There is more to Art Basel Miami Beach than just the Art Basel fair as you know if you’ve visited / had an apartment / existed for the past 16 years. However this fair is the cornerstone that began our odyssey into a cultural sensation that has informed the direction this town now enjoys worldwide.
First a little history as the tour de force bears down on Miami-Dade as a category 5 art fair(a hurricane reference, if I may): Basel gallerists Ernst Beyeler, Trudi Bruckner and Balz Hilt started the successful-right-out-of-the-gate international art fair in Basel Switzerland, 1970. More than 16,000 visitors passed through the 90 galleries and 30 publishers from 10 countries.
LEFT: Seen at Art Basel Miami Beach. RIGHT: Chuck Close at ABMB.
Photos by Irene Sperber.
The original Basel, Switzerland show is the most prestigious formality-wise, but the upstarts that added to the allure arrived in Miami Beach, 2002, followed by Hong Kong in 2011, adding their own stylized version of flair, panache and cache. Art Basel Miami Beach has one of the largest attendance numbers of all the art fairs internationally. Described as the Olympics of the art world, AB Miami Beach is touted thusly: “The final act in cementing Art Basel in its prime position was the debut fair on the glitzy Miami Beach in December 2002, which brought 30,000 in its first year,” declared Culture Trip, a British global technology and media company “that aims to create the most complete platform on earth for exploring the world's culture.” (I guess they should know.)
Art Basel's Selection Committees are made up of well regarded gallerists serving multi-year terms. The Committee utilizes consistent criteria from year to year when selecting what lucky gallery gets to add Art Basel to their bio.
On this past Wednesday morning’s pre Art Basel Miami Beach opening, several luminaries graced the MB Botanical Garden for a media introduction to the latest fair news.
LEFT: Craig Robins at ABMB. RIGHT: Artist Simon Haas, Design Miami.
Photos by Irene Sperber.
Norman Braman, Chairman of Art Basel Miami Beach discussed the new $700 million convention center renovation, two years into a three-year project. The outside is not yet completed, which is clearly obvious as we stumbled over the barely paved surrounds. However, I freely admit the halls were most definitively a ginormous improvement, making the brighter, lighter and wider halls a more relaxing and positive experience, the openness subtracting any feeling of claustrophobia the old convention center exuded. Be proud. Braman lauded the evolving center as readying to achieve “the envy of the entire United States.” There is an entirely new floor plan, 10% more space (and one less gallery) for “a more substantial presence.” according to Director Noah Horowitz.
Art Basel has extended its contract another five years beginning in 2019, adding seven more years from this moment, to exalt in the cultural phenom.
Our sparkly new Mayor Dan Gelber spoke of our city as "finding the best version of ourselves." “Art Basel has refined us.”
LEFT: Southern Guild, Design Miami. RIGHT: Lee, Sang Min, engraved glass, CONTEXT.
Photos by Irene Sperber.
Mark Haefele, Global Chief Investment Officer, UBS Wealth Management (ABMB sponsor for many years) was on hand informing the Press of the new art market report launch last year (UBS’s new PULSE Report ), to aide galleries in moving forward effectively. Haefele shared the difficulties of successful gallery leadership: “It’s not an easy time for galleries.” (They are) “reconsidering how they work because of globalization of the art world.” She went on to describe the important factor of fairs to drive patrons to artists.
John Matthews from UBS Americas (head of Private Wealth Management and Ultra High Net Worth) added: 72 of the top collectors are billionaires”….which contribute to …”the growing number of public museums opening.” (we recently realized that fact with a beautiful new Norman and Irma Braman’s ICA Museum in the Design District).
LEFT: Nemo Jantzen, CONTEXT. RIGHT: Stephen Friedman Gallery, ABMB.
Photos by Irene Sperber.
“Art Basel continues to be the number one art event of U.S. collectors” says Matthews. Factoid: in 2016, 41 percent of all sales were from the fairs.
Noah Horowitz is Director of the Americans for Art Basel: “Collectors from 70 different countries are here.”
I was not aware till now of Art Basel’s largesse with the art community over the hurricane Irma crisis we experienced in September. ABMB donated $50,000 to the Miami foundation to rebuild the Botanical Garden and aided in helping our artists get back on their feet.
I started out this (so far) two-day marathon wondering if I had the stamina to endure, yet again, this week long extravaganza, speculating on the onslaught of the chosen artwork having the ability to keep my interest piqued. That question lasted all of 27 seconds, or the same amount of time it took me to enter the very first venue. Not every single shred of art had me swooning, mind you, but it did not disappoint in many, many moments of greatness.
And the beat goes on.
The other main fairs are AB’s sanctioned Design/Miami and our original and beloved old cohort, the Miami Art Fair ( still the odds on favorite among a good deal of patrons) coupled with CONTEXT and affiliated with AQUA, among the many, many other fairs, events, galleries, installations and activities blanketing every square inch (or so it seems) of Miami Dade’s land.
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