What We Unearthed at Alcova, the Messy, Fascinating Emerging Designer Fair
A penis vase, a chain mail chair, and other weird and wonderful objects made appearances at the second Miami edition of the show.
A penis vase, a chain mail chair, and other weird and wonderful objects made appearances at the second Miami edition of the show.
"Going to Art Basel" isn’t just about checking out the country’s biggest and most prestigious international art fair. As much a part of the experience are all the associated art week happenings: openings, dance parties, "activations," and of course, more incredible fairs. Among them are Design Miami, Basel’s sister event that focuses on furniture and collectibles, and an exhibition by NADA, a not-for-profit organization, showing work by fresh voices in the contemporary art scene.
A new but mighty fair on the Miami block is Alcova, a satellite of the popular anchor program from Milan Design Week that draws 90,000 visitors for showcasing emerging designers in non-traditional venues. For their second year in the U.S., founders Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima took over the Miami River Inn in East Little Havana, filling the city’s oldest hotel featuring artists from across the world. Meandering through four small pastel-colored Victorian cottages packed with more than 40 exhibitors, we saw it all, from an immersive plant installation to an aluminum-and-pink rubber porta potty.
Once you sift through some of the half-baked work, there’s brilliance to be found. Luckily, we did that for you. Here’s what stood out:
Reflections of Now by Objects of Common Interest
Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis are the duo behind the studio Objects of Common Interest, creating objects and installations between Greece and New York. I was immediately taken with their mirrors, which come in an array of colors and shapes, reminding me of toy gems from my childhood.
Inspired by kaleidoscopes, the mirrors show you a hazy picture of yourself, evoking the distortion of memory.
Photo by Julian Cousins
Nice Cock… by Kevin Quale
You can’t go anywhere nowadays without running into a vase in the shape of a female form (Etsy seems to be cultivating its own mini economy of boob ceramics). For this reason, I’ve always been interested in phallic decor, as it’s way harder to come by. Imagine my glee when I came across Nice Cock… by NYC ceramicist Kevin Quale, who creates 17th-century delftware through a gay lens.
Quale’s vase is presented as a contemporary queer still life, with chicken nuggets and poppers replacing your typical spread of fruit or seafood.
Photo by Julian Cousins
The Nonconformist Tropical Garden By Sema Topaloglu
It’s not every day you enter a bedroom that’s a complete work of art. Educated as a landscape architect in Turkey, Sema Topaloglu sees interiors as places for installation, and is obviously inspired by the beauty of the natural world.
Topaloglu's fantastical furniture">Glass flowers and geometric sculpture are grafted onto Topaloglu’s fantastical furniture.
Photo by Julian Cousins
See the full story on Dwell.com: What We Unearthed at Alcova, the Messy, Fascinating Emerging Designer Fair
