At Design Miami "Lasvit" by Maria Culenova (Image courtesy of Design Miami)
"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." - Henry David Thoreau.
Get out the good china and tea cakes, company is coming . . . and Miami’s hosting. Curators are hanging their artists with care, in hopes that collectors soon will be there.
Art Week is on tap. Time is moving frighteningly fast, so listen up. From Monday, Dec. 2 to Sunday, Dec. 8, it's the eminent alpha dog of all art fairs, Art Basel Miami Beach.
Taking on the Miami Beach Convention Center, ABMB is accompanied by next-door neighbor Design Miami, located, as per usual, in the tent next to the Convention Center. Always a knockout, DM will be making bold statements with their 2024 topic, “Blue Sky,” Glenn Adamson’s curatorial theme. “It's the story of design—past, present, and future—all created under one, shared sky.” Well, that’s quite a voluminous statement. Now we're intrigued.
I peeked at what the UBS Survey (preferences of the high-net-worth people - HNW - who play a pivotal role in the global art market) digested into what occurred at previous 2024 fairs during the year. It appears paintings remained the choice of all age groups. “We” are reticent to use the word “trend” in this vein but that’s what it is. Respondents had the highest percentage of paintings in their collections at 28 percent. Digital art made up just 3 percent of collections overall, with the highest share held by Boomers at 5 percent.
Wynwood, The Design District, Midtown and greater Miami in general will host a bazillion (more or less - mostly more) satellite fairs, galleries, events and installations. The venerable Art Miami fair will hold court near downtown at One Herald Square, along with sister show, CONTEXT exhibiting new and mid-career contemporary artists.
Miami-Dade is no slouch in the gallery and museum department year around. Dominant shows of the twelve months will be on view during this season. Don’t wait for the overly busy Art Week events. Or maybe lay low and go after the deluge of visitors fly away.
One more thing before I launch into exhibition rants. . . Don’t let curatorial-speak run over you. Art shows are for sorting through your own insides, not a cause for intimidation or confusion.
The subject of Point of View (POV) has been in my face this week, so let’s discuss this Lesson of the Month in absorbing the arts offered.
Locust Project artist Alba Triana (Image courtesy of Locust Project)
In the literary arts, Florida International University professor and well-known author John Dufresne’s FIU Friday Night Writers group recently discussed the import of POV in one’s work. It’s a tone-setter for the story we are telling. Now that the subject was stuck in my mind, I proceeded to read two news stories one after the other and saw how this was clearly front and center in journalism, now more than ever. Politically, one man’s “threat to democracy” is another man’s “draining the swamp”. (an unnecessary aside. . . I have a thought on that: technically, if you drain a swamp, 40 percent of the world's species, reliant in some way on wetlands, are in peril.)
Galleries of interest: Since 1998, Miami’s ongoing eye opener, the Locust Project gallery showcases contemporary artists creating site-specific works in their roomy new-ish (2023) alternative space. Two fresh shows open Friday, Nov. 23. “Bare Tool (Herramienta Desnuda),” a new exhibition by artist Alexandre Arrechea uses the idea of a “stone skipping across water as a metaphor for ‘social sculpture.’” This large multimedia event invites you to infuse your own thoughts on the topic of ultimate implication. That thought, in late 2024, will either incite vibrant discourse or strike you mute.
Also showing at Locust Projects is the work of Miami-based Alba Triana: “Dialogue with the Primordial Sea,” offering complex installations visually discussing the interconnectedness of “unseen underlying dynamics that shape humanity.” That indicates a boggling amount of information to cover. We may need to go through the exhibits together to grasp the gist behind the explanation. That’s what art can do for the artist and viewer…provide doors to open, gaining the underbelly of why and how the earth turns, our perspective . . .or POV if you will. We probably need to know more about the science behind the power of connection since there is a lot of disconnect occurring, now especially obvious, that needs to be unraveled to understand how we interact and perceive all things.
El Espacio 23 Gallery (Image courtesy of credit is Pavel Acosta)
The Jorge M. Perez private collection of contemporary art is housed in an Allapattah gallery space. El Espacio 23 is a superbly repurposed 28,000-square-foot warehouse (since 2019). Yet another poignant reminder of the import of point of view, “Mirror of the Mind,” their current exhibition, covers the power of perception. Utilizing 120 artists of strength and conviction, the show interprets a discussion between the physical and emotional aspects of the body’s ability to absorb complexity under six different subsets: Perception, Flesh, Trauma, Belonging, Introspection, Healing.
Curator Patricia Hanna: “Several recent additions to the Pérez Collection, including works by Shirin Neshat, Julio Galan and Anselm Kiefer, sparked the concept for ‘Mirror of the Mind.’”
Don't miss Shirin Neshat in "Conversations" (sign up on line) at Art Basel Miami Beach, Thursday, Dec. 5 to 1 to 2 p.m. (Image courtesy of Art Basel)
“We were inspired by the entangled and inseparable relationship between the body’s physical and emotional aspects, and chose to show a multi-faceted deep dive into the human experience, exploring emotional aspects such as the power of perception, the weight of trauma, healing, introspection and belonging, as well as the impact on the body.”
Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat grabbed my attention with a first introduction at Miami Art Museum (pre-PAMM) decades ago and never let go. I have time for her work, always.
I noted the 20-minute film, (2023) “Fury” was to be presented on a loop at El Espacio 23 as part of that group show “Mirror of the Mind,” (now through Aug. 15, 2025. I walked into the darkened screening room and sat down on a long lone bench on one side of a larger space. I had to swivel my head back and forth to take in the women/exploitation point of view screen to my left, and the man/oppressor screen showing on the right. It was uncomfortable in the most informative way, in which Neshat excels. I stumbled out of there as impressed and overwhelmed as I had been all those decades ago when first encountering a Neshat film. This recent viewing did not disappoint. . . nor has she ever been less than spot(s) on.
El Espacio 23 (Image courtesy of Pavel Acosta.)
El Espacio 23 can be initially tricky to navigate opening hours. You may want to make an appointment to simplify that first experience. But don’t miss out.
Trot out your best behavior during Art Week, though our streets will be mobbed. The world is watching us. . . as we are watching them (. . .and we’re circling back to the POV theme). Art Week is a cornerstone to the cultural aspect of our Miami reputation. Make the most of it.
“A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.” - Marshall McLuhan
You may want to buy Art Week show tickets now.
- Art Basel Miami Beach
1901 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach
www.artbasel.com/miami-beach - Design Miami
Convention Center Drive and 19th Street, Miami Beach
ticket.messe-tickets.ch/MCH/designmiami/Shop?culture=en
Art Miami + CONTEXT Pavilions
- One Herald Plaza
ONE 14th Street and Biscayne Bay, Miami
www.artmiami.com/practical-info
Miami-Dade Galleries
- Locust Projects
297 NE 67th St, Miami - El Espacio 23 gallery
2270 NW 23rd St, Miami
Open to the public on select days or by appointment.
Other local gallery suggestions
