By JRS
Sunday marked the closing of another successful Armory Week in New York. Following the trend of Art Basel in Miami, the aisles were teeming with enthusiasts, artists, collectors, and dealers who seemed not to be aware in the least about our turbulent economic climate. Damien Hirst prints had five and six stickers next to them, denoting sales. It truly was a collector’s fair. (more…)
By Michelle Cheung
Abe's Penny 1.2.1 featuring Melanie Flood and Sam Witt
A hopeless lover of letters and quaint chapbooks delivered by my romantic vision of a postman, I have secretly lost faith in the survival of print and snail mail. But my recent discovery of Abe’s Penny, a weekly art and literary micro-magazine printed in postcard format, has revived my hope. Abe’s Penny is a new and refreshing addition to this clonal world of publishing. Barely one year old, it has already garnered great excitement from artists, mail enthusiasts, and magazine lovers. Not to mention, their recent appearance in the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) fair at Art Basel was well received, with many attendees finding the magazine’s concise image and text format a unique perspective. This was exactly the intention of Anna and Tess Knoebel, the co-founders of Abe’s Penny, when they started the weekly publication. “We saw a challenge in adding more art and writing to an overstimulated and harried world,” the sisters explained, “so we knew we wanted to keep it short and accessible.”
By JRS
SPREAD ArtCulture caught up with George Horner, an administrator at New York’s Tony Shafrazi Gallery, at Art Basel and talked about David LaChapelle and Dennis Hopper’s new exhibitions.
SPREAD ArtCulture: When did these new LaChapelle images come about?
George Horner: These images were shot in Hawaii recently because David has a lot of land there. It was actually once a nudist colony that he bought years ago. He flew in Michael Jackson impersonators and look-a-likes for this shoot. He was a huge Michael fan and was really affected by his death. The look-a-likes go through real pains in this series, in order to be as genuine as possible.
By JRS
Nothing could stop Art Basel from having another successful year in Miami. Not a recession, not adverse conditions—though heavy rain and flooding destroyed a few works of art—could keep the droves of people from returning to south Florida and jamming the aisles of all participating spaces and the streets of the Design District.
What felt like most of Miami—and New York, LA, and Europe’s art communities—flocked mostly to the Miami Convention Center in search of fine art and design. The more adventurous patrons made their way across the causeway and back to the mainland.
Comparing SCOPE to Art Basel at the Convention Center is like comparing the Uptown and Downtown scenes in New York; they’re total opposites. For those who have never been, Art Basel is made up of several different parts: Art Basel, SCOPE, Pulse, Art Asia, and the bevy of neighborhood galleries that fling open their doors during the week and curate exhibitions of their own. Truth be told, these are often the most interesting shows to experience, as they have no preconceptions and are akin to Dash’s old shows at Deitch circa 2005: completely uninhibited.
New York Street Artist Judith Supine's Newest Work
By JRS
Art Basel Miami Beach 2009: The Eighth Edition of America’s Most Prestigious Art Show
From December 3 through 6, 2009, Miami Beach, Florida, will be home to the 8th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, the international art show. More than 250 leading galleries from North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa will take part. Chosen by renowned galleries of the Art Basel Miami Beach Selection Committee, the galleries will show works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Special sectors are devoted to very recent artworks, curated exhibits, performance, and art in public spaces.
This year, the layout of Art Basel Miami Beach will be extensively redesigned, including larger spaces for many galleries, and an innovative floorplan to maximize the visitor experience inside the Miami Beach Convention Center. The Art Positions sector, focused on special projects by young artists and galleries, formerly situated at Collins Park, will now be sited in the center of the Miami Beach Convention Center. Art Galleries, the main section of the show, will again feature the Art Kabinett program, which spotlights curated presentations in the selected gallery’s booth, while Art Nova will present new works by more than 170 artists.
The totally new Oceanfront exhibition environment will be created by an artist commissioned by Creative Time, the legendary New York-based public art organization, and host a daily program including the Art Basel Conversations, Art Perform, Art Video and Art Film. Presented in the public spaces between and around the Oceanfront and the Miami Beach Convention Center, this year’s Art Projects will connect the two main areas of the show.
For the latest updates on Art Basel Miami Beach, visit www.artbaselmiamibeach.com.
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