BASEL.- Following the cancellation of the Design Miami/ Basel fair, and since Basel remains an essential crossroads for the international art market, an exclusive group of galleries specializing in collectible design have joined forces to create Design Basel, a new prestige event that joins the MAZE brand of fairs, including Art Gstaad.

The show will be held on Monday June 16 and Tuesday June 17, 2025 in the sumptuous Offene Kirche Elisabethen, ideally located opposite Basel’s Kunsthalle.

Each gallery will present a stand highlighting its expertise and selection, offering a rich panorama of the decorative arts, from the 1950s to contemporary creation.

The group of dealers behind this initiative includes Thomas Fritsch - Artrium (Paris), Galerie Gastou (Paris), Pierre-Marie Giraud (Brussels), Jousse Entreprise (Paris), Ketabi Bourdet (Paris), Kreo (Paris), Laffanour / Galerie Downtown (Paris), Galerie Meubles et Lumières (Paris), Galerie Mitterrand (Paris), Salon 94 (New York) and Thomsen Gallery (New York).

In addition to the design galleries, MAZE Design Basel will also present special projects, including “Reflets de Nouvel”, the lounge of the show, and “Nikos Koulis Jewels”, a jewelry designer.

MAZE Design Basel opens a new chapter for design enthusiasts and collectors. With the invaluable support of the F.P.Journe watchmaking house, this event promises to be a must-attend event of the world art week, in a spectacular setting in the heart of Basel.

Basel’s Elisabethenkirche, the venue for the first edition of Design Basel this year, was conceived by Christoph and Margarethe Merian in the middle of the 19th century.

Its architecture and design were intended to send a message. At a time of rising anti-clericalism and secularism, the couple chose to use their wealth to build a church that was designed to show the continuing relevance of spiritual values in the modern world. The Merians commissioned the Zurich architect Ferdinand Stadler to design what would be the first new church to be built in the heart of Basel since the Reformation, in what was the then fashionably progressive Gothic Revival style.

The architecture of the church served as a signal of the founders’ intentions. It was clearly of its time, reflecting modernity. But it was also following in an established tradition, and so suggesting a certain continuity. Its soaring gothic vaults are beautifully made from brick, its towering spire has a cast iron structure that was not available to the master masons of the Middle Ages.

It is an appropriate as well as an impressive backdrop for MAZE Design Basel to show work from three generations of designers.