asmallworld Art basel guide

ART
Art Basel Miami Beach 2008: Preview
ASMALLWORLD http://www.asmallworld.net/editorial/thescene/art/miamibasel08/

A still of Cao Fei's "Cosplayers" (2004), Possibility of an Island
Ellen Von Unwerth's “Naomi” at the Naomi Retrospective
Art Basel Miami Beach, North America’s biggest art soiree, begins next week. The gallerists are going, art will be on the walls and on the
beach, and the punters will be armed with the party (allegedly scaled back this year) sked. ASW takes a look at the highlights.
The Art
The main Art Basel fair takes place 4-7 December at the Miami
Beach Convention Center, where galleries showcase their
wares. In addition to checking out the usual boldface names
(Gagosian, Mary Boone et al.) at the Art Galleries
section, we’ll be stopping by Peres Projects’ two-man show
of work by Paul Lee and Dash Snow at the Art Nova
section. Amongst the Art Salon sessions that should prove
illuminating (and chilling) include critic Jerry Saltz's talk
entitled, This is the End: The Rising Tide of Money Goes out of
the Artworld and All Boats are Sinking (4 December at 4.30
pm) and a talk by Dan Cameron (5 December at 1 pm),
curator of Prospect 1, the largest biennial of contemporary art
in America to date currently on in New Orleans until January
2009.
Outdoors on Collins Park (between 21st and 22nd Streets) will
be the Art Positions section of the fair. Once again, galleries
and their artists will festoon the shipping containers with
interesting and mind-stretching works. This year, as a part of
Raul deNieves’s “Ice Cream You Scream We All Scream for Ice
Cream,” visitors will enjoy an ice-cream party in a banana-split
sundae-shaped shipping container (Newman Popiashvili Gallery, New York).
More macabre is “Score Settlings,” a jewellery display of trinkets made of shattered windscreen debris from drug-related revenge killings in
Mexico by Teresa Margolles (Galeria Salvador Diaz, Madrid). Other installations to check out include one-person-per-view brainwashing films
(Sean Raspet, Daniel Reich Gallery, New York) and decaying palm trees (Drew Hitzler, Redling Fine Art).
Elsewhere
This year’s in fashion photo (www.artphotoexpo.com) runs 3-7 December in the Municipal Parking Lot 54 of the Design District. It will
feature some 250 fashion photographs from the likes of Slim Aarons, Miles Aldridge and Greg Kadel. Naomi Campbell hosts and gets her
very own exhibition-within-exhibition, Naomi Retrospective, with snaps of her by Bruce Weber, Gilles Bensimon, Patrick Demarchelier and
others.
SCOPE (www.scope-art.com) is teaming up with ART ASIA in a spanking
new, huge location in the Wynwood Art District. The lecture series, which
focuses on Asian art, is set to be enlightening. It runs from 4-7 December.
The early view on 3 December is for VIPs and those willing to part with a
$100 at the door.
New Art Dealers Alliance or NADA (www.newartdealers.org) runs from
the 3-7 December. Expect to see the more indie elements of the
contemporary art world, plus free performances by Alexandre Singh, Clare
Rojas, Marcus Coates and others.
Design Miami (www.designmiami.com) has chosen Brazilian-born design
duo Fernando and Humberto Campana for its top honour: Designer of the
Year. Exhibitors include design world impresarios like London’s Kenny
Schachter of ROVE Gallery (rep of Zaha Hadid, Tom Dixon and others) and
Albion (gallerist of the Campana brothers). Also at Design Miami will be
Swarovski's Crystal Palace installation, Liquid Space, which is comprised
of a chandelier melting a quartet of tables by Ross Lovegrove. Design Miami
runs from 3-6 December in the Design District.
The PULSE Contemporary Art Fair (www.pulse-art.com) will present its
second GEISAI Miami programme. The studio, the brainchild of Takashi
Murakami, will showcase 35 artists and explore the Japanese idea of otaku,
or obsession (particularly with reference to anime and manga). Pulse, which
runs from 3-7 December, has also teamed up with the Financial Times to
offer talks on the art market’s current (boom or bust?) state.
Aqua Art Miami (www.aquaartmiami.com) runs at its original locale, the
Aqua Hotel (4-7 December) and at Aqua Wynwood (3-7 December) in the
Design District. Highlights include a group show of video work entitled I’m
Keeping an Eye on You. RSVP for free admission to preview evenings at
either locale by clicking here.
Cartier will repeat its Cartier Dôme installation at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens with the help of David Lynch. The Diamonds, Gold

Laure Hogin’s “The Economics of Heaven” (2005) on display at PULSE
and Dreams exhibit will feature drawings, paintings and films from the filmmaker. Expect to soak up Lynch’s trademark dreamy darkness and
covet the Cartier baubles on show.
For photo junkies, photo MIAMI (http://www.artfairsinc.com/photomiami/2008/) runs at the Wynwood District from 3-7 December. Look
forward to works by over 200 artists, including the US debut of Jeffrey Aaronson’s Borderland series by Zurich’s Galerie Kashya Hildebrand.
The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has two shows during AB. At its annex space, MOCA at Goldman Warehouse, The Possibility
of an Island, an exhibit inspired by French author Michel Houellebecq’s 2005 novel, will be on display from 4 December 2008 - 21 March 2009.
Anri Sala: Purchase Not by Moonlight is at MOCA’s main location until 1 March 2009. This first major show by the Albanian artist in the US
features seven films, plus photographs and sculptures. See www.MOCAnomi.org for more details.
The Parties Sked
The Raleigh Hotel will reprise its role as party central but there'll
be blow-outs all over town, including at the shiny new Mondrian
South Beach (www.mondriansouthbeach.com). Below is a list of
just a few of the gatherings taking place next week.
December 2
in fashion photo is throwing an opening party hosted by Naomi
Campbell on 2 December in its Design District location. Expect the
fashion set to be out in force – it is Naomi after all. Plus, 1980s
diva Kym Mazelle will be performing.
Temple Steps, an exhibit of photographs from Patrick Mimran's
recent portfolio, has its opening party 2 December from 8-11 pm
at 120 NE 27th Street, Bay 100 in the Wynwood District. To RSVP,
click here.
The NADA gala benefits the New Museum and includes a special
performance by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (CFTPA). For tickets, which start at $100, see more here.
Vanity Fair and MOCA host an opening reception for Anri Sala: Purchase Not by Moonlight between 7-9 pm. The Cleveland orchestra will
perform one of the artist’s works. For more details, see www.MOCAnomi.org.
December 3
ART ASIA cocktail party is on at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel from 7 pm. Another possible early evening engagement is Kelly Klein's book
signing for her Horse tome at the Raleigh Ballroom at 6 pm.
At 9 pm, Deitch Projects has its opening party at the Raleigh Hotel's Oasis where The Gossip is set to perform. After that, head out to the
opening of the Art Positions exhibit at 10 pm for a gig by Gang Gang Dance on the beach.
Also on 3 December is a Design Miami dinner, hosted by the fair's director Ambra Medda and Silvia Fendi (Fendi is sponsoring this year's
Design Talks series). Designers such as Tom Dixon and the Campana brothers are being honoured.
Alison Sarofim, Stuart Parr and Diego Marroquin are playing hosts at the Edmiston dinner at Casa Tua.
December 4
Domino Magazine and Jennifer Rubell will host a brunch to celebrate the 30 Americans exhibit from 8-11 am at the Rubell Family
Collection (www.rubellfamilycollection.com). The exhibit, which features works from the family stash by African American artists like Kara
Walker, Kehinde Wiley and Lorna Simpson, is worth checking out even if you can’t roll out of bed in time for the brunch. It runs until May
2009.
A purveyor of limited edition art tomes, Visionaire toasts its SURPRISE issue—which includes contributions from Cai Guo-Qiang, Steven
Klein, Steven Meisel and Mario Testino—with a bash at the Raleigh Hotel's Oasis beginning at 9 pm.
Also at the Raleigh at 10.30 pm, is the after party for Che. The film will screen at 6 pm at the Byron Carlyle Theatre.
December 5
On 5 December, Aqua Hotel will throw the release party for Scott Hug’s K48, a magazine put together by various artists. Another magazine
launch shindig is Peres Projects and A-ron Bondaroff's party for the first double issue of Peres’ in-house magazine project, DADDY (one
of the issues is guest-edited by artist Piotr Uklanski).
L'Uomo Vogue is hosting a dinner for photographer Bruce Weber at Casa Tua. Also on 5 December, Vanity Fair and Tommy Hilfiger are
holding a bash at the Raleigh Hotel. The hotel's penthouse is the site of NYT's T magazine's bash hosted by Stefano Tonchi and André
Balazs.
Estelle will perform at the GenArt Vanguard party from 8-10 pm at the Charcoal Studios. For tickets, click here.
December 6
Asprey London and KiptonART are throwing a cocktails soiree to toast the debut of KiptonART RISING, which will highlight rising art
stars as chosen by KiptonART at The Setai. Later, art revellers will be at the AB closing party hosted by Surface and Gansevoort South.
-Jessica Ramakrishnan

All details accurate at the time of publication.
“Kyosei” courtesy of Scope and Yuka Sashara Gallery
“Cosplayers” still at MOCA’s Goldman Warehouse exhibition, Possibility of the Island, courtesy of the artist and Lombard-Fried Projects, New
York
“The Economics of Heaven” (2005) courtesy of Schroeder Romero
Copyright © 2008