A few articles about Miami–>
At artnet news Ben Davis thinks the fairs are rife with “ArtBlab,” academic ArtSpeak’s ditzy cousin. “This form of speech lacks entirely the laborious high seriousness of the much-ridiculed ArtSpeak. In fact, just the opposite. ArtBlab is the chipper simulation of considered opinion. Call it conversational tofu…..ArtBlab is talk about art that’s a pretext for something else. It reflects the truth that for a growing and robust constituency, these kinds of events are about art in exactly the way that toga parties are about the culture of ancient Greece.” Read more.
Kathryn Tully at Forbes: “With
267 galleries showing at Art Basel Miami Beach, and a record 18
satellite fairs taking place around the city, more art was offered for
sale in Miami this week than ever before, but buyers were more cautious
in a market that has become more muted and susceptible to economic
uncertainty in recent months.” Read more.
[Image at top: It rained all week]
According to Art Observed: “Following the notorious early-hour rush in the first day of the fair, sales slowed markedly, but kept to a steady pace through the rest of the week. Nari Ward, whose show at the Perez Museum was a popular stop for fairgoers this year, sold several works in the $50,000 to $100,000 range at Lehmann Maupin, while Mitchell-Innes Nash capitalized on Pope.L�s work on view at the Public sector of the event, selling a Skin Set work for $60,000. David Zwirner sold a striking Marlene Dumas for $2,000,000, and at Peter Freeman, Jimmie Durham�s eye-catching rock and car sculpture had earned a bid from an American museum at $1,000,000. At Jack Shainman, the gallery sold out a set of three pieces by Hank Willis Thomas for $45,000 each. At Victoria Miro, the gallery had sold all of its offerings by Celia Paul in the opening hours, while Skarstedt Gallery also performed well, placing works by George Condo and David Salle for $400,000 and $275,000 respectively.” Read more.
At artnet news Christian Viveros-Faune is squeamish about collectors’ politics and where else they are spending their money: “Up until now, ABMB had prided itself on being smart, edgy and sexy. Today it’s about as rousing as a corporate financial statement. But it’s not just the surfeit of stuff repeating the most recent auction experiments�Italian Arte Povera here, the Japanese Zero artists there, and there, and there again�that tips one off to the rightward turn of contemporary collecting. It’s also the fact billionaire titans like Norman Braman and Ken Griffin are actively financing Republican candidates in both state and presidential elections. While the first is underwriting both the Miami ICA and Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign, the latter�the founder of one of the world’s largest hedge funds�recently contributed $5.5 million to the election of Illinois’ new union-busting governor. As Jeb Bush preps for Friday’s �Pop Art, Politics & Jeb” fundraiser in Miami Beach, it’s fair to say that, at present, contemporary art and Republican politics go hand in glove….” Read more.
At B’More Art, Cara Ober looks at the new Artist-Run, a fair of artist collaboratives organized by Tiger Strikes Asteroid, and wonders if they can sustain the energy: “Will this type of anti-fair continue to exist as these artists and galleries grow older and accumulate mortgages and art school loan payments and babies or will this group reluctantly graduate into larger, more commercial fares where their ideas become more compromised and idealism more resigned? Or, is a collective artist-run approach a new and viable direction for the future? Each booth at Artist-Run cost something, but was affordable for young artists and galleries. In addition, there was a tacit understanding that these booths would not be selling art, to pose no competition to the parent fair, Art Market Productions & Select Fair. Does that make any sense at all? An art fair that isn�t supposed to sell art?….Or, conversely, are the other, more commercial fairs just presenting a false version of success where sales loom large and the art is trendy and thin? I have received no less than three PR emails from Art Basel since returning to Baltimore boasting giant individual sales and sales records, and it feels obnoxious and desperate. I don�t care if a Francis Bacon sold there for 15 million dollars. Why is this news?? The Artist-Run model makes me feel better about being an artist, but I am curious: Which model serves artists better? Or can we just embrace a pluralistic approach to art fairs where everything is good?” Read more.
We have a couple more Miami posts in the queue. Stay tuned.
Related posts:
Part 1: Sharon Louden finds color and abstraction at Pulse and Art Basel Miami(2015)
Part 2: “Untitled — the best fair in Miami Beach” (2015)
Part 3: A selection from NO MAN’S LAND, Untitled, and ABMB (2015)
Part 4: Artist-run @ Satellite in Miami (2015)
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