January, 2013 – Art Basel Miami Beach

January, 2013 – Art Basel Miami Beach . . . A Spectacular Show

 

By Marla E. Schwartz

 

Art Basel Miami Beach is hands down one of the most spectacular art shows in the world and is considered the most prestigious art show in the Americas. Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB) was founded in 2002 under the leadership of Sam Keller as a sister fair to Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland. Its growth and reputation is awe-inspiring.

 

 

This year was the 11^th edition of ABMB and it had its usual early VIP status reserved for art aficionados and celebrity sightings, attracting more than 50,000 visitors. Headquartered at the Miami Beach Convention Center, it displayed 257 of the world’s top galleries showcasing $2.5 billion of art from an international array of artists. Exhibiting galleries included 99 from the United States; 34 from Germany, 19 from Great Britain; 18 from France; 14 from Brazil; 11 from Italy; 10 from Switzerland; 9 from Spain; 4 each from Austria, Belgium and Mexico; 3 each from Argentina and China; 2 each from Canada, Columbia, Denmark, Japan, Portugal, Turkey and South Africa; 1 each from Greece, Ireland, Israel, India, Iceland, Korea, Norway, Peru, Russian, Sweden and Uruguay.

 

 

 

And even more amazing, this fair has given birth to twenty-two satellite fairs based in South Beach to Wynwood (Miami’s Design District), to downtown Miami to Fairchild Tropical Gardens. Some of these fairs are new and some have been around for awhile. If you’re unable to get a hotel room (please … book far in advance if you want one) and stay for a few days in order to see as much as possible and you only have one day to visit Miami it’s a good idea to have a plan in mind before you head to any of the fairs.

 

Because the traffic is so heavy and it literally took me an hour and ten minutes to get from South Beach to Wynwood (normally, about a 15-20 minute drive), including finding a parking place (got lucky), it’s best to cover South Beach one day, Wynwood another day and as many of the other places split between one or two more days. Since I only had one day available to me I checked out ABMB, Design Miami, Aqua Art Miami, a stroll down Lincoln Road to see artwork on display by artist Marc Rubin and the Red Dot Art Fair. There were many other places on my list to visit and if I were able to spend a few more days (which was my original plan – but life got in the way) I could’ve seen so much more. So don’t let life get in the way for you as I’ll list all the fairs at the end of this article – giving you an idea of how to map out your Art Basel experience for next year. But for now, I’m going to breakdown each art fair based solely on my personal experiences at each one.

 

For photo collages to accompany each section of this story, see “Art Basel Photo Collages,” also posted under “Cultural Corner.”

ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH

Miami Beach Convention Center

 

$42 one day ticket; $24 Students with ID, Senior Citizens aged 62 and above; $29 evening ticket at 4 PM; $10 students through grade twelve with chaperone with group of ten; FREE children under 16 accompanied by an adult; $90 permanent pass (valid for all official show days) ; $55 combination Art Basel Miami Beach/Design Miami fairs.

Entrances: Convention Center Drive (Hall D) and Washington Avenue (Hall B)

First of all, if you arrive early, which is a good idea if you want a good parking spot, you have to stand in line to get in; you have to stand in another line to have your ticket swiped and then you enter … paradise! It’s worth the price, worth the line – worth everything you can ever imagine to see this fair! You’ll  be handed a booklet with a map and list of galleries – but if you’re looking for something specific, say a certain genre, the really nice customer service reps sitting behind desks on both sides of the entrance (and exit) will be glad to help you out; otherwise, go in and wander, explore and have a great time. Or, you can purchase a catalog for $70 (the online version is available yearly from November til January). If you’d like a more personal touch AXA Art, the globally active specialty art and collectibles insurance company, provides VIP guided tours of Art Basel. For reservations for next year or information contact Amanda Rowley at: axaartcommunications@axa-art-usa.com. Also, ArtNexus guided tours in English and Spanish are available daily during show hours with general tours of the show and special tours of Art Kabinett. For reservations and information for next year’s fair email: tours@artnexus.com. Their information desk it located in Zone D.

 

Upon entering ABMB one of the main exhibits you’ll see on the left includes Alexander Calder’s (1898-1976) Tableau noir (The Blackboard), 1970, signed with initials and dated ‘CA 70’ (on the blue element) stabile–painted sheet metal; Estimated value: $2,500,000 – $3,500,000; Property from the Collection of Max Palevsky on exhibit by the Helly Nahmad Gallery. It caused quite a stir and many people were photographing this monumental and joyous sculpture, forms a cornerstone of Max Palevsky’s collection and stands as a lasting monument to an artist who dedicated his life to redefining the status quo and forging new ways of solving very modern problems. The Blackboard contains many of Alexander Calder’s signature motifs – his embrace of color, his intense interest in structure and an added touch of whimsy, all combined into an outstanding work. One of the earliest sculptures Calder created in France, his new environment inspired him to embark on a radical change of direction, and Tableau Noir succinctly demonstrates his versatility and helps to explain his enduring appeal to modern art connoisseurs.

 

Not far from Calder’s sculpture is another piece that attracted a great deal of attention which was Joan Miró’s surrealistic masterpiece (1893-1983) Oiseaux en Fete pour le lever du Jour, 21 Mars 1968, Oil on Canvas.Miró was born on 1893 in Spain and he was a Spanish artist for the twentieth century. When he moved to Spain in 1919 after the World War I he met other struggling artist including Pablo Picasso who is also a Spaniard like Miró. Most of the artists there were Surrealist which is working with dreams, memory, and abstract. Miró was a surrealist who created abstract art of people. He would use simple lines and flat, bright colored shapes to create his work. He also pursued other genres ranging from automatic drawing, expressionism, Lyrical Abstraction and Color Field painting. Four-dimensional painting was a theoretical type of painting Miró proposed in which painting would transcend its two-dimensionality and even the three-dimensionality of sculpture.He is recognized as one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century. His Surrealist masterpieces hang in every major museum in the world and you can view many of his paintings online at joanmiro.com,(Joan Miró Art).

 

After wandering around the fair taking in so much outstanding artwork another piece that was causing a stir was Katharine Fritsch’s Heiligenfigur (St. Michael)/Figure of a Saint (St. Michael), 2009 – 2012, Polyester, paint, 66 1/2 x 26 x 22 inches. Fritsch is represented by the Matthew Marks Gallery in NY, matthewmarks.com.  Fritsch was born in Essen, West Germany and is a contemporary sculptor. Fritsch trained at the Kunstakademie and currently lives and works in Düsseldorf. Fritsch roots her work in the personal, often drawing from childhood memories of familiar circumstances or chance encounters. Her references engage broad aspects of folklore and culture through meticulous reproductions of everyday objects, which she formally manipulates with shifts in scale and color. Her sculptures and installations take familiar objects and transform them into unsettling yet fascinating pieces. She begins her process with sketches and scale models. Molded by hand, worked and reworked, each object is subjected to multiple processes of casting or layering. The forms are then painted in bold, highly saturated colors with matte, non-reflective surfaces, creating a sense of otherworldliness. In Fritsch’s words, “Often my sculptures have a matte surface so that there is no reflection whatsoever from the surroundings. That increases the impression of a vision that one cannot grasp.”

Then I came across Yiorgos Kordakis’s display of photographs shot in Instant Film from the Galerie Karsten Greve Ag St. Moritz, represented by Galerie Karsten Greve, Switzerland. Born in Athens in 1973, Kordakis studied Automotive Design in Torino and Media Management in London and soon became a professional photographer currently based in New York. In a recent interview with eternal-optimist he spoke about the state of photography, “the multitude of techniques utilized and the broadening of ways to produce photographs is a dimension of the medium that is becoming harder to dismiss. Photography has become as overwhelmingly varied as the digital turn that has taken over the last years forms the current trajectory. The boom in digital technology has impacted the popularity of photography. But the idea for a democratic art form is remarkable in its own right. There is openness to all personal expressions and digital technology has phenomenal advantages. Challenge nowadays is much greater as talented photographers will need to prove their differentiation, to persuade upon new customized techniques, to inspire by their personal touch. This is the end of an era. The rules of the game change.”  He’s currently working on a project “10,000 American Movies” and plans on producing a short films and a new photography series about Greek Identity, concerning the impact of Hellenism upon aesthetics.

 

And one of the most popular exhibits this year was from the Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York, Ivan Navarro’s site-specific installationImpenetrables, created specifically for Art Kabinett. It consists of five new $65,000 sculpture/canisters containing the artist’s trademark eternal mirrors with the words “shout,” “scream,” “call,” “whisper,” or “mouth”. The place was so crowded with onlookers because everyone was truly fascinated with it. In fact, a Berlin-based collector purchased a few of them leaving only two of the 15 versions available.  Each of the sculptures has a ladder rising from the floor, and inside the individual works, words such as whisper, shout, and call invite a response from the viewer. The artist placed a mirror at the bottom of the sculpture’s base, fluorescent lights above the mirror, and a one-way mirror on top of the lights to create an endless reflection. He began using light in his sculptures as a symbol of hope and truth. His inspiration comes from everyday objects, such as shopping carts, ladders, doors, and chairs. At first glance, his pieces look fun, with bright colors and common shapes. If you look deeper into the images, you get a glimpse of Navarro’s own psychological anxiety he felt growing up in a country with a great deal of political corruption.

 

I also discovered artist Isa Genzken who sculpture ‘U.S. Boots, 2004’ intertwines atop a white plinth such as varied materials as fur, plastic straps, toy figures, cups, a metal chain and US fabricated wellingtons, to which the work alludes. It’s staged in front of a photograph that depicts the face of a clock; one seems to be reminded of the time-dependent perish-ability of artificial consumer goods. Genzken was born in Bad Oldesloe, Schleswig-Holstein and currently lives and works in Berlin.Although her primary focus is sculpture, she uses various media including photography, film, video, works on paper and canvas, collages and books in her work. Her diverse practice draws on the legacies of Constructivism and Minimalism and often involves a critical, open dialogue with Modernist architecture and contemporary visual and material culture. Using plaster, cement, building samples, photographs, and bric-a-brac, Genzken creates architectonic structures that have been described as contemporary ruins.

 

Another artist causing a stir was Jon Pylypchuk’s ‘I Won’t Give Up On You, 2012’ series of cigarette wielding sculptures each selling for $5,000 with a variety of placards offering up such sayings as, “if jealousy was an Olympic sport I’d be pretty good at it,” and the one P. Diddy purchased said, ‘I’m sorry I got you pregnant.” No judgment here! Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and currently living in Los Angeles, Pylypchuk says, “Each butt is like a person who livestheir full life starting off with great promise doing what they are meant to do,and finally resting crushed out and useless. I have a friend who used to takethose butts extract the remaining tobacco and roll butt smokes because hewas so poor – the cherry at the end of the butt smoke was a faint ember of lifewhen things were desperate.” Gallery owner Frederic Snitzer, celebrating its 35^th anniversary, is the only gallery in Miami to be shown at ABMB this year. He teaches at New World School of the Arts, and has mentored the careers of some the industry’s top talent.

 

Another stand out was at Galleria Alfonso Artiacowith its Gilbert & George, Youth (2011). Gilbert Prousch born was born in San Martino in Badia, Italy and George Passmore was born in Plymouth, England and they both live and work in London, England. The duo met while studying at St. Martin’s School of Art and embarked on what has now become a forty-five-year collaboration, an eccentric, independent perpetual ‘happening,’ exploring what art historian and curator Robert Rosenblum called, “the singularity of their duality.” Together known as one Gilbert & George, they’ve produced an enormous body of visceral, often provocative photography-based work—art independent of any school or movement, art of everyday modern urban life, as they deem with their slogan, “Art for All.” Contrary to the work of many contemporary blockbuster artists, their aim is “to speak across the barriers of knowledge directly to the people about their life and not about the knowledge of art.” They manipulate images of architecture, lurid graffiti, shop windows and most often themselves on exceptionally powerful computers in their home studio and print on massive, mural-sized panels. In their time together, Gilbert & George have taken tens of thousands of photographs virtually all within walking distance of their East London flat for their art of everyday life. As they often claim, “Nothing happens in the world that doesn’t happen in the East End.” Galleria Alfonso Artiaco is located in Napoli, Italy.

 

The artist known as Ben has his work ‘ART’ 1971 Acrylic on Canvas represented by Galerie 1900 Paris. Ben, who was born Ben Vautier in Naples, Italy lives and works in Nice and has long defended the rights of minorities in all countries and has defended the Occitan language (south of France). He discovered Yves Klein and the Nouveau Réalisme in the 1950s, but he became quickly interested in the French dada artist Marcel Duchamp, the music of John Cage and joined the Fluxus artistic movement in the 1960s. In 1959, he founded the journal Ben Dieu. In 1960, he had his first one-man show, Rien et tout in Laboratoire 32. He is also active in Mail-Art and is mostly known for his text-based paintings. Marcel and and his son David Fleiss of Galerie 1900-2000 in Paris, France have organized more than 200 exhibitions devoted to major artists or rediscoveries, and published more than 150 catalogs, some of which are considered sources of rare and important primary documentation.n They devote themselves primarily to Surrealism (paintings, drawings, and photographs), while continuing to champion the art of the 20th century and the emerging art of the 21st century.

 

Finally, another eye-catching banner was that of Jack Pierson’s ‘The World is Yours’, which was purchased on the first day for $450,000.  Pierson enjoys the possibilities of language and how powerful a word can be. A prolific American photographer, abstract sculptor and draftsman he’s openly gay and his photographs are images of men in casual, erotic fashion. He was born in Plymouth, MA and currently lives between Southern California and New York. He’s also known for photographingSnoop Dogg, Brad Pitt and Naomi Campbell. He’s represented by represented by Cheim & Read.

 

ABMB has plenty of places to eat with a high-quality culinary selection reflecting the multicultural flair of Miami Beach. Whether the cuisine is American, Caribbean, Latin-American, European, Asian or South Seas, for stone crabs, seafood, salad, sushi and maki, pasta della nonna or a juicy T-bone steak, Miami Beach offers everything a gourmet could wish for. There’s also an every-day plastic meadow for people to relax upon, taking a breath, before continuing to explore this treasure-trove of art. It offers so much for and for all of the information go to: miamibeach.artbasel.com/. The date’s for next year’s affair has been set for December 4-7, 2014.

 

DESIGN MIAMI

Back on the Beach

Meridian Avenue & 19^th Street

Adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center

 

Admission is $25 for a one-day pass, $15 for students and senior citizens.

 

If you love design and architecture, this is the place to be as it has been dubbed the dynamic destination for design, art, luxury and culture. This spectacular fair highlights 20th and 21^st century furniture, lighting, and objets d’art, with a renewed focus on American design, all in a striking home base just outside the convention center. The standard vinyl tent has been replaced by a suspended, tubular landscape described as Drift, created by NY-based collaborative practice Snarkitecture.  It resembles a topographical landscape in suspension: an ascending mountain above and an excavated cavern below. The design features a courtyard seating installation, which will serve as a place for visitors to relax, socialize and enjoy the view.  Aesthetes head to Miami just to attend this meticulously curated wonderland of high-end furnishings and fixtures from thirty-six international galleries.

Design Miami is the global forum for design. It brings together the most influential collectors, gallerists, designers, curators and critics from around the world in celebration of design culture and commerce. A special section was set-up for visitors to enjoy presentations by such luminaries as design pioneer Diane von Furstenberg and furniture pioneer Wendell Castle.

 

Design Miami this year simply blew my mind. Each December, the Design Miami/ Designer of the Year Award recognizes an internationally renowned designer or studio that has made a mark on design history, pushing the boundaries of the discipline through a singularly innovative and influential vision. This year’s Designer of the Year is Vito Hannibal Acconciwho brought to life Brooklyn, New York’s Dumbo neighborhood, is a man who publicly stated once-upon-a-time that he can’t stand art. Blasphemous – no, calm down. Everyone else disagrees. He decided to create works that people can interact with and devoted his Acconci Studio to this concept. At 72-years-old he’s working just as hard as ever – with projects taking him to an apartment building in Washington, D.C., an airport passageway in Austin, and a parking garage tunnel in Indianapolis.

 

Perhaps it’s because he began his career as a poet, earning an M.F.A. in literature and poetry from the University of Iowa, became an accomplished performance and video artist using his own body for photography, film, video and performance that when he expanded into the world of audio/visual installations, eventually inviting viewers to create artwork by activating machinery that erected shelters and signs, turning to the creation of furniture and prototypes of house and gardens – designing for the United Bamboo store in Tokyo that he became the man we know today. He currently focuses on architecture and landscape design that integrates public and private space. One example of this is “Walkways through the Wall,” which flow through structural boundaries of the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and provide seating at both ends.

 

The Acconci Studio has been commissioned, as winner of Design Miami/Designer of the Year Award, to create a large-scale installation to be permanently installed in the Design District by 2014.  It will be the first public area in the neighborhood dedicated to children with the installation of the Klein-Bottle Playground, experimental recreational equipment and toys in which there is no identifiable inside of outside as one surface flows into the other.

 

His work, “HERE/THERE, NOW/LATER” was on display at the Buena Vista Building in the Design District during the fair.

 

Other work within the Design Miami banner that stood out to me (it’s really hard to name just a few – because the entire fair is fascinating) were Le Corbusier & Pierre Jeanneret’s (India) 20^th Century Furniture & Architecture represented by Galerie Patrick Seguin;  Gaetano Pesce’s (Italy) ‘American Table and Jefferson Chair’, represented by Erastudio Apartment – Gallery/Milan; Galerie Downtown, Paris,  Francois Laffanour – Dog Coffee Table (very popular – lots of people taking pictures of it); METAMORPHOSIS by  Pieke Bergmans, Street Lights: a series of street lamp typologies. drawing on the lights which are seen illuminating the walkways of Venice by night, the Dutch designer transforms their iron bodies, twisting them into whimsical configurations, working together with glassblowers to form bulbs which push through and droop out of their metal framework and shades – like giant bubbles ready to pop at any moment; Studio Job TOUR EIFFEL 2012 Bronze Light Fitting; Carpenters Workshop Gallery/London & Paris; Gallery SEOMI Contemporary Design/Art; Richard Woods & Sebastian Wrong’s Bent WOOD Table, Galerie VIVID edition 2012 and Glithero Silverware Vases porcelain 2012.

 

AQUA ART MIAMI

Aqua Hotel

1530 Collins Avenue

Miami Beach, FL 33139 (two blocks south of Lincoln Road)

 

Admission is $10. (Good for re-entry for the duration of the fair.)

 

Aqua Art Miami’s 8^th Installment designated as “Destination Super Eight” – is recognized for presenting vibrant and noteworthy international art programs with a particular interest in supporting young dealers and galleries with strong emerging and early-mid career artists. It features innovative special programming, performance art (Livers: REMIX — a performance by Atlanta-based artist Lauri Stallings and her performance art troupe Glo) along with 47 exhibiting galleries from North and South America, as well as Japan.

 

Aqua’s curatorial commitment is complemented by the unique art fair setting of a classic South Beach hotel with spacious exhibition rooms that open onto a breezy, intimate courtyard. The surroundings have become a favorite gathering spot not only for relaxation during the busy Art Basel Week, but also as a place to exchange and disseminate new contemporary art ideas. And with its close proximity to the main Art Basel fair, Aqua has consistently been ranked among the top satellite art events by collectors, artists, curators, critics and the art loving public alike. What is so cool about this fair is it utilized each hotel room (you know – where guests usually sleep) into a separate gallery.

 

It’s important to point out that the highlight of this year’s special programming is the Babel Shield Installation by Jen Pack, made from Ripstop Nylon. Not only is it a sound deflector but is very colorful and gives one a comforting feeling by walking around, under, while looking up, down and sideways – no matter your point of interaction – it’ll make you feel good.

 

The fact of the matter is that every exhibitor in Aqua Art Miami is worth your time. But in order to break it down – these are my personal highlights: Alida Anderson Art Projects – Room 116 – (alidaanderson.com); Washington, D.C., Dulce Pinzon’s ‘Superheroes’ series, Limited Edition of five signed and numbered C-print photographs, $1,500 framed, $1,200 unmounted (dulcepinzon.com/en_projects_superhero.htm);  Judith Peck’s Oil and Plaster on Linen series, including, “Enlightenment” (judithpeck.net); Lyons Wier Gallery – Room 119, (lyonswiergallery.com), New York, everything created by Greg Haberny in this ‘trashed’ hotel room, from the Smashed Piano, to “Look Mickey!”, Mixed Media on wood; whitespace gallery – Room 122, Atlanta, Georgia, (whitespace814.com); Sarah Emerson, “Darkness Falls”, acrylic and rhinestones on canvas; William Baczek Fine Arts – Room 115,(wbfinearts.com); Travis Louie, Kruger and His Attack Rabbit, Acrylic on board; K. Imperial Fine Art – Room 203, (kimperialfineart.com);San Francisco, CA, Daniel Brice, Untitled A6, Charcoal, Pastel, and oil on Paper; Kathryn Markel Fine Arts – Room 227,(markelfinearts.com); NY, Sanchez, Wanderings #2 2012, Oil on Canvas, 41 X 29 inches, $4,500; and The Tappan Collective – Room 225,(TheTappanCollective.com); Los Angeles, CA, Michael Gittes, Chief Massachusetts Acrylic on Paper 20 x 24 inches, 2012.

 

MARC RUBIN

Multi-Space Exhibition on Lincoln Road
Original oil and acrylic paintings, works in varied styles of Modern Art and Impressionism.

On my way to the Design District I decided to take a walk down Lincoln Road and see what kind of artistic masterpieces I could find on my stroll. This is where I discovered Palm Beach artist Marc Rubin. A protégé of Salvador Dali’s, Rubin, creates pieces in pop cubism, expressionism, synchronism, surreal cubism realism and in 1996 he invented minimalist pointillism. What was this genius doing on Lincoln Road? He was exhibiting his work in conjunction with Art Basel which was dubbed “A Walking Tour – Lincoln Road – Miami Beach”.

His work was prominently displayed in three of the major anchor stores on Lincoln Road: “The Gap” – 1001 Lincoln Road, “Cubavera”– 934 Lincoln Road, and “French Connection” – 643 Lincoln Road. They each requested that this international artist exhibit major works from his private collection in their windows during the week of Art Basel. Rubin, A recent Chicago transplant was very honored when each of these stores allowed him an opportunity to give Art Basel/Miami Beach visitors a taste of his exquisite creations. The exhibition spanned 70 feet of window space and included interior retail design space utilizing Fine Art inside of French Connection. Receptions were held at both the French Connection and Cubavera. Additionally, by request, he will be exhibiting selected paintings at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. You can schedule a visit to his studio in E. Boca Raton via appointment by calling his Curator and representative Jeffrey Rose at (561) 221-5170. Also, go to Rubin’s website to find out more about his work: marcrubin.com.

RED DOT ART FAIR

Wynwood Art District

3011 NE 1^st Avenue at 31^st Street

Miami Beach, FL 33137

 

Admission is $15 for a day pass; Opening Reception & Week Pass is $25.

 

After a long-ish (proximity – not that long; but with people, traffic – it’s loooong) journey I finally made it to the Design District and entered the Red Dot Art Fair (reddotfair.com) and it was worth the wait. It’s located across the street from Art Miami/Context, Scope, Art Asia, Miami Project and is well-regarded within this art fair Mecca. Over 90 national and international dealers exhibit work at Red Dot, including photography, painting, sculpture, glass work and works on paper in a luxurious 60,000 square foot venue – with yes – and thankfully – a porta pottie outback. Under the direction of George Bills, Red Dot features galleries specializing in representing emerging, mid-career and established artists that seek to present their work of lasting value beyond current trends. Where to start? Enter, wander, enjoy, meet artists and enjoy a delicious sandwich or a baked good from the nice people at the 18^th Street Café (located at 210 NE 18^th Street, Miami, 33132, (18thstreetcafe.com) nestled at the far end of the fair – as you’ll need the energy to linger longer – something you’ll want to do, trust me.

 

If you happened to attend the last day of the fair, Jane Seymour was at Booth #114, Coral Canyon Publishing, where her ‘Portrait of an Orange Red Rose’, Oil on Canvas, 2004 was on exhibit. I don’t think her appearance was widely publicized and I’m not sure why. She has made many visits to South Florida and hopefully there will be many more to follow. Her work as an artist is sublime whether it’s in her Open Hearts Gallery, Sculpture Gallery or Giclee Gallery. You can see her work at janeseymour.com.

 

I took my time and browsed around the Jane Sauer Gallery to see the work of Toland Sand, an innovator in the use of dichroic glass and polished crystal beginning his career in stained glass, moving to glass blowing and then to constructed glass sculpture;  Jacques Soussana Fine Art Gallery, Duane Reed Gallery, Mecenavie where I met visual artist Idan Wizen, who is based in Paris, France and has created www.nude-in-the-living-room-com images which are fascinating; at Artisan Direct, Ltd., I discovered the work of so many amazing artists, including George “SEN One” Morillo’s “SEN the Mad Mugsy” spray paint and other oil-base inks and paints, as well as the generous and kind Christa Azzola who was watching me admire the work of other artists – happily giving me a tour of all their work – then she brought me to her sculptures on exhibit made from materials such as clay, sandstone, limestone, wood and marble. So, I decided to ask her a few questions:

 

Marla E. Schwartz (AW.COM): How did you get involved with RED DOT?

Christa Azzola: The Temporary Gallery Berlin, Germany invited me to take part at the Red Dot Art Fair.

 

MES: Tell me a little bit about what inspires you?

CA:  What inspires me is the dialogue between the stone, clay and I. The dialogue with the people I meet on my trips (I travel a lot). Beyond that, I really think that stones have a soul, they talk to you and use your hands to express themselves. I just make possible that they can tell their own story. Sometimes I want to tell my own story and the stone and I we figure out a solution. I also would like to encourage people to be more emotional, to live their feelings, to celebrate them, to open up, to trust them. When, if not now?Sometimes I feel like a fountain: ideas come and I just have to listen to them and take action.

 

MES: Where do you live and work and how can people view and/or purchase your work?

CA: I live and work in Berlin, Germany. The art lovers can view my art work and contact me on my website: glipta.de. They can buy my art work directly from me, if they contact me via my website.

 

After a wonderful time admiring Christa and her work I wandered around a bit more and discovered so many other thrilling artists that it seemed to turn more into a party where one makes new friends – than a professional art fair. I went to the Kips Gallery booth and enjoyed Sunnjoo Chung’s “Boeties” – mixed media, different sizes; Giuseppe Palumbo,a sculptor and designer of contemporary furniture,where he spoke to many admirers in front of his sculpture “All Together Now”, 3 Dancing Sheep in a chorus line available in small and medium sizes at www.palumbosculpture.com. Then there’s Morgan Ervin whose

Judy Garland #1 ‘If I am a Legend …’ 2012 oil and epoxy on wood – finish the thought … why am I so alone? He also had similar pieces of John Lennon and Elvis Presley on display. Ervin believes that good design is unraveling a riddle, solving a puzzle by the most efficient and effective means possible.

 

The Studio 26 Gallery at booth D124 featured such extraordinary artists as Emma Goodman O’Rourke, Fahar al Salih, Henry Gallucio, James C. Matthews Jr., Jessica Hartley, Karen Robb, Kimberly Willcox, Leon Applebaum, Marina Reiter, Marsha Steiger, Mel Smothers, Sophia Yw, Tariq Rafiq, Todd Alexander and Vhilo Artist. Applebaum’s glass blown art is beautiful. “The process of blowing glass has been my teacher for the past 30 years.  I have developed glass blowing techniques for my work that captivate the fluid energy of hot glass, using fire, air centrifugal force, gravity, and tools to push and pull the glass,” he states on his website. Go to: studio26nyc.orgor leonapplebaum.com/Glass/Home.htmlfor more information.

 

You +1’d this publicly. Undo

There was also ArtSpot/Intrepid Art Gallery from Vero Beach, displaying a mesmerizing electronic installation entitled “STUDIO b. Light Impressions” by 40 fair artists whose work was showcased on a wall framed with iPads emphasizing current ideas concepts, and new trends. This two-year old gallery also exhibited the painting and photography by thirteen other artists presented by The Art Marketing Mind: Barbara Rosenzweig, Jenny Bennett, Elena Bulotova, Gaby Grobo, Alejandro Leyva, Clara Berta, Belina Sierraalta, Dora Abbo, Sheila Elias, Maria Fernanda Lairet, Stephanie Bloom, Jean Pierre Dodel, Magaly Barnola-Otaola and featured artist Luis Valenzuela. For more information go to: studiobthebeach.com.

 

If it wasn’t for closing time and for the fact that everyone has packed up and left … I’d still be wandering around Red Dot. But have no fear because none of us have to wait an entire year for ABMB to take place for Red Dot to set up again because Red Dot recently announced a second edition in Miami on February 14-18. The fair will coincide with Art Wynwood and the Miami International Yacht & Brokerage Show. The fair will take place on NW 23rd St, and NW 5th Ave. Red Dot will host 60 galleries exhibiting painting, sculpture, photograph, and fine-art pieces. Another Red Dot will take place in Miami from December 3-8, 2013.

 

In order to keep track of all the fairs that took place this year in order to figure out your trip for next year (this doesn’t include what wonderful new fairs may pop up for next year, though), here’s a list of all the fairs:

 

Miami Beach Art Fairs
Art Basel Miami Beach   |   Aqua 12 at the Aqua Hotel   |    Design Miami   |   Ink Miami   |
NADA Art Fair   |   Select Fair   |   UNTITLED   |   Verge Art Miami Beach

Miami Art Fairs

 

 

 

 

The best bet is to spend one day in Miami Beach, another in Miami and another going to the additional fairs; this way you only have to park your car once (it’s not a good idea to have to move your car – it’s very difficult finding parking) and either walk or take a taxi or a shuttle to get around.

If you take a shuttle, make sure you get on the very last one, otherwise you’ll get stranded in one section of town – without a way to get back – unless, of course – you take a taxi – and drivers are very willing to accommodate your needs.

Shuttle Service
Design Miami operates a twice-hourly, complimentary shuttle bus to transport passengers between the Design Miami/ fairground and bustling Miami Design District.

 

Shuttle service hours:
11:30 am–10:30pm Tuesday
11:30 am–8:30pm Wednesday to Saturday

11:30 am–6:30pm Sunday

*****

Marla E. Schwartz is a Senior Writer for Miami Living magazine and a freelance writer for Lighthouse Point magazine and AroundWellington.com. Her photographs have appeared in these publications as well as the Miami Herald, the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post. Her play, HOLD ONTO YOUR DREAMS was recently produced in Miami at New Theatre’s 1-Acts Festival Winter Session. Her short play BRUNCH SOON will be produced will be co-produced by White Rose Miami/Performing Arts Exchange on Fri. Feb 15 and Sat. 16 at 7:00pm, Doors open at 6:30pm. Her play, America’s Working? was produced in Los Angeles at the First Stage and Lone Star Ensemble theater companies, in Florida at Lynn University and then Off-Broadway. Her script, The Lunch Time Café, was a Heideman Award Finalist, Actors Theatre of Louisville. She’s a member of The Dramatist’s Guild of American and the South Florida Theatre League. You can contact her via email at: marlaschwartz@att.net. You can also please follow her on twitter @MarParLa