria O Project

I often am challenged to need to “figure out” where I should sit on a “designed” seating surface, and am delighted that with this piece I would simply just stand.

Humans since 1982, ClockClock, 2011 - Victor Hunt Designart Dealer

From the time of Bruno Munari and the Futurists, “time” itself has been a terrific medium to explore — which is achieved in a slightly overdone, but clever, way here.

Portrait: photo credit Jon Kamen