The fourth MAZE/Art Awards F.P.Journe ceremony was held on 14 June 2026 as part of the second edition of MAZE/Design Basel, at the Offene Kirche Elisabethen in Basel. Dedicated to design for the first time, the award was presented to Indian architect Bijoy Jain for Bamboo Study XIII (2026), a work presented by the New York gallery Salon 94. The distinction is accompanied by the acquisition of the work by F.P.Journe, which will then be proposed to the Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein, Germany).
The MAZE/Art Awards F.P.Journe rests on a curatorial approach designed to evolve, its theme always shaped by the context of the fair that hosts it. After three editions devoted to modern and contemporary art, it opened this time to collectible design, echoing the identity of MAZE/Design Basel.
Launched in 2025, the fair returned to this neo-gothic church facing the Kunsthalle and expanded this year into an adjacent pavilion. It brought together a selection of international galleries, among them Kreo, Jousse Entreprise, Mitterrand, Salon 94, Thomsen Gallery and ammann//gallery, ranging from post-war furniture to the boldest contemporary creations.
In the nave, the F.P.Journe stand presented a large abstract composition of intense red (Untitled, 2025), created by TIKO (Tiphaine Koltès), a Franco-Vietnamese artist based in Geneva.
The jury was composed of Constance Rubini, Director of MADD Bordeaux / Musée des Arts décoratifs et du Design de Bordeaux, Jochen Eisenbrand, Chief Curator of the Vitra Design Museum, and Alexis Georgacopoulos, Director of ECAL / École Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne. Drawing on their respective expertise in museum curation, design history and design education, they distinguished a work of remarkable artistic and conceptual qualities.
The award was presented for the first time in November 2025 in Paris, during MIRA Art Fair, where Victor Fidelis (Galerie Verve, São Paulo) was distinguished for "No limit do privado". It was then presented to Sonia Gomes (Galerie Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo) at Art Gstaad in February 2026, and to Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange (Galerie Pavec, Paris) at TEFAF Maastricht in March 2026. The acquired works were proposed to the Centre Pompidou for the first, and to the Kunstmuseum Basel for the following two.
With this first design piece destined for the Vitra Design Museum, the award broadens its scope while pursuing its aim: to contribute to the enrichment of leading museum collections and to the institutional recognition of the creators it brings to light.
The values that define F.P.Journe - Authenticity, Rarity and Talent - find a natural place here. Brought together in the acronym "A.R.T.", they express the close bond the Manufacture maintains with creation in all its forms, and its commitment to its transmission.
