Already, Miami has brought celebrations galore for the beginning of a busy art week.
To begin, we headed to the Miami Design District to celebrate the city’s new Paradise Plaza. There, Craig Robins welcomed guests, and we heard from some of the new buildings’ architects, like Nicholas Filliland and Gaston Tolila of Tolila + Gilliland Atelier d’Architecture. Urs Fischer was also in attendance, mingling with other guests in front of his new skeleton sculpture.
Courtesy of LOEWE.
Also for the Design District was Prada’s new store, which beckoned an eventful happening well into the night. The opening welcomed special guests to an in-store cocktail hour, followed by the preview of artist Carsten Höller’s “The Prada Double Club Miami,” presented by Fondazione Prada. Through Wednesday night, the art installation will doubles as a nightclub. Joined by President of Fondazione Prada, Miuccia Prada, and Höller, guests in attendance—like David Adjaye, Ruby Aldridge, Daniel Arsham, Diplo, Jaime King, Adriana Lima, Ricky Martin, Rita Ora, Christian Rosa, Jérôme Sans, Franklin Sirmans, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Neville Wakefield, Chloe Wise, and Dasha Zhukova—enjoyed a special performance by Wyclef Jean, witnessing the unique merging of entertainment, hospitality, contemporary art, music, lifestyle, and design.
We ended our night at the Faena Hotel Miami Beach for its art week kick-off. Making our way past Lily Kwong’s new Tree of Life sculpture, in collaboration with St-Germain, we entered the hotel’s annual dome. Alan Faena welcomed guests to the unveiling of three new installations, curated by Ximena Caminos, Artistic Director of Faena Art: Ediacaran Mind by Coral Morphologic, Kelly Breez, and Martin Borini at the Faena Forum façade; and 120 Degrees Are East-Southeast by Phillip K Smith III and The Sinking of the Taj Mahal by Peter Tunney on the beachfront.
Courtesy of Faena.
Last night at The Temple House, COS presented an installation designed by Studio Swine entitled “New Spring.” Upon arrival, guests were given soft gloves to use when interacting with the ethereal blossoms that emerged from the installation’s tree-like sculpture. Between sips of champagne, music by Hannah Bronfman, and small, delicious canapes, little bubble blooms sprouted from the sculpture, bursting at human touch. Open to the public through December 10, the installation is a satellite of this year’s Design Miami/.
We also found ourselves at LOEWE in the Design District for the opening reception of “Chance Encounters III.” The installation brought together works of Richard Smith, Lionel Wendt, and Sara Flynn, designed around an 18th century granary from Portugal. Made from stone and wood, the installation’s presence celebrates the past, present, and future.
Courtesy of COS and Studio Swine.
Courtesy of Prada.
