In Miami: International Arrivals

FLYING DOWN TO MIAMI

ELISEU CAVALCANTE PHOTO

THE BRAZILIAN DESIGN GALLERY ESPASSO, which is based in New York, made a slow but noteworthy entrance into Miami. First, as seems to happen in Miami, there was a splashy party during Art Basel. Then Espasso took the top floor of the Shore Club Hotel, which is being converted into a condo-hotel by the HFZ Capital Group, to showcase the important Brazilian furniture that would be used throughout in the course of the renovation.

Now Espasso has its own permanent home in Miami’s up-and-coming Ironside complex—renovated warehouse buildings along the tracks of the Florida East Coast Railroad— where the lofty and modern spaces have attracted an array of architects, designers, galleries, and showrooms. The manager of Miami’s Espasso is Gaspar Saldanha, a former fashion designer who comes with his own Brazilian art-world pedigree: his grandfather Paulo Werneck was a renowned modernist mosaic artist.

Espasso shows and sells a combination of important vintage pieces and furniture still in production (but made to order). On the roster are Sergio Rodrigues, Jorge Zalzupin, Guiseppe Scapinelli, Zanini de Zanine, Oscar Niemeyer, Claudia Moreira Salles, and many other shining stars in the Brazilian design and architecture firmament. Saldanha says he “curated the showroom so that the icons are primarily upstairs” in a loft that overlooks the ground-floor space. “I’m very excited about this venture,” he adds. “I know that Miami is the perfect niche for us.” espasso.com