UNIQUE DESIGN X

The nomadic platform for collectible design rolled into Mexico City during Art Week at Expo Reforma from 5th to 8th February. It was launched in 2019 by Morgan Morris Sans, an art and design-world stalwart, and shakes-up the experience, fostering crossovers between skate culture and functional art within a framework exploring creativity and design as a language of cultural exchange. The fair attracts international galleries spanning art, fashion, architecture and design, and has previously landed in major cities such as Shanghai, Miami and Riyadh. It also focuses on strengthening creative ties between Mexico City and Paris, planning events around art weeks in both cities. Its latest outing was a whirlwind of pop-ups, immersive installations, design launches, and featured a skate-art obstacle course to support and engage with non-profit youth organisations. Here are some of the highlights:

Marion Friedmann Gallery

Friedmann opened her London gallery in 2011 to showcase exceptional works exploring tradition and social narratives through design, craft and art with a focus on Latin America and Mexico. At this year's fair, she presented two sculptures by the contemporary Mexican artist Jorge Yázpik (one a large volcanic stone sculpture), and a new monumental chair and table by the young Mexican artist Emilio Flores (pictured above). Also new was a wall-glass installation by glass artist and jewellery designer Luisa Restrepo and ceramicist Miguel Ángel Carrera’s wall ceramics and marble credenza. The gallery recently added Oaxacan artist Sabino Guisu, one of Mexico’s most exciting talents, to its roster of creatives. He experiments with numerous materials such as honey, bees, mushrooms, wool, wood, silver, stone and neon, and his room divider-screen – hand forged in metal with Obsidian pieces – was on show alongside a huge ceramic vessel. The artist comes from a family of ceramic artisans in Zapotec Oaxaca.

Adrian Cruz Elements and ACCA Editions

Mexican architect Adrián Cruz creates striking, translucent lighting designs from his eponymous studio in Belgium. He works with resin using a technique learnt from his grandfather, which is mixed with precious materials such as Mexican onyx (his father was a geologist). ÁCCA Editions, the studio he co-founded with interior designer Carmen Arechiga, establishes collaborations with interior designers, architects and artists to create collectible handmade pieces, which are crafted by master artisans in ateliers between Italy and Mexico. The result is colourful, functional sculptures referencing the duo’s cultural background.

Karolina Ciecholewska

The Polish sculptor and designer based in New York City produces work exploring themes of power, memory, and the long shadow of conflict. She showcased her monumental chandelier, a piece made in response to the invasion of Ukraine, which is part of a series of artworks inspired by the decorative lighting found in political interiors and palaces. They are made up of thousands of porcelain soldiers based on the popular toys around the world. “Often, when we think of wars and numbers we can't seem to grasp the idea of individuals behind it,” says the artist. The pieces are meticulously attached together, fired and glazed. The chandelier is the biggest piece in the series consisting of nineteen individual porcelain elements each handmade and assembled on a metal structure. “I use porcelain to explore the disconnect between political power and its human consequences," Ciecholewska explains. "Porcelain, traditionally associated with refinement and status, but also called "white gold", became a currency of war in the 18th century. Here it serves a dual purpose: symbolising both the grandeur of authority and the fragility of those affected by it.”

Casa Bosques

Nestling in the Roma Norte neighbourhood of Mexico City, this beautifully curated bookstore founded in 2012 by Rafael Prieto and Jorge de la Garza, specialises in literature spanning art, design, fashion and architecture. It showcased its catalogue obtained through distribution channels such as art book fairs, trips abroad, and works directly from its authors.

Niceworkshop

The Seoul-based design studio founded by Oh Hyunseog in 2021 transforms industrial materials – bolts, nuts and aluminium formwork – into experimental, high-end furniture and objects. Known for the "Bolt Series," the studio emphasises material exploration and has gained an international following, contributing to Rimowa's "As Seen By" exhibition in Paris in October 2021 and a project with fashion designer Rick Owens. It also designed this skateboard for Pharrell Williams’ JOOPITER platform in 2024. Williams' own skateboard was reinterpreted using aluminium, exploring a new approach to material and form. As part of Niceworkshop's 'Neo Naturalism' series, the project examines the fusion of artificial materials, modern technology and handcrafted techniques.

Onora Casa

Maggie Galton and María Eladia Hagerman, co-founders of Onora, have backgrounds in design and the conservation of artisanal Mexican handcrafts. Their shared passion led them to establish a design studio and store in 2013, which collaborates with local artisans to create contemporary, high-end home accessories, textiles, and furniture. At the fair, they presented three exceptional ceramic pieces from the workshop of the late master artisan Dolores Porras, who used colour to transform the ceramic tradition of Mexico's Santa María Atzompa in Oaxaca into an art form.