Modern Design Across Borders

Design, innovation and cultural exchange take center stage in Modern Design Across Borders at The Wolfsonian-FIU on Miami Beach.

Organized in celebration of the museum’s 30th anniversary, the exhibition traces how ideas and aesthetics in modern design traveled across continents during the interwar period, shaping a global visual language that continues to influence design today. Through five thematic lenses—transportation, the 1925 Paris Expo, tea and coffee, plywood and cocktail culture—the show reveals how creativity and industry intertwined to express modernity, functionality and progress.

Featuring works by influential designers including Norman Bel Geddes, Josef Hoffmann, Alvar Aalto, and Charles and Ray Eames, Modern Design Across Borders draws primarily from The Wolfsonian’s collection. Highlights include a 1960 BMW R 60/2 motorcycle with sidecar, Eva Zeisel’s Tomorrow’s Classic coffee service, Gerald Summers’s bent plywood armchair, and the Soda King Syphon by Bel Geddes and Worthen Paxton, each representing the materials, craftsmanship and ingenuity that defined an era.

Curated by Silvia Barisione, the exhibition underscores how modern design transcended borders to shape everyday life and continues to inspire contemporary practice.

The exhibit will be on view November 20–June 28 on the 6th floor.