Design Miami/ 2015: Chalk art

Miami – American artist Daniel Arsham turned the gallery model on its head with his new interactive exhibition.

Substituting semi-precious materials such as crushed crystal for chalk encouraged serendipity and interaction
The artist is also launching the latest instalment of his film series Future Relic during Design Miami/ 2015

The Future Was Written is a major new exhibition at the National YoungArts Foundation Miami by Arsham, who is one half of architectural design studio Snarkitecture. It is made up of almost 2,000 objects cast in chalk and, like many of Arsham's works, the detritus of American pop culture such as baseballs, mobile phones and computer consoles were well represented.

Whereas Arsham normally casts his work from semi-precious materials such as crushed crystal or volcanic ash, the twist in this exhibition was that the objects on display were also functional pieces that viewers could pick up and use to scribble on the blackboard walls of the gallery space.

Curated by the new director of Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) Franklin Sirmans, it was a major step towards dispelling the alienating reverence often associated with the gallery context.