Since I didn't make it down to Miami for Art Basel Miami Beach and the dozens of sattellite activities, I asked Atlanta artist Scott Ingram to post a report. Here it is:
A week in Miami for the Basel Fair was a pretty amazing
and overwhelming experience this year. I don’t care how famous or rich or fast
you are, no one could make it to everything. It was not physically possible
to see Basel, the Containers, Scope, NADA and Frisbee and still make the parties, lectures
and maintain any sleep schedule, but hey, who needs sleep.
The Basel Fair was impressive
even in its disappointments. Major galleries from all over the world brought
serious museum quality work to the fair, most of which was designed for display
in homes. Far fewer museum scale works
were on display than past years. I also felt the fair was a direct reflection
of the auction results from this fall with prices showing no sign of cooling
down.
The Containers on the beach
were very cool as usual the best of which was the Sweat Shop installation
selling bundles of t-shirts to the masses for 1500.00 each. They were hot and
reminded me of Robert Gober’s newspaper bundles.
Saltworks was a favorite
again at the Scope fair this year and featured work by Mike Wsol. Wsol’s prints
(in a low edition of 3) in his handmade frames and two floor sculptures were a
hit. Saltworks owner Brian Holcombe brought back far less than he took down.
Michael Scoggins drawings were also still moving quickly. Brian did a great job
representing ATL in the booth all day and at the parties, brunches and openings
all night. He should really get some sleep! Kojo Griffin’s works were on
display at Mitchell Innes & Nash. The New York Times mentioned Kojo and indicated that he was in his late
20s. So much for fact checking. I hope that other ATL galleries get the
opportunity to participate in one of the many Miami fairs; they do wonders for ATL artists.
I must admit I didn’t make it
to the NADA fair as it was across the bay at the Ice Palace Studios this year.
Reports I got said it was an incredibly strong fair and a serious contribution
to the emerging artists they represent. Former Atlantan Chris Verene participated in the miniscule Frisbee fair
with collaborator Christian Holstad. I
didn’t make it to that one either.
Now for the parties:
The Design District party was
a bust, dry bars at 10:30 and sober people wandering the streets looking for
something to do. The John Baldesari video installation was amazing however.
The Deitch Project party was
moving right along with naked girls in the pool, if you’re into that kind of
thing. That party moved to a more exclusive location behind the Shore Club,
there you could find a general who’s who of the art world drinking from self
serving bars on large square benches around the pool. It was virtually
impossible to get into posing problems even for Casey Spooner of Fischerspooner
(a Deitch artist).
Believe me every hotel bar
was full and every penthouse on Collins was having a party from the Shore Club
to the Sagamore. You could find many of your favorite artists strolling the
streets as well as world famous architects like Richard Meier and Rem Koolhaus.
Todd Oldham (who should
probably give up on his photography career) was spinning records, ipods and
Powerbooks creating pretty good tunes for the Wolfsonian party which featured a
pretty lame installation by Richard Tuttle…not sure where he went wrong with
that. Thanks to Kate Spade and Grey Goose that was a pretty fun party.
All in all the week was
exhausting and I have only touched on a few things, mainly the ones I remember.
But I think it is important to note that ATL was represented very well, I ran
into Bill Stewart and John Dyer, Nancy Solomon, Jane Jackson, Pam Alexander,
Stephen Harrison, (contemporary art isn’t even his field) Marcia Wood, Skot
Foreman, and oh my God you get the idea. I am leaving out so many people and
artists who don’t have a budget for this kind of thing, but they do it because
they want to. ATL’s art scene was making its face seen on so many different
levels. You all need some much needed rest and relaxation and you can do that
as soon as you make your reservations for next year. This first weekend of
December in Miami
is only going to get bigger before it gets smaller.
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