In Switzerland, the mountains block a clear view of the Mediterranean. Perhaps this is why Art Basel has established its annual offshoot Art Basel | Miami Beach, which takes place in December, on the Atlantic seaboard. 200 galleries from all over the world are specially selected for the art event. And this time, there is a furniture manufacturer from France in their midst. Together with the internationally celebrated designers, the Bouroullec brothers, Ligne Roset is furnishing the Art Collectors Lounge and the Art Guest Lounge at the art show. And it all fits together wonderfully. For the pieces of upholstered furniture on which the art-aficionado public can relax are already icons: FACETT, a collection of seating sculptures whose surfaces fit together like Meccano and form a crystalline form. At times they call to mind an interplay of origami, Konstantin Grcic's Chaos chair and cut diamonds.For Pierre Roset, who is Co-Managing Director of Ligne Roset together with his brother Michel and himself an enthusiastic art collector, the Bouroullecs are the "alchemists of contemporary design." Diligently and with great pleasure, they cleverly think out one design hit after the other. Such as FACETT. Michel Roset stated what hie wishes werein terms of the material to be used, namely, he wanted the seating to be foam-filled. In addition to this came the computer-controlled stitching technique in the Ligne Roset threadwork and hey presto: the Bouroullecs turned it into gold. The design received the red dot award "Best of the Best" 2005.
Or as with NORTH TILES, which are to cover the walls of the Art Guest Lounge. The small foam tiles in bright colors are combined by a simple principle of inserting and folding to form organic or geometric interior design concepts. Developed for the Danish textile company Kvadrat, they were recently accepted into the design collection of the MoMA.
Parallel to the art fair, Ligne Roset is opening a new branch in the design district of Miami. There, under the company motto "savoir faire," the French manufacturer will present its other design talents, including Inga Sempé, with a new version of her prize-winning MOËL range, and Didier Gomez, who developed the shop design.
Thus there is a great deal of French design to be seen on both sides of the Atlantic this year, not least at Art Basel | Miami Beach from December 6 to 9, 2007.