Deals! Deals! Deals!

"People in Miami are becoming more aware of what's going on and they're not willing to take the crap," offers Ambrosino, whose gallery's opening for its current group show, "Body of Work," was jammed the same weekend as the art fair. "They're more selective."

Maybe a swimsuit fashion show would have helped. In any case, the fair seems to have lost its cachet as a place for culturally curious locals to see and be seen. But despite Art Miami's ups, downs, and errors, collectors and curators continue to visit here at the time of the fair. "People put this on their calendar as a place to be in January, despite the mixed quality of the fair," says Snitzer. "So we're either going to have to fix that fair or make something better. It's got to be all or nothing.