After a vernissage VIP opening yesterday, Art Basel in Miami Beach officially opened to the public today. The 17th edition of the fair brings together 268 galleries from 34 countries in the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. Whitewall was at the preview event on Wednesday, and found a few favorite booths we’ll share with you here.
Almine Rech curated a selectin of work from her impressive roster of artists. We loved colorful works by Vivian Springford and John M Armleder, a collage by Tom Wesselmann, and Joe Andoe’s Rainbow Road #2. Also presented are major pieces by Farah Atassi, Aaron Curry, Rainer Fetting, Günther Förg, Jason Fox, Michael Hilsman, and Markus Lüpertz.
Paola Pivi’s What goes round – art comes round (2010) at Perrotin’s booth.
Gladstone Gallery is showing a special installation of rare works by Keith Haring made from 1981-1990. Included in the intimately domestic, red-painted booth, are painted screens, glass windows, a terracotta vase, a Japanese lamp, and several early subway drawings, many pieces on view have not been seen since they were made. The sometimes surprising pieces showcase the late artist’s vastly ranging practice.
Jack Shainman’s booth is always one we look forward to seeing at Art Basel in Miami Beach. This year the gallery is showing work by Nina Chanel Abney, El Anatsui, Radciffe Bailey, Yoan Capote, Geoffrey Chadsey, Barkley L. Hendricks, Enrique Martinez Celaya, Richard Mosse, and others. Of note are photos by Gordon Parks, Kerry James Marshall, and Carrie Mae Weems, as several sculptures by Gehard Demetz and Nick Cave.
Installation view of Keith Haring at Gladstone Gallery
© Keith Haring Foundation
Within the Nova section, Josh Lilley’s solo presentation of Derek Fordjour caught our eye. The artist transformed the booth into an exploration of the art market—both his involvement and frustrations with the industry. Fordjour used curious materials like pea gravel and barbed wire to create “BACKROOM,” which includes painting, sculpture, and performance.
David Kordansky brought an impressive group of works from its artists this year. Standout pieces (many made this year) for us included Licorice by Kathryn Andrews, GM by Huma Bhabha, Construct by Sam Gilliam, that fuss wuz us by Lauren Halsey, Shoots of an Inverted Tree by Evan Holloway, Saturn Returns (After Midnight) by Chris Martin, and Sun Disk by Ruby Neri.
Installation view of Derek Fordjour at Josh Lilley
Lehmann Maupin reportedly sold out nearly its entire booth in the early hours of yesterday’s preview, including pieces by Nari Ward, Liza Lou, McArthur Binion, Teresita Fernández, Angel Otero, Mr., Hernan Bas, Tracey Emin, and Kader Attia. The gallery is also showing a solo presentation of South African artist Nicholas Hlobo within Art Basel’s Kabinett sector, which explores themes of masculinity and sexual identity through sculptures and works on paper.
Perrotin’s booth is hard to miss, with a major installation by Paola Pivi covering one section of it’s floor, walls, and even ceiling. Entitled What goes round – art comes round (2010), it is made up of 24 fake fur bear-shaped rugs in brown and white. Beyond the immersive piece are works by Daniel Arsham, Leslie Hewitt, Hans Hartung, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Takashi Murakami, and others.
Vivian Springford
Untitled (Cosmos Series)
1970
Courtesy of Almine Rech and Artist
Artist Theaster Gates is a center piece of White Cube’s booth at the fair. His A Communistic Romance (2017) is made up of 83 editions of Jet magazine, with a poem by the artist on each spine. Gates is also showing Water Erosion on Brittle Black Surface (2018) in bronze. Other highlights include a major work by Al Held from 1969, and art from Antony Gormley, Mona Hatoum, Christian Marclay, and Beatriz Milhazes.
