Art Basel Miami Beach, 2009 - Part III

I had so much fun in Basel, learned so much, and attended so many events, but in particular, there were two really enjoyable Latin-oriented gatherings that were memorable; cocktails at the Miami Art Museum (MAM) hosted by its Director, Terence Riley. It was the first retrospective ever shown in North America OF Argentinean artist Guillermo Kuitca. Amazing. Also, the brunch at the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation “CIFO”, where the exhibition, “Being in the World” curated by the genius Berta Sichel (Director of the Department of Audiovisuals at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid) was impressive and involving.

James Rosenquist, I Love You with My Ford, 1961

The “Art Salon” series at Art Basel was a clever way of getting artists, advisors, curators and connoisseurs to mingle informally with collectors and visitors. This provided a forum to exchange ideas in a fresh and candid format. i got the chance to meet James Rosenquist, whose forum was moderated by Samuel Keller (Director of the Fondation Beyeler (Riehen/Basel). I was appreciative of Rosenquist’s humor and humility, and was fascinated to hear about his past and his path to becoming an artist. We all learned that as a child, Rosenquist and his family moved a lot, and that he entertained himself by drawing. That his job as a billboard painter was short—he quit after two people he was working with fell off a scaffold and died! And that his evolution to becoming an artist represented by the iconic Leo Castelli was mesmerizing, as well as Rosenquist’s own importance in the pop art movement in the U.S. we were all treated to these interesting stories, and more, and I was delighted to learn that the artist has just published a book about his career, “Painting Below Zero. Notes on a Life in Art”. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Painting-Below-Zero-Notes-Life/dp/0307263428

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Art Basel Miami Beach, 2009 - Part II

White Cube's colorful booth

Here I am, back with more impressions from Art Basel! It’s hard to describe the chaotic experience of navigating through a maze of 500,000 square feet and more than 250 galleries. And fifteen satellite art fairs! (the best of which were NADA, Scope and Art Miami). The art, the parties, the events. It was all overwhelming but certain artists stood out more than others. Here is what was memorable for me.

There are different categories of exhibitors at Art Basel, very well-established galleries, along with new galleries showing fresh and cutting-edge art. Among the newbies, I loved the James Fuentes gallery who showed the sculptures of Agathe Snow, with such diverse references as Homer Simpson and Barack Obama. There is also Art Nova (previously known as SuperNova), a showcase for brand-new art, from established and younger artists, right out of the studio and exhibited for the first time. For me, one of the stars of Art Nova was located at the Farias-Fabrega booth, who was featuring Venezuelan artist Jose Gabriel Fernandez. I was also blown-away at Ingleby by the fun and satiric neon wall text by artist Peter Liversidge that said “Miami Beach is where neon goes to die”. It was a double-dose of irony since this is also a quote from Lenny Bruce, who was referring to the garish dress of Miami Beach visitors in his day, which was forty years ago!

Liversidge's satiric Neon

                        James Fuentes' booth displaying Agathe Snow


Within the blue-chip, established galleries, my favorite booths (note that I say “booths” and not galleries or artists) which stood out were:

• Victoria Miro (London) for the Yayoi Kusama’s portraits. Her Portrait of Xot, disappeared mysteriously early on in the fair, most likely because it was sold, not surprising since it was a stand-out.

• White Cube (London) with a wonderful and colorful selection of some of the most famous and controversial contemporary artists including Young British Artists Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst as well as Andreas Gursky and Marc Quinn’s marble sculpture of Thomas Beatty, the famous (or infamous?) pregnant man.

• Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art (New York) because of the unbelievable selection of Basquiats.

• Sperone Westwater (New York) whose artists had the most buzz: the sculptures of the South African-born Evan Penny, particularly the work, Female Stretch, which (reportedly) sold for $300,000.

• Perry Rubenstein Gallery (New York) for the super eye-catching floor created by Richard Woods.

• Helly Nahmad Gallery (New York) which exhibited a striking, sober, beautiful and elegant selection of carefully curated Calder mobiles.

Female Stretched by Evan Penny.  It looks distorted, as if the picture is not focused, but this is the exact feeling the sculpture itself conveyed, pretty amazing!

This year at Art Basel, size definitely mattered. Everything—sculpture, photography, paintings—the scale was large, and because of that, the impact was big too. These bold, pieces triggered a more emotional response than smaller works . And by the way, you don’t need to live in a museum or in a palace to have big, bold pieces of contemporary art in your walls. You just have to know how to place them and what to buy and even a unique and daring work of art is way more accessible than you think!

Art Basel Miami Beach, 2009 - Part I

One of the best contemporary artists of the past 30 years: Yayoi Kusama's Portrait Victoria Miro. I want this piece for my design projects!

I’ve just returned from Art Basel in Miami, where all the best galleries in the world gather under one roof to show the biggest and the newest work by contemporary artists. It was a whirlwind of great parties, tons of celebs, and of course, art. And where there is art, there are collectors! And sellers. I went to check out the scene-- art from artists you never heard of (but soon will!) and art from some of the biggest and most famous artists in the world.

 The John Baldessari alphabet. AMAZING!

The original art Basel started in Switzerland in the early 1970s. Miami Beach Art Basel is more recent, but has become the premiere art fair in the world these days. Galleries from more than 30 countries exhibit here for five days, filled with parties and photo ops, and a chance to really get to see exciting art, through visits to galleries and guided trips through private collections. It all takes place at the Miami Beach Convention Center. And I was lucky enough to get the VIP tour through the whole fair!


Giant art collectors like Steve Wynn (of the Wynn Las Vegas!) were sniffing around, museum curators, private sellers and collectors were everywhere. Names being discussed were biggies like Damien HIrst, and new discoveries like Agathe Snow, whose work I experienced for the first time.

Deitch Projects commissioned Brazilian twin brothers "Os Gemeos" to paint a mural in Wynwood.  The results are, as everything that comes from Os Gemeos, extraordinary.

Art Basel was filled with fashion personalities like Naomi Campbell, and of course, art maven and iconic figure, Calvin Klein. Edgy designers Viktor & Rolf showed off some of their fashion (but were mostly in town to buy art) at the trendy The Webster, where I attended the cocktail party in honor of the designers, and also had dinner on Friday night. Pharrell Williams showed off his new fashion line at Casa Tua (his vests looked like FBI flak jackets). There were book parties for photographers Sante D’Orazio and Bruce Weber, plus lavish gallery parties going on in every swank venue in South Beach.

One of Tracey Emin's neons at Lehmann Maupin's booth

It was a lot of work to see all the new art, but also enormous fun and a good education for collectors, and people like me, who work with collectors of all types. I will be posting some of my favorite work from the fair, including inspirational newcomers who have peeked my imagination and my interest. Watch for my posts in the upcoming days! And we’ll learn about all the “new art” together!Victoria Miro's booth displaying a fabulous Yayoi Kusama (Portrait of Xot).