ART BASEL MIAMI HIGHLIGHTS
Art Basel Miami was back with a bang this year, and we were thrilled to be there in person to catch all the opening week excitement. From incredible fairs to talks to parties, it was a whirlwind week, and we loved every minute of it.
Everyone of course knows the main fair, Art Basel, which did not disappoint this year. Making a return to Basel as newly appointed CEO (after previously being Director Americas), Noah Horowitz said “Art Basel is a platform and an engine for progress… I’m inspired by how the community has come together and sees itself as a progressive, global hub fostering great art, architecture, and design – as a city of culture at the highest possible level”. To read Noah’s interview on Art Basel, please click here. Highlights included works by Lucio Fontana, Willem de Kooning, Alex Katz, Enoc Perez, Cecily Brown, Tom Wesselmann, Helen Frankenthaler, and so many more blue-chip artists.
But there is so much more to see than just Basel itself. The 18th edition of Design Miami/, curated by Curatorial Director Maria Cristina Didero, was stunning and inspiring. This year’s program explored the theme of The Golden Age: Looking to the Future, celebrating a tomorrow of our own creation.
Exhibitor highlights for me included Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Galerie SCENE OUVERTE, and Tuleste Factory (whose show Through and Through won Best in Show at the fair), and installations by Bottega Veneta X Gaetano Pesce and Matthieu Blazy, Dolce & Gabbana Alta Gioielleria, and commissioned work by Vienna-based artist Lukas Gschwandtner for FENDI. There was also a fascinating series of talks (including A$AP Rocky X Charlie Vezza, and Erykah Badu X Robert Longo one), and a fabulous Maestro Dobel “Artpothecary” pop-up for much-needed tequila-based refreshments!
Untitled Art was another incredible fair, showcasing work by both established and up-and-coming artists alike. Highlights for me included the Tern Gallery from the Bahamas, artist Jammie Holmes at Library Street Collective, a gallery from Detroit (he also showed with Marianne Boesky gallery at the main Basel fair), and Vigo Gallery from London, among many others.
SCOPE Art Show was another must-see, celebrating its 21st edition this year! The absolute highlight for me was the exhibition of Osborne Macharia by the Montague Contemporary Gallery.
The launch of Arcual, the first “blockchain ecosystem built by the art community, for the art community”, was another highlight. Founded by collector and patron Maja Hoffmann, Noah Horowitz (of Basel), and Bernadine Bröcker Wieder (CEO), Arcual is a true disrupter in the art market, purpose-built to bring transparency, accountability, and greater power to artists through digital records of authenticity, an efficient payment system, and royalty sharing for artists. The launch featured Arcual’s first transaction, the purchase of “We Want Magic, Not Reality” (2020), by Cuban contemporary artist Raúl Cordero.
Fashion parties, launch events (the unveiling of Kelly Wearstler’s new collection NUDO in collaboration with ARCA was especially amazing), and breakfasts (especially loved the Serpentine Americas Foundation annual breakfast at Casa Tua) and dinners galore (including Entourage Collection’s own Founder Simon Liebel’s annual Miami Basel dinner, held at Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann at the Faena Hotel), it was an incredible, awe-inspiring week of art, design, fashion, creativity, innovation, and FUN!