In Fashion ’07 features Miles Aldridge’s “Like a Painting”

So many satellite events accompany Art Basel Miami Beach that it’s difficult to choose where to go and what to do. If you just can’t decide how to spend your precious time, or if you’re not already inundated with enough things to do, here’s a roundup of what not to miss during Art Basel week.

In Fashion ‘07

The Miami Beach Art Photo Expo, a South Florida company that produces and organizes art photo exhibitions around the world, launched the inaugural In Fashion ’07 exhibition at The Surfcomber Hotel in Miami Beach. In Fashion ’07 features an exclusive collection of more than 200 contemporary works of photographic art personally signed by 20 of the world’s leading fashion photographers. The works were handpicked by event curator Marion de Beaupré, an icon in European fashion photography for more than 25 years who represents photographers from 12 countries, including France, the United States, Germany, China, United Kingdom and Japan. Photographers include Thierry Mugler, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Ellen Von Unwerth, Miles Aldridge, Elaine Constantine, Juan Gatti, Stéphane Sednaoui, David Seidner, Ali Mahdavi, Wing Shaya, Matthew Brookes, Christiane Draffehn, Rene Habemacher and Jannis Tsipoulanis, Seb Janiak, Jean-Pierre Khazem, Michael James O’Brien, Kanjo Take, Max Vadukul and Willy Vandereperre.

The Miami Beach Art Photo Expo completely transformed the historic Surfcomber Hotel, with an elaborate 60-foot-high, 30,000-square-foot structure covering the grounds of the property and pool area. Each signed photograph from the collection — works individually valued between $5,000 and $40,000 — is available for purchase during the exhibit.

In Fashion ’07 continues through Sunday, Dec. 9, at the Surfcomber Hotel, 1717 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. Admission is $10 and free for students with I.D. For further information, please visit www.artphotoexpo.com.

Blank Canvas: The Art Exhibit

7 For All Mankind, the leader in luxury denim, partnered with Condé Nast Media Group and the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) to create the inimitable Blank Canvas: The Art Exhibit.

Sarah Gavlak, curator of the exhibit and owner of the Gavlak Gallery in West Palm Beach, brought together a talented assemblage of seven emerging artists, including Lisa Anne Auerbach, Carolyn Carr, Jim Drain, Philip Estlund, Ruth Laskey, Dean Sameshima and Shinique Smith. Each was asked to design a unique piece of art that incorporates the denim and hardware utilized in the 7 For All Mankind collection. Chosen for their creativity, originality and forward-thinking approach, these artists fit ideally with the spirit of the brand. By merging the fashion and functionality of denim with their chosen artistic medium, each artist created something unexpectedly fresh and cutting-edge.

Following the Miami debut of Blank Canvas, the collection will move on to several of 7 For All Mankind’s new retail boutiques throughout the United States. The company also will run a print advertising campaign featuring the Blank Canvas artists and their works in 2008 issues of Vogue, W, Teen Vogue, GQ, Details and Vanity Fair.

Blank Canvas: The Art Exhibit will be open to the public until Sunday, Dec. 9, at The NADA Art Fair, located at the Ice Palace, 1400 N. Miami Ave., Miami.

The Esthetic Experience

Giovanni Rossi of Giovanni Rossi Fine Art and Juan Carlos Rodriguez of Vamp Fine Art have brought together 14 acclaimed artists for The Esthetic Experience. From paintings to photographs to mixed-media pieces (including iconic Andy Warhol images with new work superimposed upon them), these artists intoxicate the senses, provoke thought and challenge societal norms. Each artist’s style is individual, yet all have a head-turning, jaw-dropping effect with their political, emotional, spiritual and controversial statements.

Among the participating international artists are Andreas Reimann, Christopher West, Daniel Fila and Federico Uma.

The Esthetic Experience, located at 2048 N.W. Miami Court, opens Thursday, Dec. 6, and continues until Monday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. with nightly events. For more information, please e-mail GiovanniRossi@skyfineart.com.

F.A.M.E. Collective

The downtown art world meets the uptown fine art world when Maximum Impact Associates presents F.A.M.E. Collective (Fashion Art Music Entertainment), an exclusive four-story exhibition devoted to works of more than 25 contemporary, Pop and graffiti artists. Heralding the street world’s most prolific artists, F.A.M.E Collective celebrates such renowned names as Futura 2000, Stash, Dave White and Ron English. Only recently has the medium of graffiti art been recognized by collaborations with Fortune 500 brands like Nike, North Face, Coca-Cola and Apple, as well as recent museum exhibits around the world. For the first time, these artists’ works are being featured under one roof during Art Basel Miami Beach.

Access to F.A.M.E. Collective, located at 2228 Park Ave., Unit 2, Miami Beach, is by invitation or appointment only, through Friday, Dec. 14. Private appointments are available daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Special events will be held each evening from 6 to 9 p.m. or 7 to 10 p.m. For more information, visit www.fame-collective.com.

The Art Hotel

The Sagamore Hotel has been dubbed “The Art Hotel” by the travel industry and art community. Capitalizing on the honor, the Sagamore has officially added the designation to its name: Sagamore – The Art Hotel while its operators showcase the permanent collection of more than 500 works of contemporary art. Known as the Sagamore Collection, the display includes painting, works on paper, photography, mixed media, sculpture and video art by recognized, emerging and world-renowned artists. The Sagamore continues to acquire five to 12 works per year, assembled by Christine “Cricket” Taplin, one of the hotel’s owners.

The Sagamore Hotel will host the following participating Art Basel artists and their works:

* Robert Chambers presents “Rotorelief,” which combines a functioning helicopter with hypnotic discs in the place of propeller blades.

* Ken Solomon presents “The Wig Project,” a whimsical three-channel video with live audio featuring the faces of television and film personalities, notable artists, various collectors and curators from around the world.

* Elliot Erwitt displays 39 black and white photographs selected from his aptly titled book Personal Best, a survey of some of the most notable and widely recognized images by this photography pioneer.

* Spencer Tunick exhibits images from his nude installation at the Sagamore on Oct. 8.

* Tracey Moffatt hosts a signing for her book, The Moving Images of Tracey Moffatt, on Saturday, Dec. 8.

The Sagamore Hotel is located at 1671 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. For more information, call 305-535-8088.

The Art Basel Brunch

Held at the above-mentioned Sagamore Hotel on Saturday, Dec. 8, the Art Basel Brunch has become one of the most sought-after invitations of Art Basel Miami Beach. The event will be hosted by Sagamore Hotel owners Martin and Cricket Taplin, Miami real estate mogul and art collector Marty Margulies and his girlfriend, Constance Collins. The event will include representation from six Miami-area art museums — the Bass Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Lowe Art Museum, the Frost and Wolfsonian Museums at FIU and Miami Art Museum — as well as artists, gallery owners, collectors and other visiting luminaries.

KARLA Conceptual Event Experiences

Event architect Karla Dascal and KARLA Conceptual Event Experiences will host several exhibitions and celebrations for clients from art to fashion to business during Art Basel Miami Beach, including the Anthony Meier Exhibition (through Sunday, Dec. 9), the Pucci Brunch and Gerard Cholot installation (by invitation only, Thursday, Dec. 6), the Art Nexus/USB/Flagstone Event (Friday, Dec. 7) and the Goldman Sachs Event (Friday, Dec. 7). KARLA Conceptual Event Experiences is located at 100 N.E. 25th St., Miami. For more information, call 305-644-3555.

Fourth Annual Masters Mystery

Hundreds of drawings collected from artists, celebrities and other VIPs will be sold for $50 each at The Ritz-Carlton, One Lincoln Road, South Beach, to benefit Florida International University’s Masters in Fine Arts program. The mystery element: The artist of each piece is unveiled only at the time of purchase. Past celebrity artists have included Madonna and her daughter Lourdes, Roberto Cavalli, Gloria Estefan, Andy Garcia and Whoopi Goldberg. This year’s opening is on Thursday, Dec. 6, with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. featuring “The Art of Cooking,” presented by the four chefs at the Ritz-Carlton. Art will be on display through Saturday, Dec. 8. For more information, call 786-276-4000.