Travel Diary
Miami - Art Basel -
December 2017
Miami Art Basel wrapped up last week and I was so happy to experience it a second year in a row! What I learned from last year and came to terms with was the fact that you can’t see it all in a week, there are too many satellite fairs on top of the main Art Basel fair. Most of the hotels have art exhibitions as well, and some are pretty good so don’t overlook them either. And I promise being an art & design lover is enough to enjoy them – no attitude here. If you like beautiful paintings, sculptures and people with the beach and warm weather, this is the place to be.
I was traveling with my friend Tania Marmolejo, who is an artist showing at Context this year. I am so inspired by all those artists who have the guts to put themselves out there (something I am hoping to do soon – stay tune :). But for now, let’s dive into my few days in Miami.
We arrived on Tuesday and we took it easy – there were several openings of the satellites fairs like Context happening but it was pretty quiet during the day. The weather was splendid and we took advantage of the big drinks on Ocean drive as well as the beach.
Location is key to really see most of the fair you are interested in. We decided to locate in Miami Beach as a lot of the satellite fairs as well as Art Basel are located there. But there is also Downtown, Brickell as well as Wynwood with great exhibits and fairs. Do your resesearch ahead of time to know where to stay. I am not going to sugar coat it, getting around the city is a nightmare. There is so much traffic during that week that you really need to count one hour to get anywhere.
Also, make sure that you have a budget for this art fest as this is an expensive hobby – between the parties and the fair entrances, your budget might go over board (especially if you get tempted by a painting or a sculpture -they can go from $500 to hundreds of thousands of dollars). So brace yourself!
Scope Miami Beach.
Below are some of the art that caught my attention. Tania is also represented by Azart Gallery in NYC and I absolutely love those gallerists. This year we had the chance to hang with Latifa and Lucy. Latifa is from France and I was able to catch up with her as it has been a year we did not see each other (we missed each other at the Bienale in Venice, Italy). Lucy is also a photographer and she took incredible pictures in forbidden places. She has a book out and I cannot recommend checking it out to get a thrill just by watching them.
– Pop Art French artist I met – Laurence De Valmy
– Whisbe – artist behind the giant orange gummy bear
– Black and white photos – Guido Argentini
– http://wwwguidoargentini.com/argentum-photos/
– Juan Miguel Palacios (wounds LXXIII)
– Kip Omolade (the metal face) – Diovadiova Chrome Kitty Cash III (oil on canvas)
– Regarding the flag and the colorful sculptures, I did not collect their info…
We even got to see Chuck Close looking at the art that night.
December 5-10. Scope Pavilion, 801 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach. $25-$150; scope-art.com.
Aqua Art Miami:
Aqua Art Miami.
It is a much smaller venue taking place in a hotel that transforms itself for a week into an art fair. Pretty cool place, not far from Art Basel itself. It is fair that is linked to Context. The art there is reasonably priced but he quality of the work might not be always there though. One notable artist that actually create paintings out of tape and then back light it. Original work.
Max Zorn tape art – maxzorn.com
December 7-10. Aqua Hotel, 1530 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. $20-$95; aquaartmiami.com.
Art Basel Miami Beach:
Art Basel is “the” fair to visit as it is the main exhibition and fair to see. The names and the paintings are very impressive as well their prices :)It is taking place in the convention center and it looks huge from the outside, I had to say that I did not find it as big once inside. This is the most expensive entry ticket as well ($50) just to get in but this year was worth it with different eclectic pieces.
December 7-10. Miami Beach Convention Center, 1901 Convention Center Dr., Miami Beach. $50-$130; artbasel.com.
Other notable fairs in that areas that I did not have to visit:
Design Miami. December 6-10. Meridian Avenue and 19th Street, Miami Beach. $20-$100; designmiami.com.
Pulse Miami Beach. December 7-10. Indian Beach Park, 4601 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. $15-$40; pulse-art.com.
Untitled, Miami Beach. December 6-10. Ocean Drive and 12th Street, Miami Beach. $20-$30; art-untitled.com.
Context
This is one of my favorite fair with Scope. Of course, because my friend Tania’s paintings were featured with the LYLE O. REITZEL GALLERY, it was great to be able to discover his gallery and meet some of the artist like the cuban artist Jose Bedia. We had diner together with him and he was such an interesting man.
I also got to see paintings from Edouard Duval-Carrie and Gustavo Pena.
To be honest there was quite a few repeat from last year, so that was a bit disappointed but still had great artists like the ones listed below:
Agustin Larco – Infinito Punto 8
Russell West – Solidarity
Olivier Duhamel – Bruce (sculptures)
Ewa Bathelier – ballerinas
Michael Gorman x Glenn Deneve – Bull
Mutaz El Emam
Art piece:
“To look is not to see – to see is not to understand”
December 5-10. 1 Herald Plaza, Miami. $35-$250; contextartmiami.com.
Other notable fair in the area that I was not able see:
Art Miami. December 5-10. 1 Herald Plaza, Miami. $35-$250; art-miami.com.
Practical information:
We stayed at a cheap hotel called “congress” that was located on Ocean drive across from Untitled tent and the beach. Kind of ideal even if the hotel needs a refresher on its look. It also has a pool on the roof and has great view.
The city is flocked with great restaurants but here are the one that we did and were pretty good. You also always has the 99c tacos close to the hotel that are better than some Manhattan tacos that would cost you $20!!
– Nautilius, a SIXTY hotel – restaurant:
– The Villa Casa Casuarina
– The Betsy
– Puerto Sagua (Cuban)
– News Cafe (great breakfast)
– Down N’ Dirty Tacos (99c tacos with an order of drinks)
– Fiorito
– Cantina La Veinte
– the Rusty Pelican Restaurant
– Coya Miami
– El Tucan
– East Miami
– la petite maison
(other I have done last year and that are great):
11th street Diner
Nikki Beach Miami (terrible)
Mondrian South Beach – great vibe
Quality Meats On Collins and 15th street
Taquiza – great little hang out for tacos and shots
Versailles 🙂 the original one
That is it for now. Hope you enjoyed little art lovers!
