Welcome to The Buzz, our monthly roundup of design world news and inspiration for Design Miami’s discerning community of creatives and collectors. Enjoy!

Now showing: New York’s Ateliers Courbet presents Transmutation, the first US solo exhibition of celebrated Mexican multidisciplinary artist Héctor Esrawe. The show debuts Gear, Esrawe’s latest series of sculptural, handcrafted tables and lights, which are intended to honor Mexico’s rich craftsmanship and metalsmithing legacy. Gear’s functional sculptures draw inspiration from the geometry and repeating sequences of utilitarian cardboard’s honeycomb cells, fragmented and arranged by hand and then cast in bronze or aluminum. In addition, the exhibition includes a sculptural light from Esrawe’s Parabola series that explores how light interacts with solid metal surfaces.  Until April 25th

In Chicago, Volume Gallery presents Christy Matson: Both Sides Now. The LA-based artist’s new, handwoven compositions of painted paper are geometric abstractions composed in a palette of muted colors inspired by Southern California light. The works call to mind both vast landscapes and details in nature—ranging from mountain ranges to pebbles magnified beneath the surface of a gently flowing stream. Matson’s pieces are meant to inspire consideration of the concept of place, and how our relative position to a place—be it near or far, over or under, affects our experience and perspective—both in the natural world and in our social interactions. The title, taken from a Joni Mitchell song, also points to the question of relative perception—how meaning depends on what side you’re looking from.  April 12 - June 1

We’re just weeks away from the latest edition of Milan Design Week! The annual event is the largest design celebration in the world, drawing thousands of practitioners, collectors, brands, press, and enthusiasts from around the globe each year. We can’t wait for all that this year has in store!  In addition to the latest design brand releases and innovations, the 62nd edition of the Salone del Mobile trade show promises an installation by American filmmaker David Lynch as well as the 25th anniversary edition of the wonderful SaloneSatellite, a platform geared toward young designers founded and curated by Marva Griffin Wilshire. Meanwhile, the Fuorisalone’s constellation of dreamy design exhibitions, installations, and events taking place across the city’s design districts is always a treat.

Our can’t-miss list so far includes a visit to the Triennale Milano’s new Alessandro Mendini retrospective, as well as stops at the always inspiring Nilufar, Rosanna Orlandi, and Alcova locations, plus installations by the likes of Dolce & Gabbana, Kohler, and Bottega Veneta—not to mention Japanese design studio nendo’s 20th anniversary Milan exhibition, Whispers of Nature. And independent curators (and former Design Miami/ curatorial directors) Maria Cristina Didero and Anna Carnick will each be collaborating with the beloved 5VIE Design District—Didero with Indian designer Gunjan Gupta and Korean designer Jay Sae Jung Oh, and Carnick with Nigerian rising star Nifemi Marcus-Bello. Stay tuned for more Milan Design Week highlights in the coming weeks! April 15-21

In Paris, Galerie SCENE OUVERTEpresents Lumen, an exhibition featuring ten new chromatic works by French artist Diane Benoit du Rey. Inspired in part by artists such as Mark Rothko, Dan Flavin, and James Turrell, Benoit du Rey’s glass sculptures feature vibrating colors and light that gradually shift until the desired intensity is reached. Benoit du Rey worked with an artisan lacquerer to create the subtle interplay between matte and transparent layers, resulting in a sensory experience intended to evoke different shades of daylight, from golden twilight to mysterious dawn. On view ’til April 27th.

Philadelphia’s Museum for Art in Wood presents To Understand a Tree by artist, designer, and woodworker Gina Siepel. The exhibition stems from Siepel’s multi-year work as Artist-in-Residence at MacLeish Field Station, a 260-acre forest and research site in West Whately, Massachusetts, observing a single 100-year-old northern red oak tree and its immediate habitat. The resulting exhibition presents a small-scale exploration of the place of humans in the natural environment, the scope and speed we consume natural resources, and what organisms are regularly included or excluded in definitions of “community.”

Siepel collaborated with students, artists, ecologists, and other specialists over the course of the residency, and the exhibition highlights work with two key collaborators, including original music by composer and cellist Vernon David, and an herbarium collection of plants growing at the forest project site, created by naturalist Kate Wellspring. The show comprises an immersive video installation; functional greenwood chairs made from trees killed by invasive insects or storms; as well as field notes and artifacts. Until July 21

Finally, this year marks the 10th anniversary edition of Concéntrico, the Logroño (Spain) International Festival of Architecture and Design. Since its inception, the event has presented over 100 urban interventions created by teams of national and international architects and designers to experiment with the field of environmental design—sparking a conversation amongst the city, its architecture, and its citizens and visitors that activates reflection on our relationships to these spaces. This year’s iteration promises a number of thoughtful interventions to the cityscape, featuring topics ranging from community building to sustainability, freedom of the press and beyond. April 25 - May 1