Pink Room created by Sadie Barnette, shown at Untitled Art Fair
If you were following along with my Instagram from this past weekend you knew I was in sunny Miami, hitting up as many art shows as possible while still soaking in some sweet sunshine. If you are unfamiliar with Art Basel, essentially it is a huge art fair that happens every year in Miami. Art Miami has spawn from Art Basel and now several huge art fairs gather in Miami for art week. All of the art at these shows is for the most part modern and contemporary, with almost endless subgenres.
I was able to attend several fairs including Pulse, Untitled, Scope, Superfine, and Basel, with Basel being by far the largest representation. With over 60,000 square feet of space housing galleries and artists from around the world. Art Basel was shoulder to shoulder packed and so much fun.
All of the fairs had very distinctive vibes, and seemed to attract very distinctive collectors, galleries, and artists. Here’s a brief synopsis of each of the fairs by my estimation.
Pulse:
Pulse seemed pretty laid back and made with the millennial in mind. I really enjoyed a lot of the art at Pulse. Lots of abstract, the vibes I got was a sense of calm, with a lot of really great abstract art selections.
Untitled:
Untitled was interesting, there were a lot of installations and sculptural pieces, but still had a lot of abstract and contemporary work. The people in the galleries were a bit more engaging would start a conversation with passersby. This was the only place I saw this happening. Untitled had some really interesting and engaging booths.
Basel:
Basel was packed, which makes sense because it was the main course of art week. Arguably these are the upper crust of galleries showing during art week. All of the offerings were very polished and with a glass of champagne in hand I muscled through, shoulder to shoulder with the hordes of collectors and visitors. Being the fangirl that I am, I had the pleasure of seeing up close and personal the works of some of my favorite artists.
Scope:
Scope felt like where all the cool kids with hang out and smoke week. In fact, as I was walking in, there was an excessively tatted and pierced girl vaping. I was painfully aware of how uncool I am when browsing scope. Scope was like a club. Neon paint, neon lights, lots of chrome, lots of 3d art, it was mostly pop and political art. Which of course has its place, I’m just not a huge fan in general. It was very loud inside, people were wearing lots of costumes, there were a lot of statements being made both artistically and fashionably.
Superfine:
I thought it was a joke when I went in. It was the smallest most claustrophobic space, and way too dark. It’s really a shame that the location overshadowed the art here. Hopefully they can get a better space next year.
Overall I really enjoyed my first Miami Art Week. Saw some of my art idols paintings in the flesh, met some cool people, soaked up some sunshine and left feeling full. Have you ever been to Miami Art Week? What shows should I hit up next year?
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