As we countdown the days until the opening of Design Miami/ Basel, we’re whetting your appetite for what’s to come with a series of sneak-peek reports. Today’s amuse-bouche consists of six exquisite objects to elevate your walls. Each in their own way, these collection-worthy pieces defy the supposed boundaries that separate art, design, and craft.

A Few Loose Ends Rug by Misha Kahn, 2022

Presented by Friedman Benda, New York City

New York’s Friedman Benda will be presenting a solo show of new works by contemporary collectible design darling Misha Kahn. Anchoring the presentation is A Few Loose Ends, a large-scale, dual-sided mohair rug handwoven by Stephens Tapestry of Johannesburg and Eswatini. The craftsmanship relies on age-old techniques, but the aesthetics are 100% of the moment.

Miroir Oblique by Dominique Perrault & Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost, 2022

Presented by Jousse Entreprise, Paris

Jousse Entreprise has earned a world-class reputation for representing the best of mid-century French design from the likes of Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret. But the Paris gallery’s program also includes a handful of outstanding contemporary créateurs who carry forward the meticulous and restrained approach of their modernist forebearers. Case in point: this mirror polished stainless steel wall piece designed by Dominique Perrault and Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost—a perfect circle embellished only with a single, precisely placed crease.

Gialdolin Mirror by Wendy Wheatley, 1985-1990

Presented by Caterina Tognon Arte Contemporanea, Venezia

The legacy of postmodernism is on full view with Venezia-based Caterina Tognon Arte Contemporanea’s very special presentation of 20 charming mirrors designed between 1985 and 1990 by Marco Zanini and Wendy Wheatley—both students of the great Ettore Sottsass and members of iconoclastic design collective Memphis. Each mirror is an original Artist's Proof from the famous series Specchi Veneziani, crafted in Murano at the historical glass atelier Studio Ars et Labor Industrie Riunite. Sadly S.A.L.I.R. closed shop forever in 2020, making these rare treasures all the more significant.

The River Horse Tapestries by Barbro Nilsson, 1966

Presented by Dansk Møbelkunst Gallery, Copenhagen

Scandinavian design lovers will be enchanted by Copenhagen-based Dansk Møbelkunst’s epic installation of tapestries woven in 1966 by master Swedish textile artist Barbro Nilsson. Commissioned by Sydsvenska Kraft, one of Sweden’s largest hydropower companies, Bäckahästen (The River Horse), as the series is called, depicts a folkloric equine figure galloping through an array of dynamic, vibrant environments that symbolize powerful natural forces.

Memories of a Panorama 2 by Kiki van Eijk, 2013

Presented by Rademakers Gallery, Rotterdam

In Design Miami/ Basel’s Curio program, you’ll find Rademakers Gallery from Rotterdam presenting work by Dutch designer Kiki van Eijk, whose two-decade-long career has focused on the revaluation of traditional crafts and forms in a contemporary context. In 2013, van Eijk collaborated with TextielLab Tilburg to create a dreamy series of jacquard-woven tapestries inspired by Dutch landscapes. Each intricate, limited edition textile is woven to order, requiring weeks to complete.

Zemlia Tapestry by Victoria Yakusha, 2022

Presented by FAINA, Antwerp

We’d like to end this sneak-peak list with the poignant Zemlia Tapestry, created for this year’s Design Miami/ Basel Curio program by Ukrainian-born designer Victoria Yakusha, who founded her design brand FAINA in 2014 after the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine. Her mission is to express her homeland’s cultural heritage through the language of contemporary design. At the fair, Yakusha will present a 2.5-meter, handwoven tapestry intended to evoke Ukrainian soil. Yakusha explains: “Wherever I am, I feel pulled towards Ukrainian soil; I feel a need for physical contact with it. When Russia invaded, I was not in Ukraine. Besides bringing aid, I went back just to physically set foot on our earth. To feel her. It's not something that you can put into words. This connection is inherent. And as long as we have it, we are invincible.” We’re so proud to have this project in the fair and to hold space to honor Ukrainians who are unjustly suffering and valiantly defending their homeland. ◆

Design Miami/ Basel is open to the public June 14-19, 2022. Preview Day, by invitation only, is June 13.

Tickets are on sale now! Purchase here.