The crowds were thin, but the wallets were open at Art Basel Miami Beach 2021 and the surrounding fairs at Miami Art Week. VIPs bought fast and furious during the first two VIP days and left after attending the night parties and exhibitions, the best of which was again at the Faena Hotel where an NFT auction and an inflatable iceberg in the hotel pool were the stars. As Artscope’s publisher, Kaveh Mojtabai, and I roamed the halls of Art Basel Miami Beach and the other art fairs in Miami, an insular world of joy and peace surrounded us despite the heavy vehicular traffic getting there, and the necessary health and safety check stations. Again, Scope, in a tent on the South Beach, had work created during the pandemic, with an overall theme of glitz and color. Allover, the feeling reflected in the work was one of the last party before the world closed up again. Take the glitz and the … [Read more...] about MIAMI ART WEEK: THE LAST PARTY BEFORE THE WORLD CLOSES UP AGAIN?
Art Basel Miami Beach
DAY ONE: ‘BRIGHTLY COLORED” ART BASEL RETURNS TO MIAMI BEACH
I hope I am not looking at the storm before the apocalypse, but everything at the Miami Art Fairs, and especially in the halls and sectors of Art Basel Miami Beach seem sunny and normal, if a bit less crowded than usual. Keeping socially distanced is not a problem, and mask wearing is not déclassé in the least, but rather required. Dress is definitely fancier than usual, as though we might not party again for quite a while, and this respite between pandemic strains closing venues is a last gasp, hopefully not literally. The show is brightly colored, with few subjectively dark work, providing a party atmosphere, added to the crowd’s bright colors and floral patterned dresses (and men’s suits). Subjectively, there are lots of flowers and landscapes of beautifully, if environmentally challenged scenes. I loved Miguel Cardenas’ work, drawn onto a blue painted wall, of flora and fauna … [Read more...] about DAY ONE: ‘BRIGHTLY COLORED” ART BASEL RETURNS TO MIAMI BEACH
WIDENING THE SCOPE: ARTSCOPE AT ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH
Artscope Magazine had the pleasure of showcasing our November/December issue to the over 70,000 visitors of Art Basel Miami Beach 2019, an international fair bringing together artists, collectors and gallerists for five days of eating, sleeping and breathing art. For the first time, we had the opportunity of having our own booth in the Magazines sector decorated with a variety of work from East Coast-based Artscope artists, rather than our presence in the collective booth in previous years. Paul Pedulla’s “Beyond the Coral Sidewalk” magnetized guests to the booth with its rich colors and one-point perspective of Ocean Drive, free from cars and tourists. The acrylic painting acted as a window to the outdoors underneath Artscope’s logo on the wall, where trees lined the greenway beside Miami’s iconic pink sidewalks that trail out to endlessness. Pedulla voiced that this painting was … [Read more...] about WIDENING THE SCOPE: ARTSCOPE AT ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH
Play on a Play: Cattelan does Beckett
The most talked about installation of the day at Art Basel Miami Beach 2019, was Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian” (2019, banana, duct tape, paper with text instructions) tacked to the wall of Galerie Perrotin’s booth with grey duct tape including instructions for installing it. Bought by Sarah Andelman, founder of recently closed Parisian concept store, Colette, it is accompanied by a certificate along with the banana and duct tape, including instructions for installing it. Publications from the print edition of the New York Post to the online Art Daily announced the trail of this new work from exhibition to sale (for $120,000 on December 4, during the private days of Art Basel). With Andelman saying, “It really reflects our time” reported by the New York Times on December 4, she and we neglect to acknowledge that this makes all of us artists, furthering the egalitarianism of a buyer … [Read more...] about Play on a Play: Cattelan does Beckett
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 & ART WEEK MIAMI DAY TWO: INSPIRED ARTISTS ADDRESS A THREATENED WORLD
Our second day dawned bright and early on Miami Beach, the morning chill warming up as the day and the dizzying flow of art as we went from one place to another kept the dynamic duo going. It would also hold our first view of the main event, Art Basel Miami 2019, the lollapalooza of art fairs, during its First Choice VIP Preview. Pace Gallery had some great work on display including Fred Wilson’s “Oh! Monstuosa Culpa,” 2013, constructed of Murano glass and light bulbs, that could have been a ringer for Gerhard Richter’s black chandelier painting; an amazing relief sculpture/painting by Loie Hollowell, “Standing in Water,” 2019, oil, acrylic, medium and high density foam on linen over panel; and Lydia Benglis’ “Calypso,” 2017, cast, pigmented polyurethane, looking like a cracked sun that only added to the gothic and sense of impending climatic doom as Venice stands in water and … [Read more...] about ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 & ART WEEK MIAMI DAY TWO: INSPIRED ARTISTS ADDRESS A THREATENED WORLD
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 DAY ONE: A SHOW FOR THOUGHT AND CONSIDERATION
Kaveh Mojtabai, Nancy Nesvet and friends escaped the snowy north to land in chilly South Beach for a week of art gazing, talks and shows at Art Basel Miami Beach 2019 and the shows of Miami Art Week 2019. “The Art of Listening: Under Water,” sponsored by Audemars Piquet, maker of fine watches, featured the sound installation of Jana Winderen, a Norwegian environmental artist. In a large circular space, the quiet crowd listened intently for the sounds underneath Arctic Waters, disturbed by the dripping noise of glaciers melting and their gradual cracking. Fish swimming underwater, inundated by crashing ice into the Barents Sea, juxtaposed the sounds of underwater life recorded in the Miami Harbor, underlining the diverse places suffering the effects of climate change. The absence of visual stimuli only led to a more concentrated listening experience never experienced before, and a … [Read more...] about ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 DAY ONE: A SHOW FOR THOUGHT AND CONSIDERATION