Visions of art pieces danced in our heads as post Art Week recovery mode begins. The final report from Art Basel is of “robust sales” and an attendance of 81,000 visitors. ABMB, with an entourage larger than any Hollywood celeb could conjure, packed up and moved on, leaving us in a state of vertigo from the dizzying heights.
LEFT: Gallerest Eli Klein with Yang Mushi's "Ultra Sharp" at Hadid building (photo by Irene Sperber). RIGHT: Cat by Huang Rui, Eli Klein Gallery, Hadid building (photo by Irene Sperber).
Pardon the “too cute,” but appropriate segue into my visit to the late star-chitect Zaha Hadid’s daring new sky scraping addition to the Miami horizon. Manhattan’s Eli Klein Gallery (since 2007) enticed me with promises of knee weakening vistas, synergistically accessorized with a selection of Chinese contemporary art. The “Architectural Representation in Chinese Contemporary Art” exhibition was curated by Klein, augmented with a brain numbing backdrop of a Miami winter day right out of the playbook.
Perhaps I should dial it down a notch, but I can’t. The interaction of artwork and venue kept my attention; not an easy feat as I tend to need a leash to keep my mind from wandering. This presentation took in a good deal of the elements that underlined Art Week: Asian Art and culture with world renowned contemporary Miami architecture blending seamlessly into the grappling of current issues prevalent in Art Basel’s 2019 hallowed walls.
Architect Hadid had strong creative ties to China since 1981, attributing her late appreciation of nature to the influence of China. A Zaha Hadid quote is etched into the elevator panel (the downtown address is simply 1000 Museum): “I believe in the idea of the future.”
Meeting the gallery founder upon stepping into the spacious 57th floor PH apartment, Eli Klein politely told me to “make myself at home”. (I was ready to move my sofa in by Monday, but I guess that was not quite what he meant.)
The Eli Klein Gallery is “the leading dealer of Chinese contemporary art outside of China,” collecting “new works that have social commentary,” Klein shared. “The intensive focus is on living Chinese artists.”
I asked how the contemporary market differed from a more traditional genre. “It’s more fickle, less stable,” ... . “less established.” And have there been any surprises with any one particular trend or circumstance recently in this field, I queried? “How big some of the biggest galleries in the world have gotten.” Klein responded, mentioning the high dollar figure some of the younger artists command so soon in careers.
As I toured the group collection of 21 Chinese artists, slowly defogging from the panoramics, I began to understand the works contemporary layering and cultural significance with the ancient civilization. I had lived in Hong Kong for most of the 1980s, and possessed at least the tiniest backdrop from which to relate to references, “redefining and blurring the line between fine art and design” as the exhibition explains.
Participating artist Yang Mushi cuts and grinds his sculptural material with his own hands allowing for a greater connection between the workers physical self and the art he is producing. A sense of the promised “danger” prevails as patrons circumnavigate the sharp edges jutting up towards the viewer, a dark hue adds a foreboding nuance as the Miami skyline softens the message... or perhaps makes it all the more jarring depending on your current mood.
Hu Haibo, Eli Klein Gallery (photo courtesy of Eli Klein Gallery)
Meandering past Hu Haibo’s work I was shown how he utilizes traditional medicines as medium, exceptionally manipulated as viewers are drawn into the connections.
Ji Zhou, Building, Eli Klein Gallery (photo courtesy of Eli Klein Gallery)
Ji Zhou photographs cities at different times of day or season creating large collages underlining the passage of time. I could not help but think of how different a season now from the pulsing Hong Kong I lived in back in the 1980s; from a British Territory, versus the Special Administrative Region it became in 1997, and what it is ultimately meaning to this strong bustling community. I found an old Chinese Proverb which I can’t help but add here:
“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.”
Birdhead, Eli Klein Gallery (photo courtesy of Eli Klein Gallery and ShanghART Gallery)
Birdhead Group is referred to as a “punk” artists group focusing on the experience of living in a city, to put simply. Birdhead is made up of classmates Tao and WeiYu from the Shanghai Art & Design Academy. “Sharpening - Piece” in the main room of the Hadid space, combines photography separated by traditional Chinese lacquer.
Irene Sperber having a much needed moment of post fair zen at Illusion Museum (photo taken by "Illusionist")
The melding of the new with the traditional is a theme in this show, a theme Miami can only understand in a simpler and severely shorter historical time frame. Although I am always surprised to find that Florida has a long history that is so very hidden from view, not often taken seriously or heralded. Perhaps we should pay more attention.
(Continuing to get off topic... did you know that specimens from the Warm Mineral Springs in Northport, Florida may represent the earliest closely dated human skeletal remains so far discovered in North America? So much we don’t know about our past and how it relates to our current and future selves).
This was an exciting but exhausting week, as ideas tumble and swirl in an effort to make sense of the creative onslaught. If only we could play it all back in slo-mo and savor every morsel. Alas, too much is lost in the sheer volume of information.
Asides... Art Week Post Scripts:
CADAF Contemporary and Digital Art Fair had its moments. I went down the rabbit hole into combining sounds of nature with musical notes, then assigning each an icon to “read.” So many roads to take from this hub of thought. The mind popped, connected and reeled.
LEFT: Sagamore Art Brunch, Jacqueline Lorber, South Florida Symphony Orchestra CEO, President. Mark Nedlin, SFSO Development Officer (photo Irene Sperber). RIGHT: CADAF, Contemporary and Digital Art Fair, at SNART ART with Audiovisual Archive by Volkmar Klein (photo by Irene Sperber).
The Sagamore Brunch was still the destination for Saturday morning. The art hotel was headlining photographic artist Arno Elias. performances by The Chophouse Band led by rock legend Jason Newsted (formerly of Metallica) and a contemporary ballet presentation by Grace Arts and the Cuban Classical Ballet with live acoustic interpretive guitar melodies by Alberto Puerto, a Cuban American musician. Yes, as per the usual this week, champagne was easier to acquire than a sip of water for your parched art-logged soul.
If you need a place to entertain young ‘un’s for the holidays, swing by the new Illusion Museum on Lincoln Road for your ongoing selfie fix by placing yourself in front of a series of amusing backdrops. Is it high art? Not at all, but it will provide a giggle.
Already Art Basel Miami Beach's web site has been updated as 2019 is already a dream of the past, and they are ready to usher in the 2020 edition.If you can't wait for the dust to settle and want to start planning, here you go:
Opening Hours
Meridians Opening (by invitation only): Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, 4 to 7 p.m.
Private Day (by invitation only): Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Vernissage (by invitation only): Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Public Days: Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, 3 to 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 4, 2020, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020, noon to 8 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, noon to 6 p.m.
https://www.artbasel.com/miami-beach
