Verge Art Fair - Coming to Miami

A new fair coming to Miami's Catalina Hotel. Well, maybe not new, perhaps rebranded. Some quick sleuthing uncovered that the Bridge Art Fair web site is now the Verge web site. Any change in exhibitors is unclear.

From Verge:
THE DESTINATION FOR EMERGING ART ON MIAMI BEACH
This December during Art Basel Miami Beach, the inaugural Verge Art Fair will premier at the Catalina Hotel and Beach Club on Collins Avenue. Verge will advance the tradition of the Catalina Hotel as an oasis only steps away from hustle and bustle of the ABMB art market, providing the only show in Miami with a focus solely on emerging art. Located between the Miami Convention Center and the Art Positions converted shipping containers, Verge will enjoy the central position on Collins Avenue. OVER 12,000 visitors over the last three years have attended this must-see event destination on South Beach, where enterprising young galleries have raised the visibility and established the starting provenance of their artists over an intense four days of international attention by a never-ending stream of art lovers, curators, collectors, and press. Adjorn after closing time to the Red Bar at the Catalina for a Happy Hour from 7pm for complimentary mixed drinks, to the rooftop pool, or cross the street for an evening with collectors at the scenic Delano.

Catherine Opie Photo Opp

We had an opportunity to check out the Catherine Opie's at Regen Projects at Art Basel Miami Beach last week. MFA Boston has a couple from the series above.

Thanks to MAO for pointing out the photo and limited edition book available from the Guggenheim book store (only 100 copies). As we say...Always buy the benefit print.

Jody

Brief thoughts on Art Basel

This was my second year at Art Basel Miami. I felt more comfortable walking the different fairs than I did last year. Gallery owners/representatives seemed less imposing to me and I felt much more comfortable engaging with them. Arguably, some of this may be because there were fewer people buying. However, I think that some of it just has to do with the fact that the more you learn about art (and the art world in general), the more comfortable you get. I have also previously experienced this over the years at IFPDA. And, keep in mind, I did not have much if any exposure to art in college (my own fault of course).

Have a flat Christmas

We picked up a few editioned Christmas trees at the ARTWARE booth at pulse. For $100 you can get an artist designed sticker that you put on your wall (and peel off). We liked the Minter and the Tomasellis the best.

Jody

Martin Parr at the Wolfsonian

Last night as part of a benefit, several of us had the opportunity to have our portraits taken by Magnum photographer, Martin Parr, at the Wolfsonian in Miami. Martin Parr is a key figure in the world of photography, widely recognized as a brilliant satirist of contemporary life. He is the author of over 30 photography books, including Common Sense, Boring Postcards, and Think of England (the image above right is the cover of that book). His photographs have been collected by museums worldwide, including the Getty, The Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern. Parr was featured in Cruel and Tender, the Tate Modern's major survey of photography in 2003, and a retrospective of his work that opened at the Barbican Art Gallery in London in 2002 continues to tour major museums around the world. His most recent work, Luxury, has focused on the photography the "ostensibly wealthy of the world" and can be seen on his website: http://www.martinparr.com/.

We were expecting him to quickly snap our photos in one shot, but he spent time with each of us, directing our posture and pose ("No smiling!") and taking several shots (as many as 10-15) before he was satisfied with the image. We haven't picked up the prints yet, so we can't tell you how they look.

I first heard of Parr's work when he published his book, The Phone Book, in 2002. The book was comprised of photos from around the world of people talking on their cell phones. Although that book wasn't available on Amazon when I last checked, several other of his books are.

Jumping at Scope

Who says art collectors are sophisticated? The Scope fair catered to the kid in us, with a bouncy castle for adults. That said, we didn't find much to jump up and down about at Scope today. For the second year in a row however, we all found a lot to like at Art Miami. (More about that to come)

Jody

Rubell Family Collection

Spent the morning at the Rubell Family Collection. The current exhibition entitled 30 Americans features works by 30 African American artists. A few, including Mickalene Thomas were in attendance. The exhibition included many large scale works including ones by Kara Walker and Kahinde Wiley.

Even breakfast was a work af art (sort-of) incuding piles of bananas. Once again, we bumped into the twins--performance artists from Germany.

Jody

Spotted: Julian Schnabel

Just brushed by Julian Schnabel browsing at Luhring Augustine booth at Art Basel. We are not very good at taking high quality clandestine photos.

Jody

Boston Common Magazine includes the MFA Summer Party

Lookout for the Late Fall issue of Boston Common magazine.  Several great photos from the MFA's Summer Party (including a shot of one of the BostonPrintCollectors).  

When I was checking out the online edition (still Early Fall edition photos), I discovered that the publisher, Niche Media, also puts out a special Art Basel Miami Beach edition.  Web site currently links to the main ABMB website (http://www.artbaselmiamibeach.com/ca/cc/ss/ ), but I'll be checking back before I head down to Miami.