Andy Warhol's Iconic Banana, Tea Party Bashing, And A Lot Of Arte Povera At NADA

A dozen rows of 220 upright empty toilet paper rolls are lined up neatly against one another on a wood table. The center of the cardboard cylinders are stuffed with crumpled up pieces of even more empty toilet paper rolls. Los Angeles gallery owner Mihai Nicodim, a silver fox with...

By Francisco Alvarado

December 2, 2011

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A dozen rows of 220 upright empty

toilet paper rolls are lined up neatly against one another on a wood

table. The center of the cardboard cylinders are stuffed with crumpled up

pieces of even more empty toilet paper rolls. Los Angeles gallery owner Mihai

Nicodim, a silver fox with a heavy eastern European accent, notes the

piece is by Romanian artist Miklos Onucsan, titled: It is

Different because it is the same, it is the same because it is

different.

With gusto, Nicodim declares it is the

"best example of arte povera in Miami." After touring the three

exhibitions rooms for this year's edition of NADA Miami Beach, we'd

argue Onucsan has some pretty stiff competition from other exhibiting

artists producing works from items you might come across a landfill

or a roadside dump. Oh, there were also some pretty dope paintings, sculptures, and an authentic Andy Warhol Banana silkscreen painting. You know, the one on the Velvet Underground album cover.

Check out NADA art after the jump:

When we saw this one, we just wanted to take our index finger and scribble "wash me" on it. Turns out the dust is actually enamel paint that artist Tony Mattelli meticulously applied to the mirror to make it look dirtier than a crack whore's mirror inside a Biscayne Boulevard motel. Asking price: $18,000.

How would you like to drop 300 stacks of Benjamin Franklins on pin-striped sacks of concrete? Christopher Astley's Mayhap presented by Leo Koning art gallery in NYC.

The black hair dryer represents giving into the dark side, unplugging yourself from the moral trappings that bind us. The porcelain hand dryer represents staying grounded to the light side, maintaining your place in the status quo. Or maybe some girl just needed to dry her hands before drying her hair. What do you think?

Who wouldn't want Johnny Rotten on his living room wall? Created by Belgian artist Jan Van Imschoot, who is debuting his new style, Anarcho Baroque, according to Los Angeles gallerist Shirley Morales. At $15,000, that Sex Pistol is a steal.

Locust Projects representing the 305 at NADA, showcasing three ironic pieces by San Francisco artist Andrew Schultz. After buying an American flag, Schultz noticed the tag, "made in China." So he made gold-leaf embossed paintings of the stars and stripes with three different inscriptions noting the Chinese takeover of Uncle Sam.

Call us sick, but we love the violent campiness of this oil on canvas painting by Dawn Mellor. The girl in the painting is a young Mia Farrow in horror flick Rosemary's Baby in case you're wondering. $12,000.

rt Dealer Todd Alden wouldn't tell us how he got this limited edition of Andy Warhol's Banana or how much he paid for it. Someone had already reserved it early in the morning shortly after the NADA preview got under way. But he wouldn't tell us who or for how much. What's the point of having a major Warhol piece if you can't brag about it? Anyway, here is Alden explaining how Banana came to be.

Ever met a half-Cuban, half-Italian Brooklynite who grew up in Miami and left for Kansas City? We came across one: Artist Jimmy Trotter, who was making his first trip to Art Basel. Sporting "Midwest serial killer" attire, he explained how and why he left the Sunshine State for the Show Me "What" State.

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Francisco Alvarado was born in Nicaragua and grew up in Miami, giving him unique insight into the Magic City and all its dark corners. An investigative reporter with a knack for uncovering corruption, Alvarado made his bones as a staff writer at Miami New Times and remains in dogged pursuit of the next juicy story.

Contact: Francisco Alvarado

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