A tightly curated selection of the world’s leading galleries specializing in collectible design gathered for the 10th anniversary of Design Miami/, bringing high sales and record attendance figures.

December 8, 2014 – The consensus is in: the 10th edition of Design Miami/ was the most elegant and visually stimulating so far. Masterworks of twentieth-century design, pieces at the conceptual cutting edge, and 1980s movements undergoing a renaissance of interest all attracted impressive sales figures. The fair drew notable visitors, including collectors Patricia Cisneros and Adriana Cisneros Griffin, Peter Brandt, Tico Mugrabi, Aby Rosen, Barry Friedman, Beth DeWoody, George Lindemann, Paula Crown, and Svetlana Uspenskaya, architects Zaha Hadid and David Adjaye, artists Tracey Emin, Theaster Gates, Marina Abramović and Trevor Paglen, magazine editors Glenda Bailey and Margaret Russell, model and business woman Elle Macpherson, actors Owen Wilson and Jane Fonda, gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin, designer Ron Arad, musician André 3000 Benjamin and hotelier André Balazs.

Representatives of 49 major international museums – including MoMA, the Design Museum London, SFMoMA, the Metropolitan Museum, the Vitra Design Museum, the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires – were also in attendance.

Gallery program proves great draw/ The 35 galleries selected for the 2014 edition came from as far afield as Seoul, Lebanon and South Africa and, for the first time, from as near as Miami’s own Wynwood art district. What they shared was distinctive individual vision and beautifully curated displays featuring the best in both vintage and contemporary collectible design. The result was a 12% increase in visitor numbers, bringing a total of 35,800 people to Design Miami/ 2014.

This December saw the launch of a new program titled Design Curio – cabinets of curiosity offering immersive environments that go beyond the traditional scope of the fair’s gallery programs. This year’s submissions included a virtual reality coral-eye view of the world, a shrunken architectural masterpiece, a space dictated by coolly regular grids and another dominated by the Memphis Group’s pop geometries.

Peter Marino received the inaugural Design Visionary award, which celebrates individuals who have significantly contributed to the field of design, such as collectors, curators, architects and luminaries who influence and are engaged in design in the broadest sense.

Marino was much in attendance, kicking off proceedings with an exclusive talk led by Architectural Digest Editor in Chief Margaret Russell. He also presented works from his collection in a leather-clad exhibition display, and participated in a standing room only Design Talk. Those who missed meeting the man in person snapped selfies with the architect’s waxwork, positioned amid infinity mirrors in his exhibition space.

Design Talks/Highlights of the popular Design Talks program – which is presented by The Surf Club Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences – included an exploration of the work championed by 1980s fire-brand design gallery Art et Industrie; David Adjaye and Theaster Gates discussing their future Chicago projects and social equity with Joseph Grima and Sarah Herda; and a fascinating conversation on the practice of Olson Kundig Architects, creators of this year’s extraordinary Collectors Lounge, 38 Beams. The lounge itself was home to well-received conversations with André 3000 Benjamin and Murray Moss and a portrait commission capturing visitors of note by Miami photographer Gesi Schilling.

Founding galleries/Design Miami/ was particularly proud to welcome back to the fair 11 of the founding 15 galleries that first exhibited in 2005, which have contributed so much to the fair’s ongoing success. Nilufar Gallery, Casati Gallery, Cristina Grajales Gallery, Demisch Danant, Galerie kreo, Galerie Patrick Seguin, Jousse Entreprise, LAFFANOUR-Galerie Downtown, Magen H, R & Company and Hostler Burrows (exhibiting in 2005 as Antik) are now acknowledged as sites of pre-eminent expertise in their field, furthering not only the market for design but also the scholarship of it. Each of these galleries brought an exceptional presentation to this 10th anniversary edition of the fair, including three complete Mid-century university dorm rooms by Jean Prouvé, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand at Galerie Patrick Seguin; a major display and re-assessment of New York’s Art et Industrie movement at Magen H; covetable anthropomorphic works by the Haas brothers at R & Company, and an exhibition of works commissioned for public spaces in France at Demisch Danant.

Themes expected and unexpected/Themes expected and unexpected emerged; from gorillas (courtesy of Studio Job at Carpenters Workshop Gallery and Bronze Age at Southern Guild) to mobius strips (as jewelry crafted by Gijs Bakker at Caroline Van Hoek, woven in bamboo by Shouchiku Tanabe at Pierre Marie Giraud, and 3D printed by Janne Kyttanen at Gallery VIVID). The work of Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne could be seen both as furniture – in the display of works from Peter Marino’s collection – and as jewelry made of copper and bronze with Louisa Guinness. Indeed bronze in general was a theme material of the fair, appearing on social media under #designmiami #bronzeage. The work of North American designers was a notable presence – via galleries including Johnson Trading Gallery, Edward Cella Art+Architecture, Gallery Diet and Volume Gallery. This theme was also highlighted by a panel exploring new American design at the Design Talks Studio.

Design Miami/ also enjoyed a visible increase in Latin American design, with pieces by Lina Bo Bardi and Joaquim Tenreiro at R & Company, Hechizoo and Sebastian Errazuriz at Cristina Grajales Gallery and the Campana Brothers at Galleria O.

Design Commission/This year a young designer from Minneapolis – Jonathan Muecke – received the Design Commission to create the fair’s pavilion. A circular structure painted intense tones of blue and yellow on the exterior and red and green within, the elegant, photogenic design rapidly became a popular spot for photographers and provided some much needed tranquility away from the bustle of the fair.

Collaborations and satellites/This edition saw some notably inventive design collaborations from the fair’s partners, including mischer’traxler’s enchanting Ephemerā installation with Perrier-Jouët, for which responsive plants grew out of mirrors and an oak table top; Jeanne Gang and James Balog’s Thinning Ice, a poignant but captivating meditation on global warming for Swarovski; Audi’s first concept car from new Head of Design Marc Lichte; and Dimore Studio’s warm and seductive Roman Lounge for Fendi. Book signings and special appearances by David Adjaye, Theaster Gates and Marella Chia, to name but a few, took place in ARTBOOK’s display space, this year featuring a special selection of fine, rare and vintage reads chosen by Wes De Val.

Prominent visitors gave particular praise this year to the strength of the gallery exhibitions, the brand collaborations, the well-designed layout, and the quality of the design talks - citing this as the best edition of the fair yet.