“It’s Art Basel (pronounced Basle), not Art Basel (pronounced Bay-zil).” If you’ve never been to the art extravaganza that will soon take over Miami causing the entire city to collectively lift its nose at the rest of the country and world, then prepare yourself to hear some gasbag correct some…
Thirty years ago, when the NYPD declared war on graffiti via a newly-minted vandal squad, it would have been difficult to imagine odes to the spray can at a high-brow international art fair. But these are different times, when crews who did stints for vandalism can now get paid by…
The Art Basel issue doesn’t hit newsstands until Thursday, but the complete issue is now available online, including our feature story on artist Bert Rodriguez, who in 2006 was reading bedtime stories to handful of people during Basel and now sells art, sight-unseen, to prominent collectors around the world. Monday,…
Art Basel is here! We’re guessing there’s likely thousands of Miamians out there that don’t know what the freak that means. You’re probably thinking that unless you’re dropping serious coin on a piece of contemporary art or rubbing elbows with Steve Martin at the W Hotel, Art Basel is just…
Is it possible to be exhausted by Art Basel before it even begins? While most fairs and parties haven’t even opened yet (except for those annoying VIPs and press previews), yesterday might have been the unofficial start to this crazed week. Bruce Weber was at the Standard, and Calvin Klein…
If you suffer from art-claustrophobia, yearning to hack through the gleaming white walls of fancy galleries and out into the world, there’s no reason to feel left out during Art Basel. Primary Flight, Miami’s number one purveyor of graffiti-related events, has a line-up heavy on outdoor frolicking and low on…
We recently spent an evening at the Standard with Daria Brit Shapiro, curator and director of a.m.f. project. We weren’t just there to enjoy her charismatic company, but to get the inside scoop on her integral role with Scope Miami and Karelle Levy’s KREL Wear. She also told us about…
We’ve already told you about eight art fairs worth checking out, and here’s the final installment in our Guide to Satellite Art Fairs. The sheer number of fairs is rather overwhelming. But take comfort in the fact that you, brave, art renegades of the Magic City, are taking part in…
If you’re a collector or a just plain art aficionado without the purchasing power and you’ve never attended O.H.W.O.W.’s It Ain’t Fair, you’re missing out on one of the week’s best satellite fairs. It’s not really much of a fair, though, as there’s only one gallery represented. But the curated…
For the last three years, we’ve always had a local artist work with us to create the cover for our Art Basel issue. This year, Bert Rodriguez, who is profiled in our upcoming issue, worked with art director, Pam Shavalier, to come up with this year’s cover.Spoofing W magazine’s “Art…
Sure, Art Basel is great for the art. We’ll give you that. But once you get passed the amazing collectors flying from around the world to add stellar pieces to their collections, what else is there? The after parties, of course. But our favorite thing about Art Basel? It also…
On Friday, we told you about the satellite art fairs cropping up on Miami Beach. Now we skip over the bay to Wynwood for four more art fairs worth a visit. Never be intimidated or deterred by thinking you have to buy anything while strolling the fairs. Yes, the ultimate…
Art Basel, like a muffin top peaking out of too-tight jeans, is spilling out beyond the convention center. It’s now like Fantastic Fest or Mardi Gras, a week-long madness that takes over an entire city. This year, it’s causing giant jellyfish to attack Lincoln Road, giving Hello Kitty a gas…
Alright, the art season is officially upon us, Miami. A flurry of gallery, museum, and art fair openings will make it almost impossible to walk, think, and see straight this week. But this is no time to crawl under the table and hide. Yes, the traffic will be thick, the…
Part of what makes Art Basel so damn fun, we mean besides the art, of course, is the fact that celebrities use the opportunity to show their cultural sides. And you know we love that here at Cultist. Case and point: Russell Simmons, the hip-hop magnate and patriarch of the…
There are a lot of things that are awesome about Art Basel week, only one of which is actually Art Basel. In between staring at five-digit price-tags for paintings we’ll never buy and making awkward conversation with socialites, we’ll be headed to Arts for a Better World — a 40,000…
When you think Hello Kitty, the mental montage probably goes something like this: Hallmark, eight-year-old girls, white cat with no mouth and exactly six whiskers, Mariah Carey, toilet, beer, douchebags, and this gun. Notice that nowhere in that sequence are the words art or basel. Well, all of that is…
Thinking about skipping out on the Basel pretension by spending a few days submerged in mud at the Standard Spa? Well, look for an escape elsewhere, because the boutique hotel is just as infected with the Basel bug. There’ll be floating boob sculptures in the pool, art porn in the…
Some people would argue that Design Miami/Art Basel itself is the cure for insomnia. But we don’t subscribe to that theory. Not totally. Or even mostly. Okay, not at all. But you have to admit some of the exhibits elicit some serious z’s. And that’is most true of the “Once…
Just off shore, miles past South Beach’s glowing neon marquees, there are graceful and ethereal creatures, pulsing with their own natural fluorescence. These jellyfish, zoanthids, and corals, which pirouette and sway out on Miami’s reefs, are the muses of art/science duo Coral Morphologic. Colin Foord and Jared McKay filmed these…
We bet you’ve been a little worried about how you’d be able to track down some skull accent pieces now that Alexander McQueen’s line has been taken over by Sarah Burton. And if you’re like us, you probably like your kitsch right where you can see it: On your wrist.You’re…
Giant pink snails on South Beach? What’s next, famine and a plagues of locusts? The bubble-gum pink creepers spotted throughout Miami Beach are not a sign of end times. And no, they’re not the work of pink-loving Christo either. The 45 snails, made from plastic gathered from landfills, are part…
