Jeffrey Deitch at Art Basel (Photo by Irene Sperber)
The beginning of Day Two in the shank of Art Week fairs and already sneakers are replacing special-occasion-shoes, traffic is grinding to a halt, and previous night party-goers are rethinking this evening's second batch of four events planned. This is not a sprint but a full-on marathon.
Before moving in on the “reason for being”(aka Art Basel Miami Beach), the main event is second in line for my attention this glorious Wednesday morning after an opening brunch at a fair I enjoy for its quiet but complex energy. (Yes, that is a run-on sentence but just don’t tell my high school English teacher and we’re good).
INK Print fair, held at the sweet and quirky Dorchester Hotel is entered through an attitude adjusting courtyard. I was accompanied by a like-minded friend as she and I went in and out and into every first floor motel style room, each housing yet another and another print gallery.
Fascinated, we picked apart gallerists for every morsel of the hows and whys of each piece that caught our eye(s). INK focuses on prints. The Met site explains the genre thusly: “Printmaking is an artistic process based on the principle of transferring images from a matrix onto another surface, most often paper or fabric. Traditional printmaking techniques include woodcut, etching, engraving, and lithography, while modern artists have expanded available techniques to include screenprinting.”
Print by Michael Canning at INK (Mixographia) (Photo credit by Irene Sperber)
The design is worked on a flat surface with tools or chemical, then inked and onto whatever surface the artist chooses. Prints also seem to often come with their own sense of humor. We snicker and sip coffee and question our way from gallery to gallery, popping into the outside courtyard between rooms.
Friends, colleagues and acquaintances stop to talk amiably over doughnuts, fruit cups and croissants on Day One. Gallerists at INK are knowledgable about their artists and the work they represent. They are the real deal. One walks away with the full experience of quirks, unique processes and life of each artist and their projects.
Necklace seen at Art Basel (Photo by Irene Sperber)
Enough of soothing intimacy and calm, time to move to something more buzzy and bright/hectic/huge. We walked (never attempt to put wheels to pavement during this week) on to Art Basel Miami Beach at the Convention Center.
Whether entering by printed ticket or phone “wallet” pass, it took several failed scans to be admitted, multiply by hundreds of waiting fairgoers. Luckily we had plenty to discuss as we were all hopped up on the creative world of printmaking after visiting INK.
Nina Sorel at Spinello Projects NOVA 11 at Art Basel (Photo by Irene Sperber)
The cavernous Convention Center is daunting to figure out a navigation plan. You know any carefully plotted grid system will fly out the window the moment you spot something where you must get a closer look in the next aisle over. Painting is the main event with collectors this year, which is obvious after a few aisles.
I note the trend to textiles so prevalent the previous year or two, have given way to intricate paper cuttings. Of the 286 galleries at Art Basel 2024 (the most since 2008), another observation is South Florida galleries and its artists are gaining traction at this fair of all global fairs: Mindy Solomon, Atchugarry, Spinello, Fredric Snitzer... Perhaps because of a larger inclusion of first-time galleries/artists at the show, though several Miami galleries have been at AB for years now.
Having Miami’s always intriguing Nina Surel’s work at Allapattah’s Spinello Projects in the NOVA section of Art Basel was very well received as crowds gathering around the booth was proof positive. I’m excited to see more of this dynamic duo work in tandem.
Surel has her own compound of studio/gallery space with many exceptionally forward thinking Miami women artists in house. Look for show openings at Collection 62 in Liberty City. Surel has a good mind for connecting the metaphorical dots and artwork worth seeing again and again.
Sales at fairs are not as certain as previous years “If you are buying work with the expectation that it is going to go up in value exponentially, it’s really difficult to sustain those expectations,” says Hanna Hoffman, Los Angeles gallerist. Let us not lose sight of the fact these fairs are commercially driven activities. The wobbly world expectations have us all upside down in guessing what comes next in any given category of living. Our eyes are collectively glued to the horizon wondering what will show up over that yonder hillock.
Tiny rooms and tender promises by Jacob Hashimoto at INK (Mixographia) (Photo by Irene Sperber)
I would like to attend many more of the shows available, but after X hours and two or three fairs back to back, my eyes are stuck open, unblinking as I start to speak in tongues... I know it’s time to go home, have a snack and digest what has washed over the senses.
There is an overload line, one cannot keep absorbing and absorbing with any degree of quality at a certain point. I have done a survey with friends and acquaintances over the years. Ask them what they think of any given show to see what you can miss and not miss. You will get wildly diverse answers. Then ask what time of day and where did the visit come in the line up of how many shows visited.
You will discover the first fairs of the morning are well received, the last of the day, and the answers, can get downright hostile if low blood sugar, achy feet and crowd overload have taken over. When the idea is that you are only there to say you were there, it’s time to go home. There is so much to absorb that I wish I could stretch it out, savor it all. Like eating all the Halloween candy, it's a lot to digest in one endless spate of time. Do your best, we can rest after. Oh wait, no we can't. The holidays will be upon us.
"The Spanish Moss Sanctuary" by Paloma Teppa at Art Basel (Photo by Irene Sperber)
There were several large scale pieces to take in this year at the Art Basel show. Impressive balls of Spanish moss hung languidly over a seating area next to the escalators, a welcome break from the cavernous expanse high above. The Spanish Moss Sanctuary by Paloma Teppa wants us to “reconnect with nature and the deepest part of ourselves.”
From a gallery space in Little River comes “biophilic art and design”. I looked up biophilic design to make sure I was completely connected with the concept: “Biophilic designed buildings incorporate natural lighting and ventilation, natural landscape features and elements” to promote productivity and health in the environment for us humanoids. Paloma Teppa and partner Yair Marcoschamer operate their studio, Plant the Future.
Another intense installation of note (in the Meridians sector) is by Anastasia Bay’s “Maestra Lacrymae Acte V.” I can’t be the only one that sees this if you’re standing back, but the exceptionally large sculpture of a person lying (resting) full out in front of the installation is right under the sign painted high on the convention wall behind that says “Restrooms.” It doesn't go unnoticed. Gave me a moment’s smirk.
Remember several years ago digital art and its cousin NFTs were front and center in a big flashy rash right inside the door. It’s now upstairs sitting between the Art Basel shop and a sunglass booth. Location, location, location.
Shirin Neshat at CONVERSATIONS Art Basel (Photo by Irene Sperber)
I returned to the convention center the next day to take advantage of the CONVERSATIONS feature at Art Basel. I was looking forward to Shirin Neshat (with Conversation curator Kimberly Bradley) who is, to me, a most original artist in every sense of the word. I never, never am disappointed by the Iranian born Brooklyn artist and her films.
I mentioned her latest two-channel film “Fury” in a previous article and that I had visited the Perez private collection to see it in connection with their latest show "Mirror of the Mind." Housed in El Espacio 23, a former warehouse space beautifully repurposed into a large and important gallery, “Fury” underlined why I have such strong feeling towards her work. It leaves a mark. Neshat is tiny, quietly spoken and a force of nature.
"Cyborg Culture #29" by Ira Greenberg at Art Basel (Digital art) (Photo by Irene Sperber)
So much on tap. I hope you find your way through the crowds and info overload. There are many take-away nuggets in a week this vast, this globally important. Put on your helmet and most up-to-the-moment kicks or architecturally defiant heels and make your statement. It’s Miami, we have a rep to burnish.
- Art Basel Miami Beach
through Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1901 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach.- INK Print Fair
Dorchester Hotel through Sunday, Dec. 8, 1850 Collins Ave., Miami Beach.
