Design’s Maximilist Prince Heads South
The ecstatic designs of Chris Wolston come to Texas, Juergen Teller's most honest show yet opens in Athens, a forgotten Cuban Modernist is revived in New York, and more.
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As the art and design world prepares to descend on Miami Art Week (Dec. 1-7), we checked in with our former guests who will be inching through Miami traffic this year to unveil new works, sign books, and reveal new projects.
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH
Nick Cave at Jack Shainman Gallery
Jack Shainman Gallery (H23) christened its new TriBeCa outpost earlier this year with a bold opening by Nick Cave. In the center of the gallery stood an almost 26-foot-tall sculpture, modeled off the artist’s own body. Now comes a smaller but no less powerful work: Arm Peace (2024), a 2024 bronze cast of Cave’s clenched fist. jackshainman.com
Judy Chicago at Jessica Silverman
Judy Chicago began the Birth Project series because she saw a lack of representation of childbirth in art. With the help of 150 needleworkers, she embroidered dozens of textiles radiantly depicting different aspects of giving birth. Most of the series is held in museum collections, but one massive 11 by 5-foot quilts will be shown by Jessica Silverman (A4). jessicasilvermangallery.com
Theaster Gates at GRAY
GRAY (H9) presents two new works by Theaster Gates that speak to the breadth of his material practice. Calvino’s Castle, a ceramic sculpture, and Girlfriends with Two Shades of Black, a silkscreen painted with thick bitumen. richardgraygallery.com
PLUS:
Stefan Sagmeister at Thomas Erben Gallery
Back in 2023, Stefan Sagmeister made the case for optimism on the podcast. His series Beautiful Numbers, begun in 2020, uses a century’s worth of data—showing longer lives, more democracies, less hunger—as a reminder that progress still happens, just not in the headlines. A few of these abstract data visualizations will be on view at Thomas Erben Gallery (D16). thomaserben.com
Alex Prager, Erwin Wurm, and Calida Rawles at Lehmann Maupin
Lehmann Maupin (C23) gives an early look at Hidden Hills (Echoes), Alex Prager’s newest cinematic tableau, ahead of a forthcoming show. She’s joined by fellow podcast guests Erwin Wurm, and Calida Rawles. lehmannmaupin.com
ELSEWHERE IN TOWN
Alex Prager Raises the Curtain
This year’s headlining pop-up comes from a collaboration with Capital One, The Cultivist, and photographer Alex Prager, known for her hyper-stylized images. Imagine walking straight into one: in the Mirage Factory, Prager transforms an old Miami Beach movie theater into an old Hollywood mise en scène, where she will create an artificial orange grove and Hollywood Boulevard sunset. While immersive pop-ups are usually temporary and set-like by design, for Prager artifice is the entire point. capitalone.com
Think Like a Master Designer
How does Kelly Wearstler do it all? In this workshop in partnership with Airbnb, the designer divulges her creative process. Ask her where it all start and she’ll point to her studio “vibe trays,” mood boards of swatches, prints, colors, and textures she uses to curate her inspiration. Between forging a design empire and juggling a roster of nonstop projects, she also somehow still found time to debut Side Hustle in October—a traveling platform for the makers she likes to spotlight. airbnb.com
Treat Yourself to an Architectural Jewelbox
Cartier is the latest luxury brand to scale up in Miami’s Design District. The architecture studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro, helmed by podcast guest Elizabeth Diller, is behind the house’s new and expanded flagship. Its glass facade is etched with a pattern taken from a 1909 Cartier brooch. cartier.com
Meet the Haas Brothers’ Newest Creatures
We caught up with the Haas Brothers in 2023 on their recent rise from fringe experimenters to art-world darlings. This month marks a new milestone: their first major museum survey, “Haas Brothers: Uncanny Valley,” has just opened in Michigan and will tour the U.S. over the next year. Meanwhile in Miami, the University of Miami’s Lowe Museum is presenting “S. Car Go!” a showcase of their ever-so delightful creatures. lowe.miami.edu
Es Devlin’s Latest Spectacle
British designer Es Devlin has devised ambitious sets for museums, fashion brands, rock stars, and even the Olympics. Her latest concoction is a 50-foot-wide outdoor bookshelf on Miami’s beach, commissioned for Faena Hotel’s 10th year anniversary. Installed during Art Basel Miami, Library of Us is stocked with 2,500 books that have impacted Devlin, a sort of biographical canon and invitation to relate over knowledge. faena.com
Tom Sachs Signs His New Book
Tom Sachs—whom we spoke with on this season’s finale—will be launching his newest book, The Tom Sachs Guide, during Art Basel Miami and signing copies. The monograph walks readers through his incredible career and hundreds of creations. phaidon.com
