Greg Haberny, The Wanker’s Ball at Fountain Art FairYesterday afternoon Wynwood streets were surprisingly light in traffic with the exception of a few taxis, rickshaws and Miami Police squad cars along North Miami Avenue. It was nothing like last year when cabs and limos snaked bumper-to-bumper in the gritty nabe.On…
The word for last night’s opening of Art Positons was “tight.” Tight in the way Frat boys mean “somewhat awesome.” Tight in that it was crowded, and getting in and out of the mini galleries housed in storage containers wasn’t an acitivity for claustophobes. Tight in the way that everything…
Walking into the Scope tent yesterday was like getting smacked in the face with an art stick. You know, in a good way. Inside, it was a visual sensory overload, with way too much for any normal, methamphetamine-free viewer to see in one trip. Riptide felt like a contestant on…
The vacuums roared cleaning up leftover debris as the press was allowed a preview of what’s in store for the crowds visiting the tent at photo MIAMI. Lights flickers on and off, while the A/C hummed loudly making it uncomfortably cold inside on an usually frigid Tuesday afternoon.”We are just…
We have not been to a single art fair this week yet where we haven’t seen a duck inspired piece. I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, or what it reflects, but if I had the money I’d buy up every waterfowl piece I came across. This is Richard…
Perhaps the most striking piece immediately visible as you enter Art Basel from the convention center’s East entrance is Obama by Yan Pei-Ming at David Zwriner. Perhaps an Obama portrait should say “Welcome to Art Basel. We know, we know. The economy is in the tank, but look at this…
Few dealers in town can claim the longevity of Barbara Gillman, who began peddling art out of her home 40 years ago. “Back then I was selling to local banks and thought, ‘Wow! This is easy.'”The self-styled doyenne of the fledgling South Florida arts scene went on to open her…
They’re out there: hoity-toity connoisseurs just waiting to tell you that fashion photographers aren’t real artists. They’ll say, “Bla, bla, bla isn’t fine art. Bla, bla, bla isn’t thought-provoking… Bla.” Then they’ll take a sip of free champgne from a plastic cup and check their Blackberries when it’s your turn…
When my mother dropped me off at Boy Scout camping trips she always joked with the troop leaders that her idea of camping involved staying at the Ritz-Carlton. My mom would laugh at her own joke while the khaki-clad men smiled politely. This year’s Design Miami/ inhabits a tent that…
We mentioned Glass Lab, a Design Miami/ satellite exhibit, before, but we didn’t know it was presented as a performance. Apparently it was one of the more popular features of the fair last year, and we can clearly (clearly …because it is glass …ha) see why. Glass makers from The…
Ice has a bit of a bad musical rap ever sense its unfortunate connection with a certain early 90’s caucasian rapper, but it’s grown musically sense then. While listening to the Merzbox 20 times in a row, it realized there’s more to creating sound than ripping of a Queen riff, so it teamed up…
Art Radio WPS1.org does their award winning Art Basel radio show from Art Positions every year. If you’re super into art and super into NPR type radio programming and wish somehow those worlds could collide permanently, it’s not to be missed. They’ll have collectors, artists, curators and the like dropping…
The story of this year’s Basel is the recession, as we noted in this week’s cover story and in a follow up piece by Carlos Suarez De Jesus that hits stands tomorrow. Long story short, Basel organizers seem to think (or hope) that people who had a lot of money…
Maleonn Portrait of Mephisto No 5, 2006 / Courtesy Craig Scott GalleryIn three short years, photo MIAMI, a contemporary art fair for photo-based art, video and new media, has become one of the city’s major satellite fairs thanks to its director Tim Fleming. Originally, based in Los Angeles Fleming jumped…
MiMo artist Louis Dalmau is known for making art in some unusual environments. His first big — ahem, splash — in Miami came in the late ’80s when he created an underwater art installation that doubled as a reef. For this year’s Art Basel, Dalmau choose a distinctly less sexy…
Germans are not exactly the most cheerful people, so it’s no surprise that Deutschland’s biggest magazine, Der Spiegel, has one of the most depressing previews of Art Basel we’ve seen so far. “On the fourth of December, the fair will open for a seventh time, and, as always, several German…
The “Pedestriart” urban art project has taken over the Midtown Art Park. Apparently it’s important for everyone to know that grasshopper 69’s are strictly prohibited. Local artist Leonel Matheu uses his own iconography to make artistic statements for the consumption of passing foot traffic. Several big art fairs including, SCOPE and PhotoMiami are setting up tents just a couple blocks south of the park, so it should get plenty of foot traffic. Here are some shots of the work.
Nestor Arenas doesn’t aim to please. The baby-faced, bespectacled 43-year-old Miami photographer likes to show us what we’d rather not see. Like, say, a once-adorable black cat smashed on the side of the road. Or a raccoon’s guts spilling onto the asphalt. In his latest work, which is on display…
Famed Culture Jammer and artist Ron English is sure to fancy up some lucky Wynwood wall At the heart of Art Basel lies an unabashed celebration of commerce and luxury, but not every art piece is meant to double as an investment and status symbol that looks good hanging over…
Gap’s refined older brother Banana Republic will be sponsoring the NADA Art Fair’s 2008 preview (a benefit for the New Museum) and as part of the deal will be donating limited edition tote bags featuring the work of 6 artists. It’s the perfect gift idea for your artistically incline mom…
“Wrench”, Nicola Kupersu, Color Print, 2007 Over at Crossfade we told you electro act ADULT. will be playing White Room during Art Basel week. Here at Riptide we’re charged with covering the visual arts beat, and hence are providing you with the ulterior motive for ADULT.’s visit. One half of…
Haitian-born, Miami-based artist Edouard Duval-Carrié is teaming up with Dutch beer brand Grolsch for a limited edition bottle only available at select Art Basel events. We’ll stay out of the debate over the whole idea of limited edition beer bottle as art piece for the moment, and just be happy…
