With a goal of fostering accessibility while still presenting boundary-pushing visual art and a stellar lineup of musicians – Vampire Weekend and Poolside fans won't want to miss these special performances – Superfine! House of Art & Design is sure to be one for the books. "Superfine! represents the constantly eroding line between what we know as fine art and high impact design, all with a kind of independent flair that marks us as a real scrappy player in the art and design arena," said Alex Mitow, the founder of FAME and head honcho behind Superfine! New Times caught up with
New Times: Tell us about the inspiration behind Superfine!
Alex Mitow: Superfine! is the culmination of years spent in the art world, both peripherally as the owner of the quintessential food-as-art NYC-based hot dog joint Los Perros Locos, and directly as the producer of a number of gallery shows and pop-up events that fuse art, food, design, fashion, and music under one roof. This isn't champagne sipping, jewelry dripping, staring at smudges on the wall; but it also isn't a down-market and
What drove you to start your own fair?
My overreaching goal with art and design — and Superfine! specifically — is to foster accessibility, both on the creative side and on the attendee/buyer side. The art world status quo is exclusivity, on both ends of the spectrum. Deep, dark Brooklyn basements are exclusive in a different way than huge, empty galleries; but both foster this sense that only certain people belong. Our goal is to strike that down and provide an even playing field, a welcoming and open environment where artists and designers come face to face with collectors and influencers in a way that's advantageous for everyone.
Why choose to focus on both art and design?
I'm a big fan of not answering questions but
How does Superfine! stand out from the usual Basel offerings?
I saw Basel grow from just one big, stuffy event at the convention center with a few satellite fairs and parties that nobody in Miami knew anything about, to what it is today: a cultural maelstrom and the most important art and design networking week of the year. Superfine! breaks the mold by taking place in completely raw space in the pre-construction Citadel building, soon to be a cultural epicenter of the Little Haiti neighborhood. The developers behind it have already brought forth MADE at the Citadel, a co-working hub for artists, designers, and other creative types, and they have major plans for the stretch.
What can we expect to see at Superfine!?
Would it be cliché to say that visitors should expect the unexpected? Guests will walk into a transformed raw space with 25' ceilings and be greeted by a massive chandelier of raining beams of light and bedazzled human forms ascending above a stage. Diego Montoya, who's creating a massive centerpiece called Ascend With You that will really anchor the vibe of the event and serve as a backdrop for all of the musical performances, with local Miami talent like Afrobeta, Krisp, and Millionyoung alongside national acts like Baio (from the band Vampire Weekend), Aeroplane, and wunderkind newcomer Shamir for his public Miami debut. We're giving the space a face-lift and bringing together a group of artists and designers that run the spectrum from plant-based art by Huy Bui to inspired design by Nicole Nadeau and St. Petersburg-based lighting studio DAMM design. We're more about aesthetic than labels so there will be everything from refined street art like the stuff that UR New York does, to installation pieces by Karelle Levy, and the really surreal photography of New York-based artist James
Superfine! House of Art & Design
December 2 through 6, at 8300 NE Second Ave., Miami. Visit superfine.design.
Follow Nicole on Twitter.