Art Basel Miami 2011
Kicking off the holiday season, Art Basel has grown exponentially since its inception 10 years ago. It’s the one time of the year in Miami where the worlds of fashion, luxury brands, and art converge attracting a glamorous group of collectors, jetsetters, moguls and artists. Celebrating its 10th year in Miami, this year Art Basel has outdone itself with more than 260 leading galleries from 30 countries across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa exhibited works by over 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. The show attracted a record of 50,000 visitors, which included 150 museum and institution groups from across the world. Renowned collectors from the Americas, Europe and emerging markets returned, and were joined by a new generation of collectors from around the globe.
What really set this Art Basel apart was the support it lended to emerging and upcoming artists with spaces such as Art Kabinett that featured 30 separately delineated spaces within the booths presented art-historical showcases and solo shows for rising stars. Work by artists such as Ai Weiwei (Galerie Urs Meile)- photo below, Francis Alÿs (Galerie Peter Kilchmann), Tiago Carbeiro da Cunha (Galeria Fortes Vilaça), Angela de la Cruz (Galerie Krinzinger), Elmgreen & Dragset (Galería Helga de Alvear) and Nancy Spero (Galerie Lelong) were on display while curated shows titled ‘The Two of Us’ (Adler & Conkright) and ‘Repetitions – Art Works in Plural’ (Kicken Berlin) became talking points of the show. For more information visit artbasel.com/kabinett.
Also Art Nova, Art Positions and the Public Art forum provided a spectrum of various platforms to view emerging international artists through a variety of mediums.
With so much artwork and satellite shows scattered throughout the city, downtown, and design district, 4 days was hardly enough to take everything in.
Let’s not forget about the phenomenal parties that celebrated the convergence of fashion and art. At the center of action was the W hotel. Highlights in the design district included the Cartier Foundation for the arts featuring the sculptural piece, “Aquarium” by Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes, or Fendi Casa’s homage to various artists, BMW and Dwell Magazine’s Sustaethics event, that centered around sustainable design, Bally’s Love collection designed by Olaf Breuning, Elle Decor’s Miami Showhouse Penthouse, the Mr Brainwash installation, and other cocktails, brunches, and viewings of private collections in sublime settings.