Kehinde Wiley’s portait of Michael Jackson entitled Equestrian Portrait of King Phillip II at Deitch Projects

It is rumored that in years gone by determined collectors were dressing as janitors in order to sneak into Art Basel Miami Beach prior to its official opening in order to snatch the most coveted pieces before their rivals. While this kind of vigor has not returned to the fair since the economic crash stalled the art market in 2008, the mood at today’s VIP preview seemed to be reflect the the vote of confidence that was delivered to the American art market when active bidding returned to the floor of the Post-war and Contemporary Auctions in New York last month.

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Thomas Zipp on Paper – Via Hikari

Weather was clear and sunny the day the fair opened, many escaping the heat into the hordes of people who had purchased tickets or somehow found their way into the exclusive Vernissage, or opening of the fair. While some seem determined to close the details on any hot pieces that managed to make to the fair yet unsold (many pieces are sold to collectors before the galleries even make it to the fair) most seemed to just be milling around aimlessly. However there was a buzz in the air and excitement to see such masterpieces as Basquiats that were hidden for years in a private collection at Jan Krugier’s booth, a breathtaking 5 channel video piece by Doug Aitken at 303 Gallery’s booth and a performance utilizing a piece by Jim Shaw (performed by his assistant) complete with four armed electric guitar and burlap hooded cloak.

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Jonathan Monk at Casey Kaplan – March 30 to May 5, 2007

“…Jonathan Monk, will present a new body of work that takes shape from key principles of Conceptual art — the favoring of ideas over object-making, serialism, the dematerialization of the art object — interpreting them with a playful sensibility and through a variety of media: 16 mm film, painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, and a laser light installation.”

– Casey Kaplan Gallery

To read the entire press release click here.

Andreas Hofer at Metro Pictures – March 23 to April 21, 2007

“For his New York debut, Andreas Hofer presents “Only Gods Could Survive,” a haunting and hallucinogenic installation of sculpture, painting, drawing and collage…Using subject matter that includes comic book heroes, science fiction, bygone Hollywood and symbols of the Third Reich, Hofer extracts these signs from a forbidden world, producing artworks that traverse time to become an ominous and fanciful meditation on history and popular culture.”

– Metro Pictures Gallery

Photo courtesy of of the artist and Metro Pictures Gallery

To read the entire press release click here.

Karel Funk at 303 Gallery – March 10 to April 7, 2007

“Karel Funk’s paintings are made with layers of thin paint that reflect light, influenced by Dutch and Flemish painters of the 17th century and Renaissance portraiture, as well as by American figurative painters from the past 20 years and their relationship to photography based work. In the end, the tenderness of each painstaking detail that goes into Funk’s handling brings the viewer closer to the subjects, even as they turn further away from us.”

– 303 Gallery

To read the entire press release click here.