Sean Kelly Gallery, Los Carpinteros, Kosmaj Toy (2012).
All images by A.M. Ekstrand for ArtObserved, on location at Art Basel Miami Beach Fair.
Art Basel returned once again in Miami Beach this past week for the 11th annual Art Basel Miami Beach Fair. Featuring over 300 galleries representing 36 countries around the world, the show has exhibited marked growth from last year’s event, with well over 2,000 artists flocking to exhibit at what has become the internationally-renowned closing party for the world art market each year.  It is of course always an irony that tens of thousands will fly down for the events and parties, with many of them never visiting the vast aggregation of what it said to be roughly $1.5 billion worth of art in one (large) room, a collection that few museums in the world could compete with.  Below is a selection of some of the works we thought to be notable from the fair.
Helly Nahmad Gallery, Mark Rothko No. 1 (1957) and Alexander Calder, installation view
Hauser & Wirth Gallery, Pipilotti Rist, Tosender Speicher (Thunderous Accumulator) (2012)
A number of external factors loomed large this year at the festival, most notably the damage wreaked by Hurricane Sandy galleries across the East Coast.  A number of New York City galleries were forced to drastically alter their exhibition plans after losing large portions of their exhibitions  in the resultant flooding that ran rampant across the city.  Also noteworthy was the looming shadow of the U.S. financial situation. Prolific collector and hedge fund advisor Steven Cohen was absent from the festival in the wake of insider trading allegations against his firm, and the impending cessation of Bush era tax cuts at the beginning of next year saw many investors looking to put their money in tax-free, yet relatively illiquid, fine art investments.
Continuing in the collecting trends of the past year, Miami Beach saw an ongoing interest in the modernist, avant-garde painters of the early and mid-twentieth century, with major works on view from Mark Rothko, Alexander Calder and Marcel Duchamp (Duchamp’s work was seen frequently throughout the week), likely inspired by the recent price tags attached to these artists’ works, and their emerging stature as defining talents of the past century. This is not to say the interest in contemporary and emerging art has diminished; quite the opposite.
Foundation Beyeler, Alexander Calder
The fair also featured a number of panel discussions and conversations, including a featured conversation with artist Richard Tuttle, and a panel discussion from artists Angela Bulloch, Rodney Graham, Ragnar Kjartansson, Ari Benjamin Meyers and Jim Shaw, exploring the nature of the fine artist as a musician.
Lisson Gallery, Lawrence Weiner Logs Bound Together (1991) and Ryan Gander (2012)
Outside of the main Art Basel exhibitions, Miami Beach also saw growth in the simultaneously run but unaffiliated NADA, Art Miami, Pulse, Untitled, Art Public, and Design Miami exhibitions, just several of 22 satellite festivals and exhibitions commanding impressive attention in the mainstream arts press.
Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Thomas Houseago, Yet to be titled (2012)
Andrew Kreps Gallery, Ricci Albenda, I was just thinking (2012) Frank Benson, Twinned Iron Pyrite Cube (2012)
White Cube, Georg Baselitz, Bereit am Morgen (2010) and Antony Gormley, Shed (2012)
Regen Projects, Doug Aitken, Flesh (2012)
Gallerist Elizabeth Beer at ARRATIA, BEER booth, installation view
Team Gallery, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Flourescent Pink II (2012)
Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Art Public- Alice Aycock
Van de Weghe Fine Art, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (Dodge Coupe) (1986)
303 Gallery, Richard Prince
Contemporary Fine Arts, Gert & Uwe Tobias, Untitled (2012)
Lia Rumma, Art Kabinett – Marina Abramovic
Marian Goodman Gallery, Lawrence Weiner, Cake as Pie Pending Resolve (2012) and John Baldessari Double Play Walking The Dog (2012)
Acquavella Galleries, Martin Kippenberger, Untitled (1984)
Alfonso Artiaco, Gilbert & George, Youth (2011)
Skarstedt Gallery, Mike Kelley
Andrehn-Schiptjenko Gallery, Brad Kahlhamer, Bowery Bird Roost (2012)
Andrew Kreps Gallery, Gallerist Andrew Kreps looking at Christian Holstad, Ouroboros series (2012)
Artist-duo Eva & Adele before Allora & Calzadilla’s Armed Freedom Lying on a Sunbed (2011)
The Pace Gallery, Jean Dubuffet, Pendule IV (Flamboiement de l’heure) (1966)
Cheim & Read, Louise Bourgeois, Avenza Revisited II (1968-69)
Van de Weghe, Gerhard Richter Abstraktes Bild (906-5) (2008), Alexander Calder, Rouge et Blanc (1967)
Buchmann Galerie, Tony Cragg Points of View (2012), Wolfgang Laib Kieferwald (1982) and Untitled (2006-07) Bettina Pousttchi Ludwig (2012), installation view
Francis M. Neumann Fine Art, Art Kabinett- Jaques Villon, Raymond Duchamo-Villon, Marcel Duchamp, Suzanne Duchamp
Friedrich Petzel Gallery, Cosima von Bonin, Thrown out of Drama School (2008)
Gagosian Gallery, Roy Lichtenstein
Galerie Daniel Templon, Chiharu Shiota, State of Being (Wedding Kimono) (2012)
Galerie Lelong, Jaume Plensa, Marianna H (2012)
Galerie Perrotin, Bharti Kher Speaking in tongues (2012), Elmgreen & Dragset Unfinished Symphony (Ich bin doch kein Mahler) (2012)
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Georg Baselitz, Drei voran (2012), Tony Cragg, Accurate Figure (2010)
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Robert Longo, Untitled, Roaring Tiger (2012)
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, installation view with gallerist Thaddeaus Ropac and staff
Gladstone Gallery, Anish Kapoor Untitled (2011)
Helly Nahmad Gallery, Alexander Calder, Tableau Noir (1970)
Ibid Projects, Art Nova – Marianne Vitale, Douchebag 1-9 (2012)
James Cohan Gallery, Vito Acconci, Convertible Clam Shelter (1990, fabricated 2012)
Kurimanzutto Gallery, Rirkrit Tiravanija
Victoria Miro Gallery, Yayoi Kusama Tulip with All My Love (2011)
Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Mickalene Thomas, Qusuquzah, Une Tres Belle Negresse 2 (2012)
Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Tracey Emin, You Loved Me Like a Distant Star (2012)
Matthew Marks Gallery, Lucian Freud, Untitled (ca. 1956)
Ramiken Crucible Gallery Positions- Andra Ursuta
Regen Projects, Willem de Rooij, Bouquet VII (2010)
Sadie Coles, Spartacus Chetwynd, The Folding House (2010)
Sadie Coles, Ugo Rondinone, SIEBENDUNDZWANZIGSTERMAIZWEITAUSENDUNDZWOLF (2012)
SCAI The Bathouse, Natsayuki Nakanishi Work(1986) and Kohei Nawa Pixcell Red Deer (2012)
Skarstedt Gallery, Aya Takano, I had a dream, in the aftermath of the disaster, water was gushing out from the mountains, and formed a pond (2011)
Skarstedt Gallery, Barbara Kruger Untitled (I Thought You Were Someone Else) (2008)
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Ernesto Neto, Uma Janelina Entre Nose (2012)
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Tomás Saraceno, aluminium cloud of 7 modules (2012)
The Pace Gallery, Kiki Smith, Blue Moon III (2011); Roberto Matta, Interrogation humaine (ca. 1957), Alexander Calder, Crinkly with a Red Disc (maquette) (1973)
Two Palms, Art Kabinett- Chuck Close, Brad (2012)
Atmosphere at Art Basel Miami Beach
-D. Creahan and V. Artzimovich
Related Links:
ArtBasel Miami Beach [Official Site]
“All That Glitters Is Not Gold: Focus On Copper As A Medium At The Main Fair“Â [ArtObserved]
“Nada Art Fair In Miami Beach“[ArtObserved]
“Art Basel Miami Beach 2012: VIP Preview At Miami Beach Convention Center December 5th, 2012“[ArtObserved]
“Art Basel Miami Beach 2012: Untitled. Art Fair Premiers On Miami Beach“[ArtObserved]
“From Bargains to Billionaires” [WSJ]
“A-Rod, Harvard Kid’s Beefcake Send Miami Into Overdrive” [Bloomberg]
“At Art Basel Miami Beach, the stars line up to be seen – and be shocked”[Guardian]
“An Art World Gathering, Divided by Money”[NYTimes]
“Art Basel Miami Beach: The Art Party in Full Swing” [NYTimes]
“Collins Calling”[Artforum]
“Diddy buys Murray at Art Basel Miami Beach” [Mail and Guardian]
“The Art Market: Spats and Gators – Art Basel” [FT.Com]
“Large Works and Big Changes at ArtBasel” Â [NYTimes]
“A Big Art Lover, and Moneyman, Is Missing at the Fair” [NYTimes]
“New Times Guide to Art Basel 2012” [Miami New Times]
“Art Basel Miami Beach: The China Factor” [International Herald Tribune]
“Dispatches From Miami Beach: Art Basel Day 1” [Forbes]
“Art Basel Miami Beach 2012: The Ten Biggest Art Trends Of The ABMB Fairs”[Huffington Post]
“Move Over Old Masters”[The Art Newspaper]
“At Art Basel Miami Beach, Around-the-Clock Offerings”[NYTimes]
“A Peek at Art Basel Miami Beach” [Washington Post]
“Vanity, vanity… or the ultimate commission?” [The Art Newspaper]
“Surreal Kurt Cobain Tribute Staged at Art Basel”[Rolling Stone]
“NADA Report: Young Talent and Savvy Collectors Keep the Cool Fair Ticking Over” [ArtInfo]
“Best of ArtBasel Miami Beach 2012” [ArtInfo]
