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From Red Dot Gallery in West Palm Beach, Kara
Walker’s 1997 “Keys to the Coop” |
For more than 17 years, Art Miami’s organizers have held
their event at the Miami Beach Convention Center in January.
Now the laws of
the art universe have driven Art Miami, a fair originally
conceived to fill the niche of galleries that sold the works of
mid-career contemporary and modern artists, into Wynwood and the
Art Basel spotlight.
From Dec. 5 to
9, 100 galleries from 17 countries will exhibit their works
under Art Miami’s 100,000-square-foot tent at Northwest Second
Avenue between 22nd and 23rd streets, on the fringe of the major
satellite fairs.
This would be
the second time Art Miami has been held in 2007 — the first was
held from Jan. 5 to 8. The organizers moved up the fair’s date a
month from the traditional dates to feed off of the massive Art
Basel frenzy.
It’s all just
gravity, said Art Miami Director Ilana Vardy.
The
organization rescheduled the fair out of necessity: Art buyers
visiting Art Miami arrived a little tapped-out after Art Basel,
or skipped the fair completely, and area galleries pressured the
group to reschedule the fair to help sales.
“Art Miami was
on the map, it was just in the wrong place,” Vardy said.
“Wynwood is the circuit; everyone’s going to be in Wynwood. Art
Miami was suffering. It really hurt us in the last year or two
years.”
According to
Alexis Hubshman, founder of the original Art Basel satellite
fair Scope, the changes, while necessary, could result in one of
two scenarios: Art Miami’s new schedule and new location might
help the art world by bringing in even more collectors. Or the
fair could end up a victim of natural selection.
Hubshman said
that if the Art Basel market becomes too “saturated,” art
collectors may skip Art Miami altogether. Photo Miami could be
next on the endangered list. “It’s just the hierarchy,” Hubshman
said, adding that many collectors who traditionally attended Art
Miami didn’t attend Art Basel, or vice versa.
“The move has
been a long time coming,” Hubshman said. “They should have done
it two years ago. Last year there were just enough fairs where a
VIP could get around; now they will have to leave a few things
by the wayside,” Hubshman said. “I suspect the hotel fairs could
suffer.”
Hubshman
postulated that the Art Miami move could prove there is room to
add another tier to the Art Basel financial empire.
Vardy admitted
that there are “mixed feelings in the community” about Art
Miami’s rescheduling and relocation because many local galleries
suffer from the visiting collectors’ packed itineraries.
Besides the
location and date change, Art Miami will lose both its
Director’s Choice artist and the Caribbean Crosscurrents program
because of lack of space. The fair also upped its admission from
$12 to $15 per day and discontinued its free Fridays.
Slice, a small
section of the Art Miami fair featuring work from 10 galleries,
will stick around, showcasing Apama Mackey, from Houston; Envoy
Gallery and Anna Kustera, from New York; Plus Gallery, from
Denver; and De Soto, from Los Angeles.
Now competing
with the heavy satellite fair hitters, Art Miami boasts larger
booth spaces and a substantially larger venue than Scope, Pulse
and Art Positions. The fair also revamped its floor plan and
added lounges and bars, shuttle services and a full on-site
restaurant adjacent to the fair tent conceived for the event by
Sean Brasel, the chef of South Beach dining staple Touch.
Vardy hinted
that she’s excited about esteemed art collectors who are
expected to attend the fair, but remained tight-lipped about
specifics. One new feature that is not on the down-low: Art
Miami claims to be the only fair to offer VIPs the services of
on-call “art advisors,” top art consultants available to steer
patrons in their purchases.
“We’re really
making history,” Vardy said. “There are more than 20 fairs in a
five-day period. It’s really exciting for all of us. Art Miami
has finally achieved the respect it deserves.”
Originally
conceived to serve galleries primarily presenting mid-career
contemporary and modern art, Art Miami has succeeded in
attracting cutting-edge artists.
Now, Vardy has
been fending off criticism from local artists who have less of a
presence at the upcoming Art Miami than in previous years. Art
Basel in Wynwood will display works from New York, West Coast
and international galleries. In fact, works from New York
galleries will account for approximately 30 percent of the art,
Vardy said. The new Art Miami will retain just 10 percent of its
exhibitors from January.
However,
because of its new schedule, Vardy expects 30,000-plus potential
visitors to Art Miami.
As she watched
staff install Art Miami’s tent and flooring last week, Vardy was
optimistic. “We’re right on schedule,” she said. “It’s the
biggest art tent I’ve ever seen — it’s phenomenal. There’s a lot
of buzz in other cities,” Vardy added. “I’ve been taken aback by
the support.”
The fair will
feature a 1957 Joan Mitchell painting from Hackett-Freedman
Gallery in San Francisco; a Willem de Kooning painting from
Spanierman Modern in New York; and a work from Wilfredo Lam, who
is back in the market after a quarter-century hiatus,
from Miami’s own David Castillo Gallery. It also will exhibit a
Joseph Stella painting from Hirschl & Adler Galleries in New
York that was last exhibited in 1994 at the Whitney Museum of
American Art. On the contemporary side, Art Miami will showcase
works by Kara Walker of Red Dot Contemporary of West Palm Beach,
works by Mongolia-born Nasun Nashunbatu from Düsseldorf’s
Galerie Schuebbe Projekt, photography from Barry Friedman Ltd.
in New York, and a rare Diane Arbus photography portfolio with a
$750,000 price tag from Laurence Miller Gallery.
“Expectations
are really high,” Vardy said. “We call it ‘The New Art Miami,’
and it really is. We have a lot to prove.”
Art Miami will
be held on Northwest Second Avenue between 22nd and 23rd streets
in Wynwood from Dec. 5 to 9. Admission is $15 for adults. For
more information, visit www.art-miami.com or call 866-727-7953.
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