The Art Miami Solution
Some Advice for the Fair That Follows Art Basel

Little gems and curiosities could be scavenged in otherwise bland corners.

By Michelle Weinberg

There is a solution to the problem of Art Miami. That there is a problem was evident again in the art fair’s 17th year. Dealers were prepared with optimistic turns of phrase uttered more to bolster their own spirits, but sales seemed scarce. Show administrators reported excellent attendance, but on Saturday afternoon, aisles were empty, many gallery booths unmanned and a general flaccidity settled over the whole endeavor. Apparently the free Friday was more successful, naturally. After speaking with a number of local gallery representatives, the consensus appeared to be that Art Miami ought to occur during the Art Basel weekend to take advantage of the avalanche of collectors and visitors in town, to become part of the main event instead of the afterthought it appears to be.

Whether show personnel will consider that option or not, it seems imperative for Art Miami to distinguish itself. Here are some possibilities. One thrust of the fair could certainly be to create an organized platform for local galleries seeking to entice new collectors. Kunsthaus Miami and Dot Fiftyone galleries both have rosters of international and local artists creating lively works that don’t fit neatly into standard categories. They report that Art Miami organizers actually discouraged participation by local galleries. Which is incredible, considering that Dot Fiftyone artist Leonel Matheu’s reinvented city street signs were a successful fair-specific project that engaged the urban surreality of Miami itself, and Mexican painter Armando Romero contributed a large canvas that wrestles with colonial and present-day Latin American iconography, also relevant. Kunsthaus, with an outlet in Miami and in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, showed some dreamlike photos of Graciela Fuentes, which deserve to be better known here. Spanish artist Amparo Sard’s perforated paper drawings on view at Hardcore Art were not as risqué as the other works shown (and that the gallery name suggests), but very dense and intelligent. Hardcore’s program draws heavily on sophisticated new work coming out of Latin America, but epitomizes the globalization overtaking the art world. The fact is that artists from all over the world are seeking outlets to show their work in Miami.

Damien B. is another motivated dealer whose performance art series sought to enliven the Art Miami agenda. At Chelsea Galleria’s booth, Kate Kretz’s monumental-sized “Blessed Art Thou” recast Angelina Jolie as a saint ascending to heaven from the checkout-counter gossip magazines at Wal-Mart. There is no stranglehold on the local scene by one or two gallerists any longer. Art Miami would be very smart to harness the entrepreneurial spirit of this very variegated local scene.

Equally, smaller galleries from cities in Europe contributed some of the strongest work. From the U.K., artist Gordon Hopkins showed a bold painting in a mature style at Rebecca Hossack Gallery. Flowers Gallery sold a fantastic photograph by Edward Burtynsky, a Canadian working in China. From Dusseldorf, Galerie Schuebbe Project had some knock-out formalist paintings by Martin Mele and realist portraits by Piot Brehmer. Perhaps this fair was the sole opportunity for this very sophisticated gallery to get to Miami. Similarly, some Miami artists made connections with galleries in European cities, such as sculptors Daniel Fiorda and Carolina Sardi, who showed with Galerie Lelia Murdoch, from Paris.

Local phenom Pervis (Purvis) Young’s graphomania apparently remains endlessly alluring, despite succumbing to the same burnout and repetition endemic to all successful artists. The Peace Wall adorned with his works at the entrance to Art Miami was rather vulgar.

Regional U.S. galleries straddled the divide between the ho-hum and the average, but little gems and curiosities could be scavenged in otherwise bland corners. Edward del Rosario’s miniature oil and pencil portraits at Rice/Polak Gallery were intense and subtle. John McEnroe’s latex slab painting/sculptures at Denver’s Plus Gallery capitalized on a passive/aggressive materiality that was very lively. And the work of Florida International University grad students appeared smart and eccentric, two excellent qualities for starters.

Look, the art world is a big place, with room in it for every taste. No artist who values his or her own freedom could deny the right — or the privilege — of any other artist to produce and promote art of any stripe. And the smitten collector can be found for the most puzzling creations. There certainly were a few horrors at Art Miami, some with Barbies, others without, but overall, there were fewer bogus, sentimental, Euro-style paintings, fewer kitschy Latin American abstractions with outlandish textures and color-wheel patinas. But the majority of works presented at Art Miami may be categorized as Art ‘lite” — innocuous, inconsequential. Some may prefer comfort food served in bite-sized snack portions after Art Basel Miami Beach. This isn’t to defend all the “challenging” work foisted upon us in December. Many works are merely risqué, faddish and overproduced, hard to digest. By consolidating a lively focal point for local Miami galleries, by inviting modest galleries from second- and third-tier European cities to attend, by focusing on regional American galleries with something to say and by inviting an outside curator or two to coordinate some relevant exhibition, Art Miami could thrive. So, schedule the thing when all the people are actually in town during Art Basel Miami Beach. It’s time to get on the playing field, and take part in the international conversation going on, not persevere in a dead zone.

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