design miami 2024: twelve standout galleries to keep an eye on

design miami celebrates its 20th anniversary on miami beach

During Miami Art & Design Week 2024, the beloved fair Design Miami returns for its 20th edition. Curated by Glenn Adamson under the theme Blue Sky, this event brings together over forty-five leading galleries to explore the transformative potential of imaginative, boundary-pushing design. The theme celebrates design as an optimistic and collective endeavor, showcasing works that reflect bold innovation, material ingenuity, and a shared global perspective. This edition marks a year of significant expansion for Design Miami, following successful fairs in Los Angeles, Basel, and Paris. Design Miami will be open to the public from December 5th — 8th, 2024, on Miami Beach at Convention Center Drive & 19th Street.

Gallery highlights include The Future Perfect’s presentation of nearly 100 new works, spotlighting metal sculptor Vikram Goyal; Bottega Veneta’s playful collection of animal-inspired Sacco chairs; and the fluid and ethereal pieces by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur. Through the lens of Blue Sky, the fair reaffirms its role as a platform for visionary design, celebrating two decades of showcasing the best in historic and contemporary creativity. See designboom’s definitive guide to Miami Art & Design Week 2024 here!

Pearl Jam installation by Nicole Nomsa Moyo at Design Miami 2024 | image © designboom

BOTTEGA VENETA

Bottega Veneta, for Design Miami 2024, debuts The Ark, a limited-edition lounge chair collection commissioned by Matthieu Blazy and inspired by the iconic Zanotta Sacco, originally designed in 1968. Infused with the softness, anti-formalism, and fluidity reminiscent of Bottega Veneta’s early bags, Blazy reimagines the Sacco into playful animal forms, evoking childlike creativity and what he calls ‘the power of wow.’ The collection features fifteen animal designs, including a rabbit, panda, elephant, and whale, with the light grey rabbit and white chicken exclusively available at the event.

The chairs debuted earlier this year at Bottega Veneta’s SS25 show space during Milan Design Week 2024.

image © designboom

MATHIEU LEHANNEUR

French multidisciplinary designer Mathieu Lehanneur, presents the 2024 Design Miami Curatorial Project, where visitors are welcomed by Flowers Season, an immersive installation featuring a cascade of handmade ceramic flowers suspended in midair. Lehanneur also unveils a collection of new functional collectibles, including a dresser, floor lamp, and cabinet, blending solid structures with a sense of fluidity. Through this work, Lehanneur evokes poetic imaginings, bringing nature, beauty, and moments of reflection to the bustling atmosphere of Miami’s art week. In 2024, Lehanneur designed the prestigious torch, relay cauldron, and hot air balloon-inspired flying cauldron for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.

image © designboom

MERITALIA

Meritalia, the 1980s furniture brand recently acquired by the Italian Radical Design Group, celebrates its revival at Design Miami 2024 with Le Edizioni del Pesce, an homage to Gaetano Pesce’s innovative use of unconventional materials in pieces like vases, mirrors, and lamps. The brand’s comeback also includes a new photographic campaign, Meritalia is Back, showcasing iconic designs such as Pesce’s modular La Michetta sofa and Carlo Contin’s SNAKE table. The campaign captures the dynamic process of unpacking, reimagining, and reviving these timeless creations for a contemporary audience. Meritalia exhibited Gaetano Pesce’s radical designs during Milan Design Week 2023 at Triennale Milano.

Read designboom’s 2023 interview with Italian Radical Design Group CEO Charley Vezza following its acquisition of Meritalia here

image © designboom

FRIEDMAN BENDA

At Design Miami 2024, Friedman Benda presents a group installation inspired by Mexican architect Javier Senosiain’s organic architectural philosophy, featuring his first-ever collection of limited edition furniture. Senosiain’s playful yet traditional pieces, influenced by Mexican tilework, explore the relationship between individuals, place, and space, using organic forms to challenge the rigidity of modern architecture. The presentation also features creations by Mexican designer Fernando Laposse, especially his fuzzy, agave-fiber ‘Hair of the Dog’ cabinet, along with French-Israeli designer Raphael Navot with his sinuous ‘Acrostic Overlay Armchair.’

The booth also introduces a lighting work by Italian duo formafantasma, marking their first collaboration with the gallery ahead of their 2025 solo exhibition. Additionally, India-based Studio Raw Material presents their Khokhar series, while Dutch designer Joris Laarman debuts Nimbus, a series inspired by the ever-changing shapes of clouds. Japanese design studio nendo reveals a new pendant in its hyouri series, and Mexico City-based duo SANGREE offers pieces that echo Senosiain’s principles, blending local materials and processes.

image courtesy Friedman Benda

SOUTHERN GUILD

At Design Miami 2024, Southern Guild presents a sweeping panorama of historic and contemporary African ceramics, highlighting the cultural, geographic, historical, and socio-political narratives behind clay objects. The collection showcases ceramics used for utility, art, and ritual, offering a profound exploration of the continent’s rich and diverse heritage. See designboom’s recent interview with Adam Birch, King Houndekpinkou, and Madoda Fani — three artists highlighted by Southern Guild with solo shows during summer 2024.

GALLERY FUMI

At Design Miami this year, Gallery FUMI celebrates artisanal craftsmanship by blending ancestral traditions with cultural heritage in a presentation rich with bold patterns and vibrant colors. Highlighting experimental material approaches and innovative design, the showcase reimagines timeless traditions with a fresh and dynamic perspective.

image courtesy Gallery FUMI

THE FUTURE PERFECT

In celebration of Design Miami’s ‘Blue Sky’ theme, The Future Perfect unveils a divided booth, exploring contemporary design’s role in a changing world. One side of the booth spotlights New Delhi-based artist Vikram Goyal, marking his U.S. debut with intricate works that draws from India’s rich metalworking heritage. Trained as an engineer, Goyal channels centuries-old artisanal techniques to create timeless designs that bridge antiquity and modernity. His centerpiece, a bronze wall relief, anchors the space and serves as a conceptual dialogue between past and present.

The second part to The Future Perfect’s presentation at Design Miami 2024 exhibits works by a diverse group of emerging and established artists. Featuring pieces by creators such as Anina Major, Autumn Casey, Chen Chen & Kai Williams, and Lindsey Adelman, the showcase contrasts familiar origins with bold advancements in craft. This duality highlights an optimistic approach to design’s evolving role, grounding its future in history while aspiring toward new horizons.

image © designboom

ROHAM SHAMEKH

Dubai-based designer Roham Shamekh unveils ‘Pharrell’s Echoes’ at Design Miami 2024, a collection which draws inspiration from his encounter with Pharrell Williams. Roham invites viewers to reflect on how we unknowingly shape each other’s lives, with the belief that everyone has the potential to be a ‘guardian angel’ in someone else’s journey. The sculptural Universe chair is crafted in white resin to represent the collective human experience, while the Manifestation chair features cherubs to symbolize hope and transcendence. A limited-edition bronze version, Angel, transforms the chair into a subject of contemplation. The collection emphasizes the interconnectedness of all people, illustrating how intentional actions can shape personal destinies and the collective human experience.

image © designboom

VICTORIA YAKUSHA

Designer Victoria Yakusha’s display for Design Miami revolves around ‘Grun,’ a mythical forest dweller from Ukrainian Polesia, embodying the timeless essence of ancient swamps and mossy forests. Grun symbolizes the preservation of humanity’s earliest stories and the enduring wisdom of nature, offering inspiration and peace for the future. Yakusha reflects on the importance of grounding visions of tomorrow in the wisdom of the past, drawing from the enduring spirit of places that connect humanity to its roots.

The exhibition also highlights iconic pieces from Yakusha’s work, including the Tiara vase, crafted from Ukrainian clay with Volyn’s blue-beige topaz, and Soncehryv, a mystical guardian from the Land of Light collection that symbolizes joy and inner light. Together, these works celebrate the profound, evolving relationship between humanity and the natural world, echoing the timeless renewal found in forests and swamps.

image © designboom

SARAH MYERSCOUGH GALLERY

Sarah Myerscough Gallery presents Dreamscape at Design Miami 2024, exploring the connection between bedroom furnishings and the human body’s needs for rest, solitude, and intimacy. The curated collection emphasizes the significance of these spaces, featuring works such as Marc Fish’s Ethereal Bed, a suspended chair by Christopher Kurtz and Dana Barnes, and a rococo-style mirror by Tadeas Podracky. Artists like Arko, Lin Fanglu, Luke Fuller, and Diana Scherer highlight the role of natural materials in enriching bedroom environments with craftsmanship and artistic vision. The gallery also aligns with this year’s Blue Sky theme by presenting cyanotype photography by Edd Carr, capturing skyscapes in the Yorkshire Moors that evoke aspirations and resilience in the face of environmental change. Through these works, the gallery invites viewers to reconsider the role of materiality and craft in shaping our lived realities and futures.

TODD MERRILL STUDIO

Todd Merrill Studio is showcasing a curated collection of innovative contemporary works, celebrating the fusion of fine art and design. Highlights include Draga & Aurel’s resin creations, John Procario’s sculptural and organic furniture, aluminum and onyx Markus Haase’s Circlet Series. The collection also includes ceramic works by Christopher Russell and Alice Riehl, Maarten Vrolijk’s colorful Sakura Glassworks, and Karl Springer Ltd’s modernist lacquered goatskin inlay tables. What’s more, Pia-Maria Raeder’s intricate beech installations, Alex Roskin’s polished Tusk Chairs, and Jamie Harris’s LED-infused glass sculptures offer diverse explorations of materials, textures, and artistic innovation. A highlight is Erik Speer’s richly woven, knit, and crocheted chairs and wall-hanging tapestry.

image © designboom

CARPENTERS WORKSHOP GALLERY

Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s booth at Design Miami 2024 features a curated selection of contemporary works that blend art, design, and craftsmanship by notable artists including Vincenzo De Cotiis, Aki & Arnaud Cooren, Ingrid Donat, DRIFT, Kendell Geers, Steven Haulenbeek, Roger Herman, Pierre Jeanneret, Marcin Rusak, and Yinka Shonibare. A highlight is Yinka Shonibare’s Windy Chair, a limited-edition series that explores themes of migration, cultural exchange, and the fluidity of identity through dynamic Dutch wax-print fabrics. The display also includes Vincenzo De Cotiis’s DC2337B Cabinet, which fuses silver, glass, and hand-painted fiberglass, and Ingrid Donat’s Table de Salle à Manger Facettes GM A, which features scarification-inspired patterns.

image courtesy Carpenters Workshop Gallery

FRIEDMAN BENDA x INSTITUTO CAMPANA

This collection, Peludinho, has been designed and produced by Estudio Campana exclusively for Instituto Campana — a school founded in 2009 by brothers Humberto and Fernando Campana. All proceeds from the sale of this collection will be directed to the Institutes social projects, especially Parque Campana, a park located in Brotas, São Paulo, established by Humberto Campana following the passing of his brother.

In an interview with designboom, Humberto Campana described his ongoing reforestation project, which includes the establishment of the school and nature preserve in his hometown outside São Paulo. ‘We heritage a piece of land from my family. And we already planted 20,000 native trees, I love to plant trees… We are creating a foundation with twelve green pavilions made with cacti and bamboo.’ This initiative reflects Campana’s belief in the interconnectedness of art, education, and environmental responsibility.