28 Leading International Design Galleries are set to Participate in Design Miami/ Basel 2008

Twenty-one Returning and Seven New Galleries Will Represent the Extraordinary Scope of Historic and Contemporary Design at Design Miami/ Basel - Basel, Switzerland / June 2 – 5, 2008
Miami, FL and Basel, Switzerland – Design Miami/ Basel, the premier global forum for collecting, exhibiting, discussing and creating limited-edition design, unites 28 of the world’s most illustrious design galleries to present the broadest scope of significant furniture and objects in the show’s three-year history. Each participating gallery has been chosen for its commitment to presenting highly curated exhibitions of historical and contemporary collectible design from an international roster of designers spanning six continents.  Promising to draw an impressive audience of international collectors, critics, curators, designers and enthusiasts, the show will take place at the Markthalle, Viaduktstrasse 10, Basel, Switzerland and will be open to the public June 3-5, 2008 from 11:00am – 7:00pm. A Press Preview will take place on Tuesday, June 2 at 12:00pm.

Each gallery presented at Design Miami/ Basel deals in the most sought after design objects that blur the boundaries of art, architecture and design. The galleries will present works in a wide variety of materials, including ceramics, glass, concrete, bronze and polymer, created using a diversity of techniques from rapid prototyping to traditional Danish cabinetmaking. Visitors to the show will see the most eclectic collection of vanguard installations the design world has to offer.
Seven galleries will make their Design Miami/ debut this June, each adding a distinctive curatorial voice to the program. First time participants include: Carpenters Workshop Gallery (London); Galerie Eric Philippe (Paris); Galerie Dewindt (Brussels); Perimeter Editions (Paris); Galerie Pierre Marie Giraud (Brussels); VIVID Gallery (Rotterdam); and Yoshii Gallery (New York).
Carpenters Workshop Gallery aims to bring a new perspective to Design Miami/ Basel by focusing solely on cutting-edge design-art from the likes of Jurgen Bey, Atelier Van Lieshout and Pablo Reinoso.  Specializing in contemporary ceramic, glass and objets d’art, Galerie Pierre Marie Giraud will bring unique, museum-quality pieces from European, American and Japanese artists.
VIVID Gallery has a strong relationship with the current generation of innovative Dutch designers, such as Hella Jongerius, Jurgen Bey, Richard Hutten, Wieki Somers, Studio Job, and Ineke Hans, and will bring a selection of their most recent work to Design Miami/ Basel.
Yoshii Gallery is committed to exploring the relationship between modern masters and oriental antiques, with an emphasis on work that merges the historical and the contemporary. Exemplifying this commitment, Yoshii Gallery will exhibit the distinctive white porcelain vessels of artist Taizo Kuroda, presented in a unique booth designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando.
Galerie Eric Philippe is dedicated to European and North American handcrafted furniture from the 1920s to the 1980s and will bring rare pieces by Jean Royère, Isamu Noguchi, Preben Fabricius, Frank Lloyd Wright, and George Nakashima.
Galerie Dewindt represents modernist and constructivist artists/designers of the 1920s. For Design Miami/ Basel, the gallery will show French designer Matali Crasset’s new limited-edition pieces alongside works by Andrea Branzi and Gerrit Rietveld in an environment inspired by Nana Ditzel.
Perimeter Editions produces and promotes furniture and objects with a uniquely humanist angle, working closely with living designers of different generations—Janette Laverrière to Fíel dos Santos—to present sophisticated objects that reveal the philosopher and the artist in the designer.
Design Miami/ Basel’s returning 21 galleries exemplify, in the words of the dynamic Pearl Lam, “creativity in all forms.” Under Lam’s direction, Shanghai-based Contrasts Gallery will be returning for a third year with a collection of highly conceptual pieces by Studio Makkin & Bey, Maarten Baas and Shao Fan that are as narratively rich as they are aesthetically striking.
New York design scene veteran Murray Moss is bringing Moss Gallery to Basel for the first time. The gallery will present Studio Job’s Homework, a collection of domestic totems and tableaux consisting of common household objects magnified to heroic proportions then rendered in polished bronze and placed on aged wooden pedestals.
Specializing in 20th-century furniture and architecture, Galerie Patrick Seguin (Paris) will exhibit an exceptional selection of works by Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Jean Royère, as well as light-fixtures by Serge Mouille, ceramics by Georges Jouve, and hand-carved furniture and objets by Alexandre Noll.
Los Angeles’ Reform Gallery is the first California-based gallery to participate in Design Miami/ Basel. After debuting in December 2007 at Design Miami/, Reform will bring its distinctive roster of the best of handcrafted California Modern design to Switzerland. On view will be landmark works by J.B. Blunk, Sam Maloof and Federico Armijo, among others. Blunk’s seminal Arch 1 (1975) will return to Basel for the first time since it was exhibited there at Galerie Schreiner in 1978.
HSBC Private Bank is the Principal Sponsor of both 2008 Design Miami/ shows (Basel and Miami). The bank’s dedication to the exploration of innovative international design is an example of the bank’s “Assume Nothing” philosophy.
Audi AG is the exclusive automotive sponsor for the 2008 Design Miami/ shows.
About Design Miami/
Design Miami/ is the most prominent and substantive forum for international design, representing a convergence of commerce and culture. Its annual shows in Basel, Switzerland (June) and Miami, USA (December) bring together the most influential designers, collectors, dealers, curators and critics from around the world. For more information, please visit www.designmiami.com.
HSBC Private Bank

HSBC Private Bank’s partnership with Design Miami/, initiated in December 2006 continues to evolve with each event. It is at the heart of HSBC Private Bank’s expanding global commitment to design, which is borne of its dedication to finding new ways of doing things differently.

HSBC Private Bank is the marketing name for the private banking business conducted by the principal private banking subsidiaries of the HSBC Group worldwide. HSBC Private Bank, together with HSBC Guyerzeller and the private banking activities of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt, known collectively as Group Private Banking, provides services to high net worth individuals and their families through 92 locations in some 41 countries and territories in the Americas, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Middle East. At 31 December 2007, profits before tax were US$1,511 million and combined client assets under management were US$494 billion.

HSBC Private Bank draws on the strength of the HSBC Group, one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations providing a comprehensive range of financial services to 128 million customers. For more information, visit www.hsbcprivatebank.com.

AUDI AG
Audi is a global company, rich in tradition and one of the three big German car manufacturers in the premium segment. Audi is active in more than 100 markets worldwide. It produces its cars not only in Germany but also in Hungary, China and Belgium.
The brand with the four rings invests more than € 2 billion each year in order to sustain the company’s technological lead embodied in its “Vorsprung durch Technik” slogan. Audi plans to nearly double the number of models in its range by 2015, from the 25 currently on offer to 40.
Audi is characterized by its special styling and design. Stefan Sielaff, head of design at AUDI AG, focuses on an interaction between tradition, innovation and engineering: “It is our philosophy to create a simple and perfect design - based on our values, to break new ground and create expressive characters, perfect in detail.” For more information, visit www.audi.com.
Press Contact for The Americas/Asia/Middle East:
Michelle DiLello/Dan Schwartz
Susan Grant Lewin Associates
212-947-4557
[email protected]
High-resolution images available upon request.