November 30, 2011
The Ferrari party. Courtesy of Ferrari.
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The 10th annual Miami Beach Art Basel doesn’t officially start until Thursday, but by Tuesday, VIPs already had a packed schedule. Here’s what everyone was talking about last night.
10. Fendi unveiled its Design Performance project at Design Miami by designer Elisa Strozyk and artist Sebastian Neeb, inspired by Fendi headquarters Palazzo Fendi in Rome.
9. Cartier debuted its pearl-and-precious-stone-mobile, created by artist Beatriz Milhazes at the Collins Building, in the Design District.
8. Wynwood Walls Pop-Up shop and gallery–the world’s largest collection of international street art–opened on 2nd Avenue between Joey’s Italian Café on 25th Street and Wynwood Kitchen & Bar on 26th Street. It’s hosted by Goldman Properties.
7. MAD initaly and Vhernier hosted a Design District dinner.
6. Paul Kasmin Gallery put on an exclusive dinner at The Standard Hotel.
5. Nadia Swarovski held a dinner at Cecconi’s at the Soho Beach House for the artist Erwin Redl, whose Installation Crystal Matrix II debuted at the Swarovski Crystal Palace.
4. White Cube Gallery’s Art Basel Miami had a celebration at the Soho Beach House, hosted by Soho House founder Nick Jones and art dealer Jay Jopling.
3. Gilt organized a dinner at the Soho Beach House, hosted by founder Alexandra Wilkis Wilson.
2. Andre Saraiva kicked off his pop-up nightclubs Le Baron (at the Delano) and Paris Paris (at the Shelborne).
1. CAN’T MISS: Ferrari held a private party in the garage at 1111 Lincoln Road, hosted by collector Peter M. Brant and Sotheby’s Tobias Meyer. Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo unveiled the new Ferrari 458 Spider while artist Marco Brambilla’s 3D video installation RPM played in the background.
December 01, 2011
The Art.sy staff at their New York headquarters. Courtesy Sophie Elgort.
While the VIPs had arrived at Miami Beach by Tuesday, the masses started to trickle in on Wednesday, which promised to be a busy day. These events were all the buzz.
10. Blum & Poe Gallery hosted a dinner party at Soho Beach House.
9. Lord Norman Foster talked about Modern Utopia in Design Miami’s Design Talks with W editor-in-Chief Stefano Tonchi.
8. BLK DNM launched Perfume 11 at the Webster boutique at a cocktail party hosted by Webster owner Laure Heriard-Dubreuil and Johan Lindeberg.
7. Cartier hosted a dinner for Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes in the Design District.
6. Jeffrey Deitch and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art partied around the Raleigh Hotel pool.
5. Zwirner Gallery hosted a cocktail party at Cecconi’s at Soho Beach House.
4. The Shelborne Hotel celebrated its grand opening with nightlife photographer Seth Browarnik’s Art of Night, hosted by Bing.
3. Grey Area opened its pop-up gallery at The Bass Museum of Art at a reception hosted by Grey Area co-founder Kyle de Woody and Artlog co-founder Manish Vora.
2. The Art Basel Miami Beach Vernissage reception was the time to see all major collectors and dealers before many flew home Thursday morning.
1. CAN’T MISS: Louis Vuitton sponsored a beachside barbecue for Carter Cleveland’s art startup, Art.sy, hosted by Cleveland, Wendi Murdoch and Dasha Zhukova.
December 01, 2011
Wendi Murdoch, Dasha Zhukova and Cater Cleveland. Courtesy Getty Images for Soho Beach House.
Hollywood and Silicon Valley joined Art Basel on the beach at the Soho House last night with a party Wendi Murdoch and Dasha Zhukova hosted for new art web start-up Art.sy, founded by 24-year-old Carter Cleveland. The site is being described as a "Pandora for art." The Louis Vuitton-sponsored beachside barbecue had the Mugrabi family scions sitting on the couch with actor Owen Wilson and designer Roberto Cavalli filing past actor Adrien Brody. It was one of the two events of the evening that have been the talk of the fair all day. The other was the grand opening of the Shelborne South Beach, with the Art of Night kick-off dinner styled by event producer Susanne Bartsch. Along with a human disco ball, Ivana Trump, Alanis Morisette and David Barton hung around the pool that was surrounded by inflatable swans and covered with a see-through stage. Later DJ Paul Sevigny (brother of Chloe) kept Collins Avenue up in the lounge. And if that wasn’t enough, karaoke continued even later into the night in the basement of The Studio.
December 01, 2011
Coke Slab by Sebastian Errazuriz. Courtesy of Grey Space.
Last night we went to the opening reception of Grey Area, co-founded by Kyle de Woody and Manish Vora. They told us about the old Scarface Miami element they’ve noticed at their art and object shop at the Bass Museum. Check out Coke Slab by Sebastian Errazuriz, Ghetto Blaster by Ryan Humphrey and Ak-47 by Dustin Yellin. “Two days into the fair there’s a real appetite to buy,” says Vora. “So many of our objects are done by famous artists for affordable prices, so people have been coming in and saying, ‘Show me something to buy!’ We’re making famous artists’ work more affordable.” Through December 4 at Bass Museum of Art; shopgreyarea.com.
December 01, 2011
Ai Weiwei's Tree #1. Courtesy of Alexandra Wolfe.
Art Basel Miami Beach-goers believe this year’s fair is drawing more Chinese artists and collectors than ever before, including Zeng Fanzhi, the artist whose works sell for more than any other in the country, and noted collector Thomas Oh. Today, Phil Tinari becomes the new director of China’s biggest museum, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, in Beijing. Yesterday he was catching up with colleagues at the fair’s collectors’ lounge, where we pulled him aside.
Why have Chinese collectors avoided Miami in the past?
It’s been hard to get visas, but this year you have a lot of top Chinese collectors poking around. Right now China is a place very much about the crossover between art and design, and art and fashion. This fair has always been about that.
What are they buying?
They’re really starting to branch out. Before they were focused almost exclusively on Asian art, but now you see a real push toward works of Pop and Minimalism, but also to very contemporary international artists like Olafur Eliasson and Jim Lambie.
What has happened to the Chinese Contemporary art market itself?
It’s no longer the flavor of the month; it’s just part of what’s going on in a more natural way. Two things are happening: There are trends that seem to fluctuate, and then another layer is its steady increase in approval. Especially since Basel has now acquired a majority stake in Art HK, I think you’ll see a reorienting of the three Basel fairs. Art HK will have a lot of the Asian art and Miami Basel will be a lot of U.S. and Latin American art. It’s a huge trend. That was always the idea.
What do you hope to accomplish here?
It’s the winter meeting place of the international global art world, so you don’t just see what’s being shown, you see your colleagues and collaborators around the world.
How is this year different?
It’s really become a mature fair. The first time I came, in 2005, it felt really experimental.
At the fair, where would you suggest going first?
Urs Miehle has an amazing piece by Ai Weiwei. It’s really smart because it’s not political at all. It’s this giant tree and it’s quiet, contemplative and reflective. It’s really quite powerful.
December 02, 2011
Daphne Guinness at the Soho House. Courtesy of Getty Image for Soho House.
Last night we were at the Montblanc party talking to actress Eva Green, who had just arrived in Miami two hours before. "I was working all day today so haven't seen the fair yet, but I'm going first thing tomorrow," she said. That was a common phrase at parties in the Design District and beyond, where these were the coveted invites of the day.
10. Former hedge fund manager Julie Macklowe launched her new Vbeaute skincare It Kit at the Webster boutique with Webster owner Laure Heriard Dubreuil.
9. As If magazine unveiled its premiere issue at a cocktail reception at the Fendi Casa Luxury Living Showroom, hosted by photographer Patrick McMullan.
8. The NADA art fair had its opening party at the Shore Club.
7. OHWOW opened its annual group exhibition—this year called It Ain’t Fair—with a reception in the Design District.
6. Todd Selby and Erin Wasson celebrated Art Basel with their Alchemist Garage Party.
5. Okar Metsavaht Ipanema’s photo exhibition opened at the Osklen flagship store at 1111 Lincoln Road, hosted by Sue Hostetler, Carlos de Souza, Vik Muniz and Addison O’Dea.
4. Real estate developer Aby Rosen held his annual opening day dinner at The Dutch, Andrew Carmellini’s new South Beach offshoot.
3. Following its launch party the night before, the Shelborne Hotel’s beachside taco and tequila bar, Lucy’s Cantina Royale, screened Limelight, a documentary about New York’s legendary nightclub and its owner, Peter Gatien.
2. Phillips de Pury & Company invited guests to Rock the House with dinner and dancing at Cecconi’s at Soho Beach House.
1. CAN’T MISS: At the Standard Spa, Interview and the Andy Warhol Museum hosted a sneak peek of Warhol’s never-before-seen film San Diego Surf, shot May 1968 in La Jolla, California.
December 02, 2011
Courtesy Veuve Clicquot.
Days after collector Adam Lindemann vowed to boycott Art Basel Miami Beach calling it "a sensory and social overload" and lambasted the whole event in an article titled "Occupy Art Basel Miami Beach, Now!" he's walking around NADA, arguably the largest satellite fair of the week. After greeting the Schnabels, who are walking around with actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, he points out some of his favorite pieces and projects what will kind of art will boom next.
"I'm feeling a ceramic thing coming," he says as he walks through Nicole Klagsburn's gallery and admires the ceramic sculpture. "Marianne Boesky at the main fair had ceramics too." He also points to a Jeremy Shaw 'aura' work he likes for $4,500 at Blanket Contemporary. "$4,500?," he asks gallerist Sarah Macauley, in shock. "How can you afford to be here?" Lindemann has yet to buy anything this week so far, and while he calls the up-and-coming fairs "an orgy for the eyes," he says the art here is "real." "Whether you like it or not it's the real deal. It's helping artists achieve a broader audience as opposed to the overly commercial approach to the main fair, which looks like it's past its expiration date." Check out what else Lindemann liked at adamlindemann.com. And below, check out the parties everyone but Lindemann is going to today.
10. Exhibition A presents murals by artist Richard Phillips for the Whitney Museum’s Youth Insights program.
9. Chicago-based artists Dzine and a team of manicurists will set up shop at his installation at the Standard, and then party at the Standard Spa.
8. ArtNexus hosts its 10th annual cocktail party at Cecconi’s at Soho Beach House.
7. Designer Joseph Altuzzara talks at Design Miami.
6. Nigel Barker hosts a premiere screening of Dreams Are Not Forgotten, a documentary film about Haiti, at the Soho Beach House.
5. Theophilus London and Young The Giants play poolside at the Shelborne South Beach.
4. Emporio Armani and Cardi Black Box Gallery celebrate Art Basel at the W South Beach.
3. VMAN, the Webster and Dean and Dan Caten of DSQUARED team up for a cocktail party at followed by a VIP dinner at their boutique.
2. Sean “Diddy” Combs and Andy Valmorbida honor artist Raphael Mazzucco and his new book, Culo by Mazzucco, at Mr. Chow at the W South Beach
1. CAN’T MISS: Veuve Clicquot all day. First, in a golden mobile food truck, the Veuve Clicquot Clicq'Up Lounge and Champagne Bar will drive around Design Miami serving crispy white corn cakes with poached egg and chipotle cream, curry pork tacos and conch salad. Later they’ll sponsor Design Miami’s Designer of the Year dinner honoring David Adjaye.
December 05, 2011
Gideon Rubin. Courtesy of Ruinart.
For the collectors, gallerists and celebrities who had been at Art Basel Miami Beach since Tuesday, the weekend was less about art and more about the action. After partying all night at Le Baron nightclub in the Delano, the art set woke up for the beaucoup de brunches along the Collins Avenue, where they were whispering about dealer Ann Friedman selling forged artwork and collector Adam Lindemann’s not-so-complete boycott of Art Basel. And for all the complaining about corporate sponsorships taking over the main fair and its surroundings, many of the pop-up shops were just as creative as the artwork itself. The Havaianas Brazilian graffiti installation, Fendi's Craft Alchemy, Veuve Clicquot’s golden airstream and Ruinart’s Gideon Rubin display all had more viewers at a given time than many of the gallery booths. Perhaps this started to frustrate dealers, who reacted to the glut of tourists near their walls. When a collector brushed against a Peter Halley painting in Mary Boone’s booth, she tried to kick him out. “You are out of your mind,” the collector replied. To which she answered, “No, this is my gallery and I want you out!” Michelle Rosenfeld, a Madison Avenue art dealer who happened to be in the booth at the time, advised the collector, “Don’t argue.” Here's what was happening elsewhere.
10. Bonnie Clearwater, director and chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, moderated a panel with collectors Carlos de la Cruz, Dennis Scholl, Martin Margulies and Irma and Norman Braman at Art Basel Miami Beach.
9. Hakkasan’s dim sum brunch at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach in partnership with Zagat guides.
8. Final day of Gideon Rubin’s exhibition at the Ruinart area of the Collector’s Lounge. The installation of 21 cardboard faceless portraits of the Ruinart family over the years was Rubin’s first commission. “If they don’t have facial features, it makes it actually harder to paint,” Rubin says. “You still have to give them weight of being human but with the folds of the clothes and the shape of the body.”
7. The Basel Castle installation was a conceptual mini-festival of contemporary artists, musicians and games, sponsored by Popchips.
6. Leo Fitzpatrick, Luis Gispert and Tim Barber displayed new releases published by OHWOW at a book-signing event in the Design District.
5. The Standard and Le Baron nightclub hosted the annual Lazy Sunday BBQ at the hotel.
4. MAC hosted a dinner for socialite Daphne Guinness’s new cosmetics line at Soho Beach House.
3. SPiN Galactic and the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, held a ping-pong tournament at the Standard.
2. MoMA P.S. 1 hosted sunset cocktails at the Mondrian Hotel honoring Lizzie Fitch and Ryan Trecartin.
1. CAN’T MISS: Thomas Collins, director of the Miami Art Museum and the Lisson Gallery screened Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, a documentary about the Chinese artist. The screening took place at The Fontainebleau, underneath Weiwei's Miami Chandeliers installation. It was the first feature film about the artist-activist who, after publicly calling the 2008 Olympic Games political propagand,a has become one of most controversial critics of the Chinese government.
December 06, 2012
Photo by David X Prutting/BFANYC
Art Basel Miami Beach, the behemoth bacchanal that began as a mere art fair just over decade ago, first sprawled into South Beach, then headed across the causeway into downtown Miami, Wynwood and even Bal Harbour. This year it reached a whole new dimension—a digital one, that is. With online platforms finally taking center stage, the fair’s virtual presence is more prominent than ever before.
Last year the concept burst onto the scene with Art.sy’s star-studded Soho Beach House barbecue. Chanel will sponsor the event again this year, with hosts including Wendi Murdoch, Dasha Zhukova, Peter Thiel, Carter Cleveland and Larry Gagosian, and judging by the impenetrable guest list, it appears to be the week’s most coveted invite. But Art.sy isn’t stopping at a beach blowout this year—it has partnered with Design Miami to create an online space where Art.sy’s more than 100,000 registered users and 250,000 monthly visitors can shop the fair. Art.sy’s competitors are in on the act, too. Artspace, an online marketplace for contemporary art, will cohost NetJets’ annual Collectors Cocktail at the Bath Club, and online boutique Grey Area will show off its wares at the Standard Hotel. And even much of the art itself has gone digital, with major installations like InterContinental Miami’s 19-story LED Digital Canvas being unveiled on the hotel’s façade December 6.
December 06, 2012
Photo by MOS Architects 2012
The 11th annual Art Basel Miami Beach kicked off on Wednesday with a star-studded schedule. Our picks for opening night’s top 10 places to see and be seen:
10) Billed as the “first upscale hostel in the U.S.,” the owners of New York’s NoMad Hotel launched the Roman & Williams–designed Freehand Miami Hostel with a party for Timo Weiland and music by Weiland and Alan Eckstein.
9) Designer Diane von Furstenberg discussed art, creativity and the market with W magazine editor Stefano Tonchi at Design Miami.
8) Guests watched live music at the Absolut Art Bureau’s art bar installation by Los Carpinteros. The open-air bar, Güiro, will serve Absolut cocktails each night until midnight.
7) Pop-Up Piano Miami launched on Wednesday with a fundraising concert at the Perry South Beach Hotel with hors d’oeuvres by the One Group and Grey Goose cocktails. The night continued with DJ Yissel Cabrera and eight pop-up pianos on display before being scattered across the city.
6) Interview Magazine and Valentino took over the rooftop of the Webster Miami boutique to showcase Valentino’s new Pop Art–inspired Pop Pois capsule collection.
5) To celebrate the long-awaited Drive-In in far West Texas, Ballroom Marfa hosted cocktails at Cabanas in the SLS Hotel South Beach.
4) Daphne Guinness dined with Will Smith, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen at the Roger Dubuis Velvet event at Villa Azur Restaurant & Lounge, hosted by Haute Living magazine and Dom Pérignon.
3) NetJets, the private aviation company, held its annual Collectors Cocktail party (in collaboration with online art site Artspace) at the Bath House, highlighting works by six international artists selected by curator Micaela Giovannotti.
2) From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., VIPs got a first look at Art Basel Miami Beach at the convention center. The vernissage started at 6 p.m., where collectors mingled over cocktails near the main fair’s opening. Inside the collectors’ lounge, Ruinart Champagne’s mirrored installation, in collaboration with neo-Baroque designer Hervé Van der Straeten’s “Miroir” collection, was on display.
1) The Chanel-sponsored Art.sy party at Soho Beach House was one of the most elusive tickets in town. Last year the entire art world showed up, along with Hollywood stars like Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Val Kilmer. And if history is any indication, those who were able to finagle their way onto the guest list made sure to stay for dinner. Last year’s crowd of 600 was treated to petite filet mignon with béarnaise sauce, chorizo and shrimp, and stations piled high with paella, meatballs, and quinoa with squash blossoms.
