American Express explores the meaning of play through four artist collaborations

In celebration of Design Miami and Art Basel Miami, American Express has commissioned four young artists and designers - Eny Lee Parker, Surin Kim, Serban Ionescu, and Kumkum Fernando - to reinterpret childhood toys into iconic limited edition collectibles. The ‘toys’ - available to purchase online in limited numbers - will be on display as part of Play by American Express Platinum - an interactive gallery space (open to Centurion and Amex Platinum card holders and their guests). 

American Express explores the meaning of play

The exhibition space itself - located on the Miami Edition beachfront is imagined as a grown up playground -  designed in collaboration with toy masters Mattel Creations and PlayLab, Inc. (a multidisciplinary Los Angeles-based creative studio which collaborated with Virgil Abloh on the Louis Vuitton Men’s Fashion Shows) - equipped with oversized playground installations. 

Growing up in Sao Paulo, Eny Lee Parker’s childhood was filled with imagination, rather than physical toys. 'My playtime revolved around coloured pencils, gel pens, fabrics, and magazines,' says the designer, known for her lighting and ceramic furniture. For the Play initiative, she crafted a soft fabric bunny named Benny.  'I have a strong affinity for fabrics, being resourceful and reusing materials, techniques, tools, and more,' she says. Leftover upholstery fabric provided by the French wallpaper and fabrics company Elitis forms his body, which measures 28 inches 'when the ears are perked up.' Through creating Benny, Parker hopes to express 'that play is a universal experience, accessible to people of all backgrounds, ages, and social classes. It's an essential part of life that can manifest in countless forms, reminding us of the importance of playfulness and creativity in our daily lives.'

'Play is always in my work as an element of reverie, chance and adventure,' says the Romanian multidisciplinary artist and designer Serban Ionescu who has created a chess set he named City of Canals. 'I was always fascinated with chess as a recognizable singular object made of many parts and I played it in high school,' he says. Some of the pieces resemble previous works and potential future works: 'a smorgasbord of my works, many parts coming together as one, like a City.' 

He adds, 'When creating “City of Canals” for Play by American Express Platinum, I wanted the imagination to roam between scales and function. Scale for instance between the smaller individual chess pieces playing with each other to the large slide which will also be brought to life as an oversized playground installation that guests can enjoy in Miami.'

Ionescu adds, 'Play should always be there and we should hold on to it as long as we can dream.'

Select toys from the 'Play by American Express Platinum' collection will be available to purchase online. Shop via playbyplatinum.com

americanexpress.com