 Highlights of Art Basel Miami Beach are in this column. You may also be interested in highlights from Art Miami, Scope and Art Asia, and NADA and Art Basel (Switzerland). Mark Dahle's
Paulo Nazareth, Banana Market/Art Market, Mendes Wood at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. If you want to see high end art, the best spot in the United States is Miami Beach during the first few days of December. Art Basel opens to the public December 6, and by itself it would be worth the trip to Miami.
Joan Miro, Sobreteixim 15, Helly Nahmad Gallery at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. Art Basel attracts so many art collectors that more than 15 satellite art fairs set up camp over the same weekend. This creates (temporarily) the biggest collection of contemporary art anywhere in the world. It's an event you don't want to miss.
Bettye Saar, The Weight of Color, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. If you only have a day: Art Basel is the event. Start there first.
William Kentridge, Drawing for Refusal of Time: Anti-Entropy, Lia Rumma at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. Tickets are $40, $28 after 4 p.m. The event is open until 8 every evening except Sunday, when it closes at 6. Plan on seven or eight hours to see the show, including time for a meal and a couple rest breaks. Meals are available in the center of the exhibit.
Judith Rothschild, Abingdon Square, Valerie Carberry Gallery at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. At the entrance, pick up a map. The immense interior doesn't look confusing, but it is. You'll be far happier if you keep track of where you've been.
Yasumasa Morimura, An Inner Dialogue with Frida Kahlo (Hand Shaped Earring), at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. After you're done, if you still have time, visit one or more satellite fairs. Every year the best satellite fair is different. But based on the past two years, if you can only go to one, I recommend Art Miami or, if you like edgy art, Scope.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (Car Crash) at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. You can find a map to them inside the free daily editions of The Art Newspaperavailable at the entrance to Art Basel.
Sculpture at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. If you have two or three days. Most of the satellite fairs open to the public on Wednesday, December 5. Spend at least a day in the Wynwood District, where you'll find Art Miami, Scope and Art Asia, Red Dot, and two private collections worth visiting.
Chris Johanson, Untitled, Mitchell-Innes and Nash at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. Art Miami, at 3101 NE 1st Ave, had the most art that caught my eye in 2011. A shuttle will take you from Art Basel, the city bus can get you within five blocks, and taxis are abundant around the art fairs. But the roads around the art fairs will be congested, so don't plan to shuttle back and forth much or you'll spend all your time stuck in traffic. Art Miami is open 11-7 Wednesday to Saturday, 11-6 on Sunday.
Adolph Gottlieb, Seascape, Barbara Mathes Gallery at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. For more information on art in the Wynwood District, see my separate reports on Art Miami and Scope.
Malcolm Morley, Depth Mine With Sharks, Sperone Westwater at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. The one other art fair I'd recommend is NADA, in Miami Beach. Catch a taxi or the city bus from Art Basel. Once you're at the site, NADA has three separate sections. The entrances are all clearly marked.
Jean-Michel Basquait, Mr. Kipper, at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. If you have three or four days, you can probably make it to all 15 satellite art fairs. But don't feel like you have to - in the past two years, one closed at the last minute, one moved at the last minute, and couple clearly weren't ready for prime time. Instead, check out the private collections and art galleries in the Wynwood Arts District and the Design District. You'll be in the area anyway if you go to Art Miami, Red Dot, Scope and Art Asia.
Mateo Lopez, Composicion Modular No. 1, at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Michael Vasquez, This Is Ours - VOT, at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Spencer Finch, 49 Years Ago (Starlight), at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Thomas Scheibitz, Plateau, Spruth Magers at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Katsuro Yoshida, Cut-off (hang), at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Takashi Murakami, Panda Geant, at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Waldemar Cordeiro, Liberdade, Luciana Brito at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Kendell Geers, Monument to the F-Word, Stephen Friedman Gallery at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Tomory Dodge, Red Bar, at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Pedro S. de Movellan, Swiss Movement, at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Robert Cottingham, Red Corona, at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Florian Schmidt, Untitled (Immunity), Zach Feuer at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Lawrence Carroll, Untitled (Prop Painting), at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Sergio Sister, Caixas, Nara Roesler at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Kate Gilmore, video, David Castillo at Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
If you have an extra day: If you have an extra day or if you just need a break from seeing so much art, there's nothing like the Everglades in winter. But forget the bus tours.
You won't see as many gators as you would in warmer months. But if you hear the reeds cracking, it's because something big is moving through them. Listen carefully and you may be able to spot a gator, too.
(When you rent your car, be sure to get insurance for the vehicle. There are vultures in the parking lot who like to eat the rubber around car doors.)
To make your trip really worthwhile, drive another 45 minutes to the Flamingo Visitor Center and rent a kayak for a couple hours. You'll be able to see more wonderful birds up close. If you're already in Miami, there's no reason to miss this great adventure.
If you want to see manatee in the wild, you might get lucky at with a boat ride out of the Flamino Visitor Center at Everglades State Park. But you'll have far better luck if you're willing to drive or fly north. Three Sister Springs at Crystal River is a 5 1/2 hour drive from Miami Beach, and Blue Spring State Park is just under five hours. From Orlando, Blue Spring is less than an hour away, and Three Sisters is under two hours from Orlando. At Three Sisters you can swim with the manatee; at Blue Spring you cannot. 
Other art fairs in Miami the same weekend that you might be interested in: Other pages on art that you might be interested in:
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Tank, Newport Beach. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Container, Columbus. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Electric wires, Columbus. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Pole with reflector tape, Hawaii. © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Railroad crossing, San Diego. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Gas pump, Hawaii. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Trestle, Columbus. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Trestle, Columbus. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Cruise ship stainless. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Roof vents, Warrenton. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Construction equipment, Redding. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Dock (300), Warrenton. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Sugar processor, Hawaii. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Silos, Columbus. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Stairs, Columbus. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Girder, Columbus. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Factory, Florida. © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Railroad trestle, Columbus. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Columbus. Photograph © 2010 Mark Dahle. 
Concrete, two blocks from Art Basel. © 2010 Mark Dahle.
Everglades National Park, an hour and a half from Art Basel Miami Beach. © 2010 Mark Dahle. |
