A focused historical presentation brings a pivotal decade of experimental furniture to the fair floor.
The Presentation
Superhouse mounted American Art Furniture 1980 to 1990 during Design Miami 2025, marking the gallery’s third appearance at the fair and its first booth devoted entirely to historical work. The show gathers landmark pieces that reveal how designers of the era blurred the lines between art, craft and function.
Highlights from the Booth
The exhibition features works by twelve influential figures, several of which have not been seen publicly for decades. Standouts include Alex Locadia’s Batman Chair from 1989, Elizabeth Browning Jackson’s Re Fold chair from 1981, Dan Friedman’s LM Screen from 1982 making a rare public debut, and Michele Oka Doner’s Burning Bush from 1990. Other notable objects include Richard Snyder’s Round the World cabinet and Tom Loeser’s Folding Chair, illustrating the era’s theatricality and inventive engineering.
Scenography and Significance
Studio AHEAD collaborated with Farrow and Ball on the booth design, which uses cast iron columns and an “80s funky” spirit to bridge East and West Coast design attitudes. The space is painted in Graupel and introduces Flat Eggshell, a new matte finish from Farrow and Ball. The presentation underscores a renewed interest in this moment of American design when furniture became a personal and political form of expression.
