Craig Robins at Design Miami/ Basel Welcome Cocktail 2013

Basel, Switzerland – It’s that time of the year again, where we hop over the pond and head to Switzerland to cover Design Miami/ at the world’s most premier international art show, Art Basel. We know that waiting six months until the famed Art Basel Miami just seems too long to endure, so before we dive into what this year’s Basel Switzerland has in store let’s take a look back on all the exciting things we were able to indulge in last year.

Design Miami/ Basel Welcome Cocktail 2013

Our trip to Art Basel kicked off with the Design Miami/ Basel Welcome Cocktail in celebration of the opening and thrilling week of Art Basel. Held at the Volkshaus, the cocktail soiree brought together an international mix of collectors, designers, gallerists, curators, and art aficionados from around the world, some including are very own Miami favorites including Craig Robins, Anna Williams, and Jackie Soffer.

Marc Spiegler, Annette Schönholzer, & Craig Robins

Jackie Soffer & Annette Schönholzer

René Kamm & Marc Spiegler

Eric Philippe, Sophie Gasquet, Leonore Bancilhon, & François Laffanour

Niccolo Sprovieri & Elisabetta Cipriani

Design Miami/ Basel 2013 Collectors Preview

Next stop on our Swiss Basel journey: the Design Miami/Basel 2013 Collectors preview. During the preview, art collectors, gallerists, designers, curators, and critics all come together at the stunning permanent exhibition hall designed by Herzog & de Meuron to get a first look at the curated exhibits and incredible works. For its fourth year, Design Miami/ showcased its global forum for design at the international Art Basel fair with some of the most influential people in the art world. This was a true reminder that the fun was just getting started.

Craig Robins

René Kamm

Irma & Norman Braman, & Jackie Soffer

Design Miami/ Basel 2013 Vernissage

Following the toast to kick off Design Miami/Basel 2013 at the original Art Basel fair in Basel, Switzerland, a special invite-only Vernissage was held. The galleries opened to select VIPs and collectors to get a first look at the entire fair. Amongst those browsing the collections were award-winning architect Zaha Hadid and Miami Design District pioneer Craig Robins.

Zaha Hadid

Marianne Goebl

Eric Philippe & Emmanuel Perrotin

Nicoli Haas & Simon Haas

Design Miami/ Basel 2013 Designers of the Future

For the fourth straight year, Design Miami/ teamed up with W Hotels for the collaboration of the Designers of the Future Award. Last year, three young artists were chosen for the award and were asked to showcase their innovative ideas and executions at Design Miami/ Basel 2013. To receive the award, each designer was sent to a different W Hotel around the world to assist with a unique design challenge or need, executing a connection between local communities and international visitors.

Seung-Yong Song, Bethan Laura Wood, & Jon Stam

Seung-Yong Song, Anthony Ingham, Bethan Laura Wood, Mike Tiedy, Jon Stam, & Paul James

Bethan Laura Wood

Seung-Yong Song

Jon Stam

Seung-Yong Song, Jon Stam, & Bethan Laura Wood

Design Miami/ Basel 2013 Craig Robins Dinner

Following a day of Basel madness, Miami Design District pioneer Craig Robins hosted a lovely dinner of 80 guests at the Krafft Basel hotel to celebrate Design Miami/ Basel 2013. Toasting to the eighth annual global design forum, designers and notables enjoyed a dinner in the gorgeous dining room of the historic hotel overlooking a stunning view of the Rhine river.

Craig Robins

Craig Robins

Craig Robins & Marianne Goebl

Silke Kellner, Ascan Mergenthaler, Alex Stain, & Ben Aranda

Mike Tiedy & Craig Robins

Nathan Browning & Judith Seng

Judith Seng: ACTING THINGS

Finally our journey through Art Basel 2013 concluded with performance artist Judith Seng, who gave a unique artistic presentation entitled ACTING THINGS. Aside from enjoying her eye catching performance each day, we also were able to interview Seng and hear more about what goes into her intriguing exhibitions.

Kanye West Exclusive Album Listening

One of the more unexpected things that happened at Art Basel Switzerland last year was hip-hop mogul Kanye West, who surprised art folks with a last minute surprise album listening party. Design Miami/ Basel 2013 hosted a fete of guests to sample the highly anticipated album, Yeezus. The buzz that created was just the beginning of quite an exceptional album for Mr. West, as well as a nice switch up during the long Basel days.

Kanye West

Craig Robins & Kanye West

Kanye West

Craig Robins, Marc Spiegler, & René Kamm

Jean Pigozzi

Kanye West & Philippe Jousse

Craig Robins, Jackie Soffer, Pam Kramlich, Mary Dailey Desmarais, Marc Spiegler, Dick Kramlich, Anthony Schiller, Brooklyn Elias, & Kate Richard