Last month during Art Week in Miami, COTE Miami was buzzing after hours with renowned artworks on view throughout the restaurant. Fortuitous for those interested in both wagyu and contemporary art was a presentation of works entitled “Art After Dark” that was selected especially for the space, exhibited from December 1–9. Curated by the restaurateur Simon Kim‘s sister, Rosa Suehyun Kim, as well as Ji Park—both of ARTLINE, a public art consulting firm—was a presentation of collections by friends, like Henry Buhl, including pieces by Man Ray, George Segal, Do Ho Suh, Leonardo Meoni, Yoshitomo Nara, Fernando Botero, Auguste Rodin, Robert Rauschenberg, and George Condo.
Photo by World Red Eye, courtesy of COTE Miami.
In celebration of the occasion, Whitewall spoke with the Kim siblings, as well as Buhl, to hear how the night came to fruition, which pieces were on view, and how the relationship between art and food continues to feed culture.
Portrait by Gary He, ourtesy of Simon Kim.
WHITEWALL: What sparked “Art After Dark?”
SIMON KIM: My sister and I wanted to collaborate and have some fun together. My sister has been in the art world professionally for her entire career, just as I have in the food and hospitality world. We kept brainstorming what we could do together during Art Basel that would be truly unique, exciting, and simply awesome and came up with “Art After Dark.”
I knew she could bring the best, most unique art and collectors possible and I could bring the food and amazing people. Also, art on a white gallery wall is what so many people are used to but we wanted to present this other side of art on a dark, moody wall with cocktails in hand and loud music. This way you can see a different aspect of art in a completely unique setting, this other side of viewing art is what “Art After Dark” became.
Photo by World Red Eye, courtesy of COTE Miami.
WW: What was it like working with your sister to execute this?
SK:It was the best thing ever. I love my sister so much. I mean, she’s my one and only sister! I have always dreamt of working with her professionally and creatively in this way. Throughout the process, it was clear that her strengths and mine strengths combined really suited one another to pull an event like this off. I’ve sincerely dreamt of having a collaborative moment with her, like this, all my life.
Photo by Gary He, courtesy of COTE.
WW: Why were the specific works on view exhibited?
SK: Art itself is incredibly exciting. But I am a restaurateur so my job is really about people. That’s why for this event, we collected collectors instead of art and Sue helped guide each collector through choosing their works to bring to the table.
WW: What relationship do you see between food and art?
SK: I am a die-hard food person. I was a bus boy at 16 years old and ever since then have been such a sucker for the hospitality industry and what we do professionally. Food has a magical power that brings people together. When I think of what other things have this same kind of power, art is right up there. Food and art both have the ability to bring people together. Food nourishes people’s physical beings, while art nourishes the metaphysical being. Art is food for the soul.
Photo by World Red Eye, courtesy of COTE Miami.
WW: What’s in your personal collection?
SK: My personal collection started with a piece from Christo that was gifted to me by my sister. Since then, my collection has been immensely eclectic thanks to her. She will bring pieces to me to react to and I just choose the ones that I connect to on different levels. I have these amazing neon works by Tracy Emin. I just recently acquired a Raymond Pettibon, which is super different from anything I’ve collected before. I love it. I also have beautiful photography from Koichiro Doi who is a personal friend of mine. He’s one of the most talented artists in cosmetic photography. His work is analoged, and is very out of this world using high-tech photography.
Courtesy of Rosa Suehyun Kim.
WW: Rosa, can you tell us a bit about ARTLINE?
ROSA SUEHYUN KIM: ARTLINE is a public art consulting branch of RplusP Fine Art LLC, an art advisory firm focused primarily on modern & contemporary art and we work with private clients in building their portfolios. Through ARTLINE, we pivot to art projects that encompass wider domains such as hotels, doctor’s offices, restaurants, and corporate buildings.
Photo by World Red Eye, courtesy of COTE Miami.
WW: Which collectors or pieces did you want to make sure were featured inside COTE Miami?
RSK: “Art After Dark” is about bringing people together through art and incredible cuisine. We wanted to focus on individuals and their stories, so the show was based on our existing friendships. We featured our art-collecting friends from diverse backgrounds of age, gender, profession, ethnic, and cultural heritages. Their collections tell the story of who they are as individuals, so it was truly amazing to be able to experience all the richness that was collectively exhibited in one room. It is the beauty of our world; all the different colors together make a beautiful rainbow.
Courtesy of Henry Buhl.
WW: Henry, can you tell us about your personal collection?
HENRY BUHL: On October 6, 1993, my first purchase was a silver gelatin hand photograph of Georgia O’Keefe’s hands taken by Alfred Stieglitz in 1920 from Doris Bree, Georgia O’Keefe’s long-time assistant for $75,000. Two days later, an identical-sized photo which was estimated to sell between $100,000-150,000 at Christie’s sold for $398,000, theoretically increasing the value of my Stieglitz—from $75,000 to $200,000 in two days (a sized silver gelatin print is half the price and identical sized of a palladium-platinum print).
As a previous mutual fund manager, I had never made as much money on a stock trade as I made with my Stieglitz purchase. This purchase led me to collect 1,100 hand photographs that were first shown at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Because of the success of my exhibit at the Guggenheim, they sent the collection to museums in Spain, Germany, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Taiwan, Korea, and China, as well as sixteen museums and colleges in the USA.
Photo by World Red Eye, courtesy of COTE Miami.
WW: What was your first sculptural piece?
HB: I started my sculpture collection in 2010. My first purchase was a Thumb by Cesar [Baldaccini].
WW: What was your most recent acquisition?
HB: My last piece was a Lorenzo Quinn sculpture, Give and Take.
WW: What of your collection t was seen at COTE Miami?
HB: At COTE Miami I lent four pieces—Man Ray, George Segal, Botero, and Rodin.
Photo by World Red Eye, courtesy of COTE Miami.
