The Bass Museum in Miami Beach has postponed its reopening until next year, following a series of delays in construction.  “Our primary concern is ensuring that we conduct a careful and courteous renovation to preserve this iconic piece of Miami Beach history,” says executive director and chief curator Silvia Karman Cubiñá. “The process of renovating historic landmarks differs greatly from that of modern structures, and we have needed to extend our construction deadline to accommodate these intricacies.” (more…)

Artist Erwin Wurm in attendance at the Bass Museum of Art for his opening of Beauty Business. All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.

Erwin Wurm: Beauty Business held its opening reception at the Bass Museum of Art Wednesday night, along with several other Art Basel Miami Beach related events. The adjacent Collins Park displayed the Art Public sculpture park sector of the fair, and across the street Mr. Brainwash‘s 2nd annual “Under Construction” building takeover held its own party. Inside the Bass, crowds wandered through Wurm’s large gray architectural experiments and distorted sweater sculptures. Walls at each end of the ramp up to the exhibition space were dressed in sweaters themselves, covered in knit cotton with a neck hole and sleeves. Drinking Sculptures were arguably the main attraction and the most literally interactive. Wooden desks elevated or turned sideways invited viewers to open drawers and consume the bottles of vodka and whiskey stored within. One large wooden box on the floor had two holes in which to climb into and place one’s feet, shoulder width apart for a drink.

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