L'Homme a la Pipe by Picasso at Art Basel
Miami last week might almost have been 19th century Paris. If you’ve ever wondered what the atmosphere was like at the storied Academic Salons where fates of artists were judged to a rigid standard, Art Basel, the beating heart of Art Week Miami around which many other smaller events rotate, might give you some idea. Important doesn’t begin to describe the level of Art World Who and What on display. Once through the toll gates, Art Basel was a world of soft carpets, somber colors, serious money, plastic surgery, and the gravitas of art stamped and certified by every imaginable authority. The major difference from the late 19th century was, perhaps, the dress code, though I did see one top hat accessorizing an outfit of beach shoes and pink shorts. Sales seemed to be good. One heavyweight New York dealer told me that the Miami show and its sister (or mother) in Switzerland were the best in the world. This in front of a $13 million Picasso.
Lichtenstein, Barry Flanagan - Art Basel
The really wonderful thing about Art Miami - a wild week in a wild city saturated with sun, sand, Art Deco, and endless, infinite art, spread and strewn widely across and around every district and corner - was that it wasn’t all stuffy and high-pedigree. I made it to 4 of the many events - NADA, Art Basel, Miami Projects, and Art Miami - and enjoyed every one of them for similar and different reasons. Everywhere the atmosphere, even at Art Basel, was relaxed and welcoming. The ultra chic strolled around on 8” heels, mingling easily with school kids and the dumpier rest of the world in flip-flops and hiking boots. There was that $20 a glass Champagne cart, but there were also snack bars and even a pseudo-grassy indoor park where people could stretch out to eat their lunch and browse their phones.
Nancy Spero - Anthony Reynolds Gallery (London) Art Basel
And what about the Art? I’m happy to report that I was heartened by what I saw. Honest, seriously professional, good ideas, good craftsmanship - the state of contemporary art looks much more promising that it seemed 5 years or so ago. I was especially excited to see so much drawing - mark-making of all sorts and forms, evidence of active workings of mind, hand, heart, and materials.
Up close to El Anatsui at Jack Shaiman
It was also exciting to see new work by living masters - for example, the Jack Shaiman Gallery (Chelsea) featured two 2012 works by El Anatsui, one of the greatest of contemporary art wonderworkers. His luxurious draped fabrics composed of flattened bits of castoff metal and tiny copper wires are gorgeous - it was a thrill when they suddenly loomed up in the midst of Art Basel. The Jack Shaiman gallery will host a show of El Anatsui's work opening Dec 14, through January 19, 2013.
American Contemporary Gallery - NADA
NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance) and Miami Projects were the most interesting shows for me, with relatively untested, emerging artists and galleries - not only was the art interesting but it was great to see so much dynamism in the small gallery scene in New York, on the West Coast, and internationally. NADA, which had invited me to their event for this blog, is a New York based organization, so New York galleries dominated, but there were representatives from Europe and other US locations.
Keith Farquhar at Leslie Fritz - NADA *photo
The really new ones, the ones there on a shoestring - I’m guessing – were crammed into a tight corridor against one wall - of windows with expansive ocean views, so it wasn’t as claustrophobic as it sounds. These booths, the tiniest spaces I saw anywhere last week, were filled with 2D and 3D objects ranging from traditional frames to found plastic concoctions, adding up all together to a kind of sweet, earnest installation. A step beyond, bigger galleries in bigger spaces were making more cohesive statements with fewer works. One of my favorites was the Leslie Fritz Gallery; against an installed brick pattern with small-scale framed photos, Keith Farquhar’s classical-looking busts and anatomical casts stood on pedestals, looking at first glance, a bit out of place among the radical and new. But the sculpture - if that’s what it is - is 2 dimensional and painted in deep, drippy color - a smart, aesthetically pleasing sort of in-joke. *photo courtesy of ArtObserved Blog
Marina Abramovic 'Do It' - ICI at NADA
A couple of booths were amalgams of gallery and something else, particularly The Journal Gallery, which publishes a magazine in Brooklyn, and the ICI (Independent Curators International) a kind of think tank/impresario for the Art World. Bridget Finn explained that ICI is about to celebrate 20 years of their ‘Do It’ project and pointed out the contribution from Marina Abramovic - a wood, glass-fronted box containing an apron, a book of recipes and instructions signed by the artist. A bargain, considering the status of Abramovic, at $5000 - you can order direct from their online shop. (link below)
Stroll at Miami Projects
Miami Projects and Art Miami were set up next to each other in big white tents in the vibrant Design District on the mainland, along with Red Dot, Context and others that I didn’t get to. Art Miami was to Miami Projects as Art Basel was to NADA - bigger names, a bit more of a reverent aura, a feeling of greater pressure, but in both interesting art and a relaxed atmosphere. 2012 was the first year for Miami Projects, and many of the exhibitors were from the West Coast - the organizer is from California so previous relationships made it natural to come along when he decided to set up in Miami. Having lived in the Bay Area for a long time, I was happy to find some familiar, top-notch names.
Catherine Clark (San Francisco) Miami Projects
Catherine Clark, whose gallery is adjacent to SFMOMA, was featuring work combining traditional watercolor and drawing techniques with digital technology. Chris Doyle, the artist, is my new exhibit A for combining carefully honed, disciplined tradition with an equally disciplined embrace of the newly possible. I plan to write about his work in depth in the near future. Catherine reported that the fair was going very well - in fact, she said, she does a great deal of her business at fairs; she was a bit wistful about the fact that a large proportion of her best customers have never been in her gallery.
Gallery at Art Basel
By the time I left I’d heard similar murmurs about the future of galleries, involving serious reservations about overhead for a permanent space and staff, a fixed location, etc., in the face of successful Art Fairs such as those in Miami. Roberta Smith, in today’s New York Times, has some related thoughts on the subject http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/arts/design/the-great-gallery-slowdown-of-2012.html
Mark Khaisman at Pentimenti (Phil.) Miami Projects
In my next post I’ll go into more detail about some of the artists and galleries that were most interesting to me, including an established older artist from Argentina, a small gallery from Santa Monica showing quietly engaging work, and a brash LA Gallery with a crazy mix that was really fun to see. I only found two Philadelphia galleries in Miami, Pentimenti and Bridgette Mayer - I’d love to know why there weren’t more. I’ll also include them in the next post.
http://www.jackshainman.com/upcoming-exhibitions.html
http://www.lesliefritzgallery.com/index.php?q=Artist&ID=22
http://www.thejournalinc.com/gallery/events/current
http://curatorsintl.org/about
http://curatorsintl.org/shop/marina_abramovi
http://cclarkgallery.com/
My camera gave out at one point, so thanks to Art Observed blog for photos of Keith Farquhar’s work at the Leslie Fritz booth at NADA
http://artobserved.com/2012/12/ao-onsite-photoset-nada-art-fair-in-miami-beach-december-7th-2012/
http://www.jackshainman.com/upcoming-exhibitions.html
http://www.lesliefritzgallery.com/index.php?q=Artist&ID=22
http://www.thejournalinc.com/gallery/events/current
http://curatorsintl.org/about
http://curatorsintl.org/shop/marina_abramovi
http://cclarkgallery.com/
My camera gave out at one point, so thanks to Art Observed blog for photos of Keith Farquhar’s work at the Leslie Fritz booth at NADA
http://artobserved.com/2012/12/ao-onsite-photoset-nada-art-fair-in-miami-beach-december-7th-2012/
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