Welcome to The Buzz, a biweekly roundup of design world news and inspiration for Design Miami’s discerning community of creatives and collectors. Enjoy!

Quadra by Serena Confalonieri in Milan

This month, Milan-based designer Serena Confalonieri debuts Quadra, a graphic art urban intervention sponsored by the Municipality of Milan’s Piazze Aperte redevelopment initiative. Painted by volunteers and local students, Confalonieri’s design transforms an unused lot in the city’s Quarto Oggiaro district into a vibrant, new recreational space for the community to enjoy.

Mit Meinem Daumen Modelliert by Gerd Rothmann at Ornamentum

Hudson’s Ornamentum Gallery is hosting an exhibition of make-you-look-twice work by contemporary jewelry design legend Gerd Rothmann. With a title that translates to Formed With My Thumbs, the show includes the prolific German-born designer’s latest collection of skin-imprinted necklaces, bracelets, and rings. Rothmann has exhibited works with Ornamentum since the gallery’s founding in 2002; Mit Meinem Daumen Modelliert coincides with Rothmann's 80th birthday.

Cambio by Formafantasma at Centro Pecci

Dynamic design duo Formafantasma is about to open the latest iteration of its Cambio project. The studio’s ongoing investigation into the global timber industry began years ago, but the first high-profile exhibition of the project was commissioned by and debuted at London’s Serpentine Galleries last year. This month the show travels to Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato. The importance of this project is summed up nicely by the studio: “The future of design can and must attempt to translate emerging environmental awareness into a renewed understanding of the philosophy and politics of trees that will encourage informed, collaborative responses.”

Magistretti Revisited at Fondazione Studio Museo Vico Magistretti

Today, Fondazione Vico Magistretti opens Magistretti Revisited, an exhibition in maestro Magistretti’s Milanese studio that tells the story of his relationship with the city in which he lived and worked. The opening celebration will be accessible online through the foundation’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. Since we are still grounded at home, we’re all in to check out the virtual vernissage. NB there’s a wonderful Magistretti exhibition also on view now at the Triennale di Milano.

MANIERA x MOS at Willy Van Der Meeren's Roelants House

Later this month, Brussels-based gallery MANIERA is taking over an iconic modernist Willy Van Der Meeren house with a presentation of work by New York architecture studio MOS. Built in 1962 for the writer Maurice Roelants, the house features prefabricated elements and raw materials idyllically sited in the Flemish countryside close to Brussels—a striking backdrop to MOS’s colorful yet functionalist, Shaker-inspired Peg Furniture collection. Notably, it’s not the first time MANIERA has presented an au courant exhibition within an unexpected architectural gem; they’ve previously inhabited brutalist and modernist homes by the likes of Juliaan Lampens and Henry Van de Velde. We can’t wait to peek inside their latest home-away-from-home!

Collectible in Brussels

The annual Brussels-based Collectible design fair launches online next week. Focusing exclusively on the world of 21st-century design, this year’s globally facing virtual show will be accompanied by in-person exhibitions across the city in collaboration with local galleries and partners—offering a great window onto the city’s rich contemporary design scene.

Design As Self-Portrait at the Venice Design Biennial

The third edition of the Venice Design Biennial launches this week with a group exhibition titled Design As Self-Portrait. Investigating design’s role in communicating identity, this year’s presentation features works by Anna Aagaard Jensen, Arik Levy, Audrey Large, Elisa Ossino, Estudio Campana, Mohamed Hamden Tarek, and Touche-Touche, among others. We’re especially excited to see new work by emerging Czech designer Tadeas Podracky—winner of the first edition of the Venice Design Biennial Residency in 2020—produced in collaboration with expert local artisans. The Biennial runs May 20-June 27, in parallel with the first month of the Architecture Biennale.