Design Miami and Art.sy: Partners in Design

The partnership marks Art.sy’s first foray into the world of design collectibles, a significant evolution for the site which launched as a one-stop online platform to discover and learn about contemporary art. It makes sense. Art and design have long existed along side each other, sharing spaces galore, from homes to public parks to museums. And Art.sy is nothing if not innovative. The partnership expands its already enormous encyclopedia of fine art to include ceramics, furniture, glass, lighting, jewelry, and textiles. 

Sebastian Cwilich, Art.sy’s President and COO, had this to say when we asked him about the inclusion of design collectibles: "Expanding Art.sy to design was very natural and in fact quite organic. As you know artists and designers are increasingly working across categories, and many of our existing gallery partners already represented artists whose practice extends to design. Furthermore we're also particularly interested in design given its intrinsic accessibility...for example, not everyone owns original art but everyone own a table or chair, so for all these reasons this extension made a lot of sense."

All thirty-six of Design Miami’s exhibitors are represented on Art.sy, with bios and booth numbers to guide you, if you happen to be in Miami on site. You’ll find images of over 400 collectible artifacts on display, created by more than 150 industrial designers. For example, visit RO/LU’s Nature/Nurture, represented by Mondo Cane gallery, and an array of information and options appear at your fingertips. Learn more about the artist, "follow" the artist, see more works by the artist, explore related works at Design Miami, or purchase Nature/Nurture for $3,800. Art.sy calls it "acquiring", another innovation launched during this year’s design fair. Anyone with cash or a credit card can now purchase specified design objects directly from Art.sy’s site. "Inquire", to send your information to an Art.sy specialist who will be in touch with you to discuss availability, price and connect you with the relevant gallery. Or "acquire" to enter your credit card information—a veritable Amazon for art & design aficionados.

We asked Cwilich about the partnership and its relevance in today’s design community on the web: "To my knowledge this is the first major design fair to partner with an online platform, so it's novel and relevant from that perspective. The enthusiasm and support of the exhibitors, with 100% participation, really shows that the leading design galleries are embracing the web as a way to reach collectors who are increasingly geographically dispersed. Finally I think that given Design Miami's close ties to Art Basel, the partnership with Art.sy, which has been primarily focused on fine art, is a very natural extension of Design Miami's longstanding approach."

One of the great things about Art.sy is its user-friendliness. You don’t have to be an expert in art history or collecting to make your way around and enjoy all that the site has to offer. Browse by style or movement, subject matter, medium or technique, or region. Art.sy is more than fluff and pretty pictures. Powered by the Art Genome Project, which analyzes art (and now design) based on various "genes" (subject, historical movement, materials), the exploring is intelligent and orchestrated behind the scenes by the Art.sy experts. One click embarks you on an unknown adventure and the education is endless.

Cwilich says: "It's really exciting to expand the Art Genome Project to collectible design through the addition of 75+ design-related genes, giving Art.sy visitors the ability to explore the fair works using Art.sy’s genome search technology."

Another of Art.sy’s innovations, and our personal favorite, is Art.sy Posts, curated gems of insight and information, news and interesting observations, straight from the experts on site in Miami. It’s a great spot to start exploring the fair. 

"We're particularly happy that 100% of the exhibitors have chosen to participate—and not just with one or two works but with a substantive portion of their booth; you can really get a good sense for what will be at the fair before you arrive. I'm also really excited about Art.sy Posts, which will provide Art.sy visitors with access to content and commentary live from the Design Miami fair written by leading designers, curators, and collector," says Cwilich.

Of course, nothing beckons to be as stimulating as being there in person, but Art.sy’s Design Miami is enlightening and addicting. So if you can’t make it to Miami, and even if you can, peruse through Art.sy’s impressive Design Miami spread. Glance through the variety of  "Works" and narrow your interests by category or size, pieces for sale, or take one of Art.sy’s "suggested filters" and see where you land. It’s the next best thing to being there.