Maze Design Basel Expands in Basel With More Exhibitors, More Art, and a Museum Prize
Basel’s newest boutique design fair has returned with a broader footprint and a clearer identity. Maze Design Basel, now in its second edition, has expanded beyond its debut format, adding exhibitors and giving more room to artworks on the stands. The result is a fair that feels less like a pure design market than a carefully calibrated meeting point between collecting, display, and contemporary art.
Launched last year by a small group of dealers, most of them based in Paris, Maze emerged after the discontinuation of Design Miami Basel. It is staged at Offene Kirche Elisabethen, the church in Basel’s city center that sits within easy reach of the city’s museums and the Kunsthalle. This year, several new exhibitors have joined the fair in a tent erected in front of the building, extending the event physically as well as conceptually.
That expansion has also changed the visual language of the fair. More works now hang on the walls, giving the event an art-and-design character that distinguishes it from the more strictly design-focused model that preceded it. “All the exhibitors now have the opportunity to show some art on their booths,” said Hélin Serre of Laffanour—Galerie Downtown, Paris.
Laffanour—Galerie Downtown is presenting a notably layered stand. Among the works are paintings of Black male figures by German artist Jeremy Jaspers (b. 1985), a sculptural work by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos (b. 1971), and a large-format, text-based canvas on dreams by American artist Ken Grimes (b. 1955). The centerpiece is an Ours Polaire sofa by French designer Jean Royère (1902–1981), reupholstered in its original deep green fabric and priced at more than €1 million. Nearby is a Mexique bookcase by French designer Charlotte Perriand (1903–1999), long part of gallery owner François Laffanour’s personal collection.
The fair’s soft opening on Sunday drew contemporary art dealers exhibiting at Art Basel, along with their clients. Serre said the crowd was largely European and American, often represented by advisers.
Maze also used the fair to stage the Maze/Art Awards F.P. Journe. This year’s prize went to New York gallery Salon 94 Design for a seat combining bamboo and silk by Indian architect Bijoy Jain, made with Studio Mumbai. Priced at around €20,000, the work will enter the collection of the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, just across the German border from Basel.
As Basel’s June calendar continues to blur the line between art fair and design fair, Maze is positioning itself as a smaller but increasingly telling part of the city’s collecting ecosystem.
Maze Design Basel is on view at Offene Kirche Elisabethen until June 18.
