Miami, Florida – WE-ARE-FAMILIA, an extensive global network of creative individuals from all disciplines, is thrilled to announce its participation for the 3rd consecutive year in the Fountain Art Fair during Art Basel Miami Beach opening December 1st and running until December 4th.

At the fair, WE-ARE-FAMILIA exhibits a selection of works from its recently completed series of 25 one-of-a-kind Keepsake Boxes, a project that originated in 2007. Each Keepsake Box showcases approximately 40 original “mementos”, or artworks, contributed by the WE-ARE-FAMILIA family of artists. Each is a sculptural assemblage of found, re-purposed and/or surplus materials.

This multifaceted Keepsake Box collaboration, representing the work of over 60 artists and designers worldwide, culminated with Keepsake Boxes 12-25, created with a bulk of donated Fritz Hansen™ furniture and materials–rejected, damaged or otherwise unmarketable.

Regarding the Danish design company’s donation of damaged luxury goods, David Obel Rosenkvist, Vice President of Sales, North America noted, “The Fritz Hansen™ brand maintains a reputation for thoughtful design, superior craftsmanship and sustainability… We are pleased to collaborate with WE-ARE-FAMILIA and their collection of forward-thinking artists and designers as a way to extend the life of these pieces”.

According to Jennifer Garcia, Project Director and Keepsake Box designer, “Working with Fritz Hansen as an extension of WE-ARE-FAMILIA has truly been an honor. This project has been over four years in the making. It’s been wonderful to see its evolution and has been a privilege to work with some of most interesting and avant-garde designers in the country.”

The selection of Fritz Hansen Keepsake Boxes on view at Fountain were designed by: Brendan Ravenhill (LA), Joe Doucet (NYC), UM Project (Brooklyn, NY), Nightwood (Brooklyn, NY), Silva Bradshaw (Brooklyn, NY), Steph Mantis (Brooklyn, NY), Patrick Townsend (Long Island City, Queens), Brian Balderston (Brooklyn, NY) and Project Director, Jennifer Garcia (New York City).

WE-ARE-FAMILIA is also proud to feature for the first time ever Tomoko Sugimoto’s large scale stitch and paint works on canvas. The artwork is inspired by Sugimoto’s affinity for delicate line drawing and an experimentation of creating line work with hand and machine stitching. Her new work delivers her vision of our inner feelings, organic movement and thought, that are constantly in motion and exist solely in that moment. Also on display: “Mean Bird” paintings by Keepsake Box contributor Amy Ruppel and masonite carvings by Barnstormer Chris Mendoza.

WE-ARE-FAMILIA presents
the FRITZ HANSEN KEEPSAKE BOXES
TOMOKO SUGIMOTO, AMY RUPPEL
and CHRIS MENDOZA
Fountain Miami Beach | Booth 2
Dec. 1 | Noon to 5pm (VIP & Press Preview)
Dec. 2 through Dec. 4 | Open Noon to 7pm
North Miami Warehouse
25th Street and North Miami Ave.
Wynwood Arts District, Miami Fl.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Friday, Dec 2, 7pm–12am
Artlog Opening Night Reception:
Fab 5 Freddy, Ninjasonik, NSR
Saturday, December 3, 7pm–12am
Miami New Times Presents:
Laura of Miami, Entresol

New York, New York – Fritz Hansen™, the renowned Danish furniture design company, and WE-ARE-FAMILIA, a global network of creative individuals from all disciplines, are pleased to announce KIN CODA, an exhibition of the completion of one-of-a-kind Keepsake Boxes, a project that first originated in 2007. The entire series consists of 25 unique Keepsake Boxes, each showcasing approximately 40 original “mementos”, or artworks, contributed by the WE-ARE-FAMILIA family of artists. Each Keepsake Box is a sculptural assemblage of found, recycled and surplus materials. Possessing nostalgic warmth yet employing contemporary forms of expression, the boxes provide a new and exotic understanding of ordinary things.

To date, WE-ARE-FAMILIA has actualized 11 boxes. Boxes 12 through 25 complete the project and will be exhibited with support from Fritz Hansen, which has donated a bulk of products and materials; rejected, damaged or otherwise unmarketable. Fritz Hansen has long believed that sustainability, quality and design are all equally important. By creating products that are meant to last forever, even the remnants are considered useful.

“The Fritz Hansen brand maintains a reputation for thoughtful design, superior craftsmanship and sustainability” says David Obel Rosenkvist, Vice President of Sales, North America. “We are pleased to collaborate with WE-ARE-FAMILIA and their collection of forward-thinking artists and designers as a way to extend the life of these pieces.”

The 14 artists invited to design and fabricate boxes 12-25 are : Brendan Ravenhill (LA), Fort Standard (BK), Chen Chen and Kai (BK), David Weeks (BK), Joe Doucet (NYC), UM Project (BK), Nightwood (BK), Silva Bradshaw (BK), Steph Mantis (BK), Kiel Mead (BK), Brian Balderston (BK), Iacoli + McAllister (Seattle), MN*LS (Austria), Patrick Townsand (Long Island City) and Jennifer Garcia (NYC).

According to Jennifer Garcia, Project Director and Keepsake box designer, “This project has been over four years in the making and it’s wonderful to see these final pieces coming together. Working with Fritz Hansen as a collaborator and extension of We-Are-Familia has truly been an honor.”

Boxes 12 to 25 will be on display at the Fritz Hansen showroom on Wooster Street, in Soho, New York City, from November 17^th through November 23^rd, 2011 with a VIP opening reception to be held on Thursday, November 17^th from 6-8pm. In addition to support from Fritz Hansen, the KIN CODA exhibition is sponsored by Modern Spaces, MetLife and AM.

KIN CODA
Opening Reception
Thursday November 17 2011
From 6 to 8 pm
At The Republic of Fritz Hansen
22 Wooster Street New York City
With DJ Cerock
On view until 11.22.11

For more information, please contact:

Jennifer Garcia
646-709-6702
jennifer@we-are-familia.com

Founded in 1872 by Danish furniture cabinet maker Fritz Hansen, Fritz Hansen A/S is today recognized as one of the world’s leading design and manufacturers of exclusive furniture. Known for their collaborations with some of the world’s most influential architects and designers, such as Arne Jacobsen and Poul Kjærholm, has resulted in an outstanding collection of exclusive furniture designs. Today the legacy is carried forward through partnerships with international design stars such as Piero Lissoni, Todd Bracher, Kasper Salto and Cecilie Manz under the management of President and CEO Jacob Holm.

WE-ARE-FAMILIA is an extensive global network of creative individuals from all disciplines whom have come together to explore the powerful, complex ties which consciously and unconsciously touch all that we experience as humans. Their primary ongoing project is a series of 25 one-of-a-kind Keepsake Boxes, each showcasing approximately 40 original “mementos” contributed by its family of artists. The Keepsake Boxes themselves are an elegant ad-hoc assembly of found, recycled and/or surplus materials. Encompassing both nostalgic warmth and contemporary forms of expression, they provide a new and exotic understanding of ordinary things.
WE-ARE-FAMILIA launched in December 2007 with an installation at Parisian design superstore Colette. They have since held exhibitions at Open Space Gallery in Beacon, NY, Reed Space in NYC, at the Fountain Art Fairs and the Museum of Art and Design. Currently and into 2011, the collective is host to a series of independent exhibitions and cultural events in Downtown Brooklyn and LIC, Queens.

IMAGES ABOVE: We-Are-Familia Keepsake Boxes by Nightwood, Steph Mantis and Joe Doucet.

The 2nd in a series of intimate migratory collector’s events, aimed at showcasing work by WE-ARE-FAMILIA members in otherwise uninhabited spaces. This exhibition will take place at The Yard in Long Island City and features art and design in-context including deconstructed furniture by Nightwood, photography by Samantha Contis, drawings by Holly Stevenson and Chris Mendoza, chinaware by Nille Svensson, hand-built lighting by Doug Newton, painting by John Grande, Choichun Leung and Amy Ruppel, installation by David Trumpf, fashion by H. Fredriksson, film by Olivier Babinet and featuring Megan Garwood as “The Conversation Prostitute”.

OPENING
Wednesday June 15, 2011 from 6 to 9 pm
The Yard 2-26 50th Ave Long Island City, NY 11101
Only 1 stop from Grand Central Station. Take the 7 train to Vernon-Jackson Avenue
Music by Cerock, drinks by Dutch Kills, catering by Maia Pearl
The Yard is open Monday through Thursday 10 am to 6 pm Friday 10 am to 5 pm Sunday 12 to 4 pm
Wild House is on view until September 15, 2011