Untitled Art opens in Miami with 167 galleries of presentations
Untitled Art’s 12th edition returned to Miami Beach December 6–10, greeting gusts to 167 galleries of art in its typical tent format. For its largest edition to date, work by nearly 600 artists, presented by 163 art spaces from 39 countries, appears to encourage dialogue under two curatorial themes—“Curating in the Digital Age” and “Gender Equality in the Arts.”
Whitewall stopped by Untitled Art to see this year’s edition, witnessing a dynamic show filled with fun, meaningful, and insightful creations of all mediums. At first, Vigo Gallery drew us in with the Denmark-based artist Hebrik Godsk’s carousel of portrait paintings—including The Daughter, Seducer, Protector, and more. Then, the eye-catching work Children of the Forest by the London-based Nigerian artist Richard Ayodeji Ikhide at Victoria Miro Projects drew us across the hall, leading our eyes through the colorful scenes of figures imagined in watercolor on Waterford paper.
Further in, Nil Gallery’s show of sculptures by Vanessa German and works on paper by Simon Buret showed range and meaning. German’s pieces—made up of beaded flowers, teapots, bottlecaps, sequins, gold earrings, keys, and more—exercised her work as both a sculptor and activist by combining recognizable objects for a transformative experience centered on healing. Buret’s work, further into the booth, showed his strength in working with materials like ink and acrylic, capturing emotion through visible and invisible accidents in the pieces.
Art filled with color, texture, and meaning
JD Malat Gallery’s space featured oil and airbrush on linen works by the French artist Yann Leto, like Balconing—a spunky, quirky take on people plunging from a balcony into a pool. After a jaunt down the fair’s last row, we were struck by an exhibit named “Sementerxs” of portraits bordered by construction hats up top, and boots atop concrete blocks down below. Shown by The Ant Project, a nonprofit organization, images by the Mexican photographer Mitzi Falcon revealed construction workers in Mexico City that embraced their queer identities in the workplace—a typically rigid environment unopen to freedom of expression.
In Shanghai-based Christine Park Gallery’s booth, we were immersed in the emotions behind an array of characters with blue faces by Noemi Conan—one smoking, one whispering in another’s ear, and one covering her mouth while looking at the viewer. The backgrounds of the pieces were color-blocked, with one in green, one in yellow, and one in coral, creating cohesiveness among the unique acrylic paintings.
Around the bend, we saw paintings by Sheena Rose at Johansson Projects that were both playful and powerful. Images of women sporting afros and high heels were created by using blank space for optical illusions, with the outlines of hands and legs standing out among an otherwise all-white background that doubles as a dress. There was also a painting of an orange tennis court and two characters diving for a play, reminiscent of the all-star Williams sisters—and we were told by the representative that Venus Williams purchased it this week.
A Closer Look at Untitled Art
At Gisela Projects, surrounded by oysters stuck to the walls, work by Fernanda Feher captivated us for its use of color and busy nature, as well as its deeper meaning—exploring the role of women in history. A blue woman with an intense, seductive gaze was surrounded by an array of fairytale-like details, revealing the conflicts of being a female in an otherwise peaceful space.
In PM/AM’s booth, one oil on canvas work by Xiao Wang brought us close, dissecting the scene—a seated man with a silver tray in front of him, topped with a drink in a coupe glass and mid-sliced fruit. A curled lemon peel on the edge of the tray near a lit candle rounded out the painting, creating juxtapositions of color and texture between the striped shirt the subject was wearing, the fresh lemon and grapefruit, his bare hand holding the coup glass (with one bandaged finger), and more.
The Palm Beach gallery County presented works by Rachel Lee Hovnanian that exemplified her time-consuming practice for the pieces in the booth—making ceramic flowers and hand-sewing them onto a waxed canvas panel one by one. Making up an entire scene of white flowers, seemingly an illusion, the creation was a soothing panel of texture and beauty. There, we also caught an incredible work by the conceptual artist Sarah Meyohas—also showing florals, but through her deeply intellectual approach making use of holograms in her new “Speculation” series.
At El Apartamento, Rocío García’s oil on canvas painting La apuesta took us on a storytelling journey of sorts, showing a scene of men playing pool while drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, and checking each other out. With the above light only cast on certain spaces, it puts into perspective certain aspects, showing the viewer there is much more to be seen than what is the most well-lit.
