Pedro Reyes and Carla Fernández Win 2018 Design Miami/ Visionary Award – Contemporary artist Reyes and fashion designer Fernández, who are married, will present a collaborative exhibition at Design Miami/ 2018 as well as design the graphic identity for the fair. The annual award is given to creative talents across all fields that are engaging with design including designers, curators, architects, and luminaries who have made significant contributions to the field of design that offer a tangible and lasting impact on the world around us.
“Pedro and Carla’s work has always brilliantly synthesized a spectrum of influences — from Brutalism to Mexican indigenous culture to social progressive values – into a remarkable body of work. I’m pleased we’ll be celebrating their accomplishments at Design Miami/, and look forward to seeing their exhibition at the fair,” says Craig Robins, Founder, Design Miami/.
About the Graphic Identity
Reyes and Fernández’s inspiration for the Design Miami/ 2018 graphic identity comes from the bold graphics of the handmade protest signs, posters, and ephemera from the May 1968 Paris uprising, a revolution that signaled a social and cultural turning point worldwide and inspired an artistic movement. “Fifty years after the 1968 demonstrations in Mexico, Paris––and around the world––it is more important than ever to listen to the voices of our global society,” said Carla Fernández.
“Which is why we were inspired to incorporate the colors, images, and messages from this movement into the identity, as they reflect our ongoing commitment to action and social change.” “We are thrilled to be working with Pedro and Carla to develop the fair’s graphic identity,” said Rodman Primack, Chief Creative Officer, “Design Miami/ is honored to support such powerful creative visionaries and to have the honor of their shared visual language inform our identity across our entire platform ––exemplifying Design Miami/’s mission to be both a marketplace for design and a leader in global design discourse.”
Reyes and Fernández will present a retrospective of works that address some of the fundamental concerns of our time and facilitate intimate human exchanges that have become rare in this digital age. The booth’s overall structure is designed by the award winners and will feature curved steel walls.
Key works on view will include Reyes’s Metate chairs, which are inspired by pre-Colombian artifacts made with three legs. The artist carves the chairs using simple tools that haven’t changed significantly in nearly 3,000 years. Also on view will be examples from Reyes’s Disarm (2008)––musical instruments fabricated from destroyed firearms––as well as Fernandez’s textile works and the duo’s collaborative works, including a map showing the names of the more than 300 original settlements on the continent of the Americas that were here before the conquest.
“We are honored to be selected as the winners of the Design Miami/ 2018 Design Visionary Award,” said Reyes. “The exhibition offers us a chance to present to the attendees at Design Miami/, pieces where design has a social dimension, either by addressing social justice and peacemaking, as well as the importance of handcrafted products in a world where most processes are being automated and millions of people are losing their jobs.”
The 2018 Design Visionary Award is co presented by Design Miami’s official university partner, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Following its debut at Design Miami/ the exhibition will travel to SCAD Museum of Art opening February 2019.
In addition to the exhibition within the fair, Reyes and Fernández will design a special presentation for the plaza in front of the fair this December and will host a Design Talk on Wednesday, December 5 from 3-4pm.
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