Every December, creators and collectors come together for one of the biggest art events in the world: Art Basel. Today, it’s the anchor event to what is known as Miami Art Week (MAW). Combining art, music, fashion and design, Art Basel and MAW attracts over 75,000 visitors annually to Miami, from curious locals to international A-listers.
Art Basel Miami Beach (Dec. 1-4)
Since 1970, the prestigious art fair Art Basel has been a game-changer to the international art scene. For the past 15 years, the Miami Beach edition has “offered both exploration—with new works created by emerging artists—and a continuity of a high-quality international roster,” organizers said. The art extravaganza will capture the attention of art aficionados from the four corners of the world, from Dec. 1 to 4. It will feature a stellar roster of 269 galleries, including the House of Gaga from Mexico City, London's White Cube and David Zwirner hailing from New York City. Miami-based galleries also exhibiting include local trailblazing art dealers Frederic Snitzer and David Castillo. Plus, art lovers will also enjoy a wide variety of public art installations at Collins Park produced with The Bass, as well as performances, films and plenty of Art Basel-themed parties.
Satellite Art Fairs
Beyond Art Basel, the growing number of satellite fairs that pop-up around Miami and its surrounding neighborhoods amount to more than 20 and counting. The latest fair to join the circuit is X Contemporary (Nov. 30-Dec. 4), who will celebrate women innovators with an exhibition at the Nobu Hotel this year. Betty Parsons, Eleanor Ward, Martha Jackson, Peggy Guggenheim and Marian Willard are among the 16 dealers honored for their contributions to American art.
From Nov. 29 to Dec. 4, Miami Project Edition 5 will treat fairgoers to a new, enhanced experience from its co-located space with NADA Miami Beach. Visitors can expect a brand-new welcome center, garage parking and WiFi. In a short time, Miami Project has garnered a reputation for its first-rate presentation of museum quality works of mid-career and emerging artists.
Further south in Miami Beach, SCOPE enthralls audiences from its tent on the sands of South Beach along Eight Street and Ocean Drive. The largest and most global of the fairs, with 130 galleries from 22 countries, SCOPE stimulates all the senses through art, heart-pounding music courtesy of a long-standing partnership with VH1, a chic GILT Lounge for the latest fashions and sushi favorites from Shokudō. Other Miami Beach-based fairs include Aqua Art Miami, PULSE Miami Beach, Design Miami, Satellite, INK Miami, UNTITLED, Miami Beach, Fridge Fair and Technique Art Fair.
Not to be left behind, the city of Miami plays host to some of Art Week's most cutting-edge events. Spectrum Miami and Red Dot Miami, in the heart of downtown Miami's Arts & Entertainment District, returns to the delight of the local arts community. Since its inception, both fairs have been local favorites for its juried art shows and ever-growing list of educational programs (Art Lab projects and Art Talks) as well as ArtSpot International, a show within a show displaying Latin American paintings, photographs, sculptures, mixed media and ceramics.
Art Miami and its sister fair CONTEXT (Nov. 29-Dec. 4) are the city's anchor and longest-running contemporary art fair, located in Midtown Miami not far from the Wynwood Art District and Design District. There will be thousands of works at this year’s show, including Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Willem de Kooning and Ed Ruscha. Joining the contemporary artists at Art Miami is Academy Award winner Adrien Brody, who exhibited at Art New York and Art Southampton earlier in the year. The acclaimed actor and artist will debut his most recent works at this year’s fair.
Since 2009, Wynwood Miami has been transforming a former warehouse district into a work of beautiful local art. The neighborhood is home to more than 70 art galleries, retail shops, restaurants and bars, and one of the world's largest open-air street-art installations. A must-visit spot for monthly, free art walks, Wynwood Miami is a haven for art and social events year-round but especially during the month of December. Here is where you'll find the Superfine! fair, dubbed “The Fairest Fair," for its egalitarian approach to selecting national and local artists to participate at the show.
Exhibitions
The museum scene is poised to be equally electrifying throughout Miami Art Week and beyond. Many South Florida institutions unveil their grandest and most high-profile exhibits during Art Basel season. Below are some of our top picks.
Narciso Rodriguez: An Exercise in Minimalism: In the southern part of Miami, the Smithsonian Institution affiliated Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, will offer a fashionable exhibit featuring couture looks by Cuban-American fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez. Co-curated by Alex Gonzalez, the creative director of ELLE magazine, the exhibition is on view through Jan. 8, 2017 and features sketches, video and never-before-seen archival materials. 10975 SW 17th St., Miami, 305.348.2890
Lingerie Française: Continuing its world tour, the French lingerie exhibition will be presented at the Sagamore Hotel in Miami Beach, from Nov. 29 through Dec. 6. The exhibit, curated by fashion historian Catherine Ormen, takes a look back at 100 years of French lingerie through the private archived collections of 11 of the most prestigious French lingerie brands: Aubade, Barbara, Chantelle, Empreinte, Implicite, Lise Charmel, Lou, Louisa Bracq, Maison Lejaby, Passionata and Simone Pérèle. 1671 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 305.535.8088
The Other Dimension: The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA) will launch a new exhibit, Nov. 30, by Cuban-born, Miami artist Antuan Rodriguez to coincide with Art Basel season. This thought-provoking exhibition addresses the constant obsession for universal communication in modern society, through forms, symbols and codes in video and mixed media installations. The show opens Nov. 30 through Jan. 22, 2017. 770 NE 125th St., North Miami, 305.893.6211
Patricia Field ArtFashion: Style icon and innovator Patricia Field makes her Art Basel debut at White Dot Gallery in Wynwood. Taking a cue from the renowned designer's downtown New York vibe, the show will also include inspired works of art by some of the hippest artists handpicked by Field. Scooter Laforge, Suzan Pitt, Joy Morlock, Iris Barbee Bonner, Thomas Knight, Suzanne Mallouk, Kyle Brincefield and Ben Copperwheat among them. Art enthusiasts will also get the chance to order a one-of-a-kind Pat Field piece to add to their wardrobe, that already fill the closets of Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus and Madonna. 2245 NW Second Ave., Miami, 917.624.7599
Regeneration Series: Anselm Kiefer from the Hall Collection: The post-World War II works of one of the world's most prolific contemporary artists, Anselm Kiefer, will be on view at the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Nov. 29 to Aug. 27, 2017. Drawn from the Hall and Hall Art Foundation collections, which together make up one of the world’s largest group of works by Anselm Kiefer, the exhibition will include approximately 50 major Kiefer artist books, works on paper, paintings and sculptures from the late-1960s to the present day. This is the first time that the majority of the Kiefer works from the Hall and Hall Art Foundation collections will be shown together to the public.1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954.525.5500
