MAISON&OBJET Americas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/503691
from top: A piece from Diego Bianchi's WasteAfterWaste (2015), at the Pérez Art Museum Miami; Radio, Nocturne, model no. 1186 (c. 1935), designed by Walter Dorwin Teague, at the Wolfsonian–FIU; Moon Mask (Two Plane) (2011) by Thomas Houseago, at the Bass Museum. For MUCH oF tHe 20tH CentUry, MiaMi—as the youngest large city in the United States—didn't have the public funds to establish its own municipal art museums. Here the activism of private collectors and philan- thropists has been vital in their creation. nearly 60 years ago, Joe and emily Lowe gave the city its frst art center, the Lowe art Museum. in the following decades, renowned collectors like John and Johanna Bass, Don and Mera rubell, Martin Margulies, and Carlos and rosa de la Cruz, among others, helped make Miami an important city for the arts by founding eponymous museums. the Margulies and rubell collections, known globally for their signifcance in the world of contemporary art, helped draw art Basel to Miami Beach when it was looking to expand outside europe. recently developer Jorge Pérez donated $40 million and 110 artworks to the Miami art Museum, which was renamed for him. explaining his gift, Pérez said, "the museum's commitment to assembling one of the world's leading collections of contemporary art refects my own desire for Miami to continue to grow as an international cultural destination." in celebration of Miami Museum Month and Maison&objet's frst american show, fve of the city's top art museums will offer free access to fairgoers and exhibitors, as well as tie-ins to the fair, including lectures at the Wolfsonian by designers selected as M&o's rising american talents. We asked the museums' curators and direc- tors to preview exhibits of special interest to the show's attendees. Pérez Art MuseuM Mi A Mi the Pérez art Museum Miami building, designed by esteemed architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, is a work of art in itself and one of the fnest examples of tropical modernism in a city famous for it. "the design is very unusual," says tobias ostrander, PaMM's chief curator and deputy director for curatorial affairs, "a counterpoint to the white and shiny architecture of Miami." For the architects, the nearby sea and the lush tropi- cal environment inspired a guiding principle: to incorporate the outdoors into their design. acclaimed botanist and artist Patrick Blanc, for example, created hanging gardens of indigenous plants that reach all the way to the building's roof. Not to be missed: the museum concentrates on international art of the 20th and 21st centuries that best refects Miami's cultural diversity and modern ethos. Known for promoting young artists, PaMM asked argentine artist Diego Bianchi to produce the installation WasteAfterWaste (now on display), which "transfers trash into art," says ostrander, and asks viewers to consider the current global obsession with commodities. Victoria Gitman, another argentine now living in Miami, offers a different take on the commodifcation of life in the cur- rent exhibit "Desiring eye," featuring 30 hyperrealist paintings of elegant objects the artist found at fea markets. 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, 305-375-3000; pamm.org the Wolfsoni A n—floridA inter nAtionA l u niv ersit y the Wolfsonian was founded in 1986 by indefatigable collector Mitchell Wolfson Jr. to demonstrate how art and design shape the human experience. Housed in a Mediterranean revival structure in the heart of the art Deco District, the museum contains some 120,000 objects that trace the social, artistic, and technological evolu- tion of design from the height of the industrial revolution to the end of the Second World War. Not to be missed: For visitors in town for the fair, curator Silvia Barisione suggests the current exhibition "art and Design in the Modern age," an overview of some of the best of 20th-century design. Highlights include an armchair created in 1931 by Sir edwin Lutyens, often called the greatest British architect of his age, and a sleek silver tea service designed by Giò Ponti, one of italy's most famous and infuential 20th-century architects. there is even a short- wave radio receiver from 1937 designed by renowned sculptor isamu noguchi. 1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, 303-531-1001; wolfsonian.org BAss MuseuM of Art Founded in 1963 with a collection of renaissance and Baroque works from John and Johanna Bass, the Bass Museum is now a showcase for art from around the world, including contemporary pieces. Not to be missed: to celebrate Miami Museum Month and Maison&objet americas, the museum has extended its much-praised exhibition "one Way: Peter Marino" through May 17, after which the building will close for a long-planned inter- nal expansion and repurposing. Marino, the celebrity architect for such luxury retailers as Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton as well as high-profle private clients, outftted multiple rooms with his own designs and works from his extensive art collection. Silvia Karman Cubiñá, the museum's executive director and chief curator, suggests m a i s o n - o b j e t. c o m 91