Herman Miller + Art Basel | Miami Beach

The private art collector’s lounge and both public restaurants at this year’s Art Basel | Miami are populated with over 650 pieces from the Herman Miller Collection. You’ll find our brilliantly upholstered Eames dining chairs in pink and orange, the Eames Lounge Chair in white leather and creamy ash along with Noguchi’s iconic coffee table – with an ash base. Tuxedo sofas have been covered in a luxurious wool Girard fabric and they share the floor with crisp Nelson Coconut Chairs in black and white. And our new Magis pieces – Konstantin Grcic’s sculptural Chair One and Stool One are casting beautiful shadows all over the lounge area. It all feels just right for this buzzy fair – a celebration of the contemporary art scene with 260 galleries from all over the globe representing over 2000 artists.

From a Lifework perspective it is wonderful to see people “work” the fair. One man sank into an Eames Lounge Chair and pulled out his iPad and began furiously typing. A photographer spread out on the Tuxedo sofa and started downloading images to a laptop perched on the Noguchi.

Jack Schreur, Vice President of The Herman Miller Collection wandered the halls with me this morning before the crowds arrived. “The big theme is this  - this is not about what used to be.  Our presence here is about taking some of the most amazing pieces of furniture in the world and contemporizing them, showing how they live and work today. We arrange our technology around us instead of the other way around  - it fundamentally opens up opportunities for all of this great furniture. It didn’t work great when you had to put an IBM Selectric out there to do your work but now … look at this.” Schreur points to a group leaning over a laptop, each perched comfortably on a Setu chair upholstered in deep red.

Look out for more Art Basel and Design Miami coverage over the next few days.