Inside the Miami Design District’s Art Week Kickoff: The Craig Robins Collection Debuts Walking on Air

Miami Art Week always begins with momentum, but this year the Miami Design District offered something closer to levitation. On December 1, the neighborhood unveiled Walking on Air, the newest installation of the Craig Robins Collection, transforming the Buick Building into a thoughtful, two-floor meditation on materiality, chance, and artistic gesture.

The opening reception drew international tastemakers, art world insiders, and cultural leaders who gathered with Craig Robins, CEO and President of Dacra, to celebrate the new rehang. The evening served as the district’s official launch to Art Week, setting the tone for a week defined by discovery and conversation.

The Craig Robins Collection now encompasses more than 1,700 works of modern and contemporary art, displayed within Dacra’s headquarters in the heart of the Design District. For the 2025–2026 presentation, the focus turns toward Richard Tuttle, the artist most prominently represented in the collection. Works spanning the mid-1960s to the present give the exhibition its conceptual anchor.

Tuttle’s early Drift constructions (1965), tin Letters (1966), and dyed cloth pieces (1967) introduced the delicate balancing act that has come to define his practice. These pieces, light in gesture yet precise in intention, set the foundation for a show built on moments of suspension.

Placed in dialogue with David Hammons’ B. Ball (1998), John Baldessari’s Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (1973), and Marcel Duchamp’s 1964 edition of 3 Standard Stoppages, the exhibition explores a shared fascination with chance, process, and the quiet tension between gravity and grace.

Walking on Air draws its name from Tuttle’s 2009 series, but the exhibition pushes far beyond a single artist. Works by Jana Euler, Sasha Gordon, Xinyi Cheng, and Mario Ayala echo and reinterpret Tuttle’s visual language, with each artist contributing their own perspective on form, play, and perception.

New acquisitions by Lauren Halsey, Sam McKinnis, and Jill Mulleady expand the collection’s contemporary dimension, underscoring Robins’ long-standing commitment to collecting not only established artists but those shaping the present moment.

The result is an exhibition that feels light on its feet yet rich in ideas, offering viewers a chance to engage with works that question structure, materiality, and the unpredictable paths of artistic experimentation.

The reception provided an intimate preview of the exhibition spread across two floors of the Buick Building. The atmosphere felt aligned with the show’s title — art that captures movement, guests in conversation, and a district that continues to position itself as a global hub for design and creative exchange.

After the vernissage, guests joined Craig Robins for a dinner experience curated by WE ARE ONA and supported by BVLGARI, continuing the evening within the neighborhood’s architectural and cultural setting.

The night brought together leaders across industries ranging from art and fashion to business, philanthropy, and luxury retail. Notable attendees included:

Craig Robins; Adriana Cisneros; Amber Ridinger; Andre Branch; Andres Fanjul; Bippy Siegal; Carlos De La Cruz; Chris and Brooke Stamp; Dasha Zhukova; Daniella Levine Cava; David Adjaye; Ermenegildo Zegna; Herve Perrot; Jackie Soffer; Jeffrey Deitch; Karolina Kurková; Mario Ayala; Michael Burke; Princess Firyal Jordan; Richard and Lisa Bressler; and Robbie Williams.

Their presence underscored the continued significance of the Craig Robins Collection not only within Miami but across the broader cultural landscape.

As Miami Art Week unfolds, Walking on Air stands out as an exhibition that rewards both contemplation and curiosity. The Craig Robins Collection uses this new rehang to bridge decades of artistic practice, connecting historic conceptual works with the voices shaping contemporary art today. The result is an exhibition that offers levity, depth, and a sense of movement, a fitting start to a week where Miami once again becomes an international center for art and design.