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

Tanya Aguiñiga Receives the Heinz Award

Congratulations to Los Angeles-based Tanya Aguiñiga! Aguiñiga has been awarded one of this year’s prestigious Heinz Awards, which annually recognize a small handful of outstanding individuals with $250,000 unrestricted cash awards. Aguiñiga is known for an interdisciplinary practice that melds craft, sculpture, and performance to address issues of migration, gender, and identity, and frequently engages directly with community members as part of her practice. Her work draws on her life experience as a binational citizen, who as a child crossed the U.S.-Mexico border daily from Tijuana to San Diego to attend school, and aspires to tell the larger, often invisible stories of the transnational community.

“My hands translate and record human emotion through craft.” —Tanya Aguiñiga

“Tanya has a remarkable gift for capturing stories of the migrant experience and weaving those narratives into her art. Through her installations, visitors are called to learn and to make deeper connections with people whose lives and cultures are often misrepresented because they feel unfamiliar.” —Teresa Heinz, Chairman, Heinz Family Foundation Chairman

Shozo Michikawa at Hostler Burrows

Japanese ceramic artist Shozo Michikawa makes his first solo presentation at Hostler Burrows Los Angeles with fifteen new works that showcase his innovative ceramic prowess. Michikawa’s expressive gestural sculptures take inspiration from nature—and in particular, the landscape on the island of Hokkaido where he grew up, as well as patterns formed by forces like wind, water, and lava. The resulting objects—seemingly twisting and turning—combine a reverence for centuries-old ceramic techniques with a passion for experimentation. Up through December 23rd.

Stories and Other Objects at Gallery FUMI

Gallery FUMI’s latest group show in London features newly commissioned work and key pieces by a winning roster that includes the likes of Max Lamb, Glithero, Study O Portable, JAMESPLUMB, Rowan Mersh, Johannes Nagel, Tuomas Markunpoika, and more. Highlights include Lamb’s latest Poly piece, a charming green bench carved into polystyrene; as well as a chandelier by designer Jie Wu that combines colorful resin with a rare antique rosewood, inspired by ancient Chinese lanterns found in Imperial gardens. On view through February 19, 2022.

Michael Anastassiades: Upbeat at Friedman Benda

London-based, Cypriot designer Michael Anastassiades makes his debut solo show in the US with Upbeat at Friedman Benda in New York. Arranged in linear configurations that take inspiration from the Manhattan skyline as well as Dan Flavin’s renown Tatlin series, the new lighting collection maintains Anastassiades’ signature, minimalistic elegance while also introducing bamboo into his oeuvre. Notably stepping away from his typical exploratory prototyping and industrial fabrication methods, Anastassiades’ latest pieces were produced in-studio using handmade methodologies rooted in Japanese craft traditions. On view through December 18th.

“The project has been an exercise of negotiation with the variability of nature. To understand the material and establish certain constants on which I could build a rhythm. To embrace its peculiarities and accept its unpredictability.” —Michael Anastassiades

Kaleidoscopic Home at SPACE10

This week, SPACE10, IKEA’s research and design lab in Copenhagen, launched Kaleidoscopic Home, an exhibition that explores the ways in which playful interventions at home can enrich our physical and emotional well-being. Created by Australian design duo Tin & Ed, the presentation brings to life the digital platform EverydayExperiments.com, which explores how emerging technologies might improve our lives at home. The heart of the digital project is an AR application aimed at improving well-being; the speculative experiment is actualized at SPACE10, turning the space into a playground of ever-changing colorful, surprising sculptural forms. Open through April 30, 2022.

“Play is vital for children's mental, physical, and social development, but we believe it's just as crucial for people of all ages. We know that when adults play, it can relieve stress and increase emotional well-being. The aim for this exhibition is to show how an otherwise familiar room can be transformed into something unexpected, striking a playful balance between order and chaos, relaxation and stimulation.” —Tin Nguyen, Artist & Creative Technologist, Tin & Ed