The sixth edition of Art Basel Miami Beach took place from December 6th to the 9th in Miami Beach. 220 leading galleries from the USA, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa are participating, among them over 27 newcomers. Chosen by the Selection Committee from a record number of over 850 applicants, they will be presenting works by over 2,000 artists.
Art Basel Miami Beach is introducing a new sector this year: “Art Supernova”. It features 20 galleries presenting new works by both emerging and renowned artists in an experimental group show. The concept offers an alternative form of gallery presentation in an art fair context. Art Supernova takes a collaborative approach that links the participating galleries in a new way. Instead of each gallery having its own separate booth, the exhibitors in Art Supernova have interconnected exhibition spaces, a common storage area, and shared presentation facilities. Art Supernova is located in a separate space adjacent to the exhibition halls at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
In Art Kabinett, 22 participating galleries from eight countries will be staging small curated exhibitions. The projects chosen by the Selection Committee will be shown in a separate cubicle of the exhibitor’s booth. The exhibition concepts for Art Kabinett are diverse, representing everything from thematic group exhibitions (Organica. The Non-Objective World of Nature in the Russian Avant-Garde of the 20th Century; Artists as architects – architects as artists. Latin America in the 50s and 60s) and one-person shows (Chris Burden, Louis Soutter, Matt Mullican, Robert Indiana, Sean Snyder, Yan Lei) to installations. The spectrum ranges from modern masters to established artists and the youngest generation.
Art Perform (curator Jens Hoffmann, Director of the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco) features daily performances by artists such as Roman Ondak (Slovakia), Marepe (Brazil), Donald Urquhart (UK), Laura Lima (Brazil), Olivia Plender (UK), and Shana Lutker (USA). American curator Michael Darling (Jon and Mary Shirley Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Seattle Art Museum) has been entrusted with planning this year’s «Art Video Lounge» (Miami Beach Botanical Garden). He has put together a program of video pieces by 20 artists who live, or have spent an extended period, in the Pacific Northwest area, entitling it «Thermostat: Video and the Pacific Northwest». Three special programs will also be shown: «Return of the Wild West», «Miranda July (Portland) Sampler», and «Storytelling» (Miami Beach Botanical Garden).
Art Basel Miami Beach will again be organizing Art Basel Conversations. Continuing to foster direct encounters with leading personalities from the art world, this forum offers privileged access to first-hand information on all aspects of collecting and ex_hibiting art. Distinguished art collectors and museum directors, prominent artists and critics will be discussing subjects like «The Museum of the Future in India: Focus on India», «Collectors as Producers», «Women in Art - Revolution or Evolution»? and «Critics’ Circle - Criticizing Art Criticism. Art and Criticism». There will also be leading international art magazines and cultural organizations participating, along with many celebrated artists.
Art Basel Miami Beach incorporates crossover events including film (honoring artist and film director Julian Schnabel and musician Lou Reed with a presentation of their new film «Berlin», moderated by author Bob Colacello), architecture (an evening honoring Herzog & de Meuron Architects, winner of the Pritzker Prize 2001. Talk between architect Jacques Herzog and artist Doug Aitken, moderated by Terry Riley, Director of the Miami Art Museum), and music. Visits to public and private art collections are also on the agenda. The museums of South Florida will be staging impor_tant exhibitions (Jorge Pardo, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, etc.) to coincide with Art Basel Miami Beach. Never before has Art Basel Miami Beach featured such a prominent international line-up of important works and exciting art projects. Once again, some 40,000 visitors and over 1,300 representatives of the media are expected.
The exhibition and event venues of Art Basel Miami Beach are located in the Miami Beach Convention Center, the Botanical Garden, and Collins Park at the beach.
