Design Miami brings together art, decoration and design

Miami: Art, decoration and furniture design will unite at the Design Miami fair to be held in Miami.A total of 41 galleries, most of them from Italy, France, Belgium and the US, will present their latest efforts in the modern design of furniture and decorative objects, items ranging from conservative designs in wood to risky ones seeking to establish a dialogue with those who use them. The latter is the case with the `Parhelia` Swarovski crystal palace created by Asif Khan, an architect based in London, where the artist explores the relationship between the reflections of the crystals and ambient light. Inspired by the optical view of particles of water suspended in the air after thawing from ice crystals, Khan used 1.3 million Swarovski crystals to create a structure in the form of a house raised on poles so that the public may see the reflections from the floor. Washington`s Industry gallery is displaying a table and chairs set for $56,000 created by Jens Praet and made from more than 50 recycled newspapers. "With the publication Elle Decor, he was enchanted by the idea of recycling (the) magazines to create marvelous designs. The designer compressed them and put them into a mold with a mixing agent," Craig Appelbaum, Industry`s representative, told EFE. IANS/EFE