Art Basel announced its 2013 exhibitors this morning, and two Miami galleries have made the cut.
Frederic Snitzer Gallery will once again show works in the legendary art fair's main gallery section -- no surprise, as owner Snitzer sits on the fair's selection committee; after years of exhibiting at Art Basel, his gallery's acceptance is a no-brainer.
Spinello Projects, which debuted at Art Basel last year, will return to the Miami Beach Convention Center in December with an expanded presence, indicating Spinello's increasing prominence both in Miami and on the world stage.
In 2012, Spinello Projects showcased the work of Agustina Woodgate in Art Basel's Art Positions sector, a place for galleries to exhibit the work of one particular artist. Woodgate's solo exhibition, "New Landscapes," was an eerie, ethereal setting containing a map, an atlas, and a globe that had been painstakingly erased, leaving only miniscule traces of the world the items once represented.
Woodgate's work earned critical acclaim, which likely helped to propel Spinello Projects to an upgraded space in Basel's Art Nova sector this y ear. In Nova, galleries can show the work of up to three artists, as long as those works have been created within the last three years.
Spinello couldn't comment on his Art Basel plans at the time of this post. But his gallery boasts some of Miami's biggest and most innovative art names, including 2013 New Times Mastermind finalists Typoe and Antonia Wright, and honorable mention Farley Aguilar.
Congratulations are in order, especially for Spinello -- its second Art Basel appearance in as many years is a huge accomplishment for the gallery and a sign of respect for Miami's ever-evolving art scene.
Still, we've gotta repeat our complaint from last year: just two Miami galleries at Basel, out of a total of 258? No love for the other three Miami art spaces ranked among the best on the continent? Or other deserving spaces on our list of top ten Miami galleries? Basel's loss, we guess.
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