This was it! I had to hit the remaining fairs on the mainland in approximately 5.5 hours. I already knew I was going to miss the fairs near the convention center – Verge and Pool – which was an upsetting compromise. I started the day early as I planed to be at Scope by 11 when it opened. This proved to be the smartest move as the rest of Miami cured the hangover of the night before; we had the whole place to ourselves. The art here was amazing and is probably a close second to Pulse. One of the first highlights was Phillip Toledano’s politically charged everyday items. Based on Guantanamo Bay, majority of pieces (boobleheads, cookie jars and snow globes) were sculptures of hooded, naked prisoners – very disturbing. Another intriguing selection were several cake sculptures, including a giant cake with a massive sword in the middle as well as other cakes with disturbing backwards words like “Murder” that could only be read in a mirror. There were no signs in the space, so I have no idea who the artist was or the gallery representing them. Other Scope highlights were Cara Ober’s small drawings of pop references with inappropriate sayings – figures included Jesus with the words “object of terror and delight” and Mr. Rogers with the words “I wanna feel you sweat. You’re so very wet”. Another highlight was Daisuke Takeya’s beautiful landscape pictures which featured a huge sky and with miniscule landscape.
Next up was Aqua, a smaller fair with some interesting pieces. I’ve come to love the SVA gallery and the work that is coming out of the institution. This year it was Darya Golubina’s paintings that caught my attention (plus the $800 price tag was easy on the eyes) also Gregg Louis’s video piece caught my attention.
LA-based Another Year in LA had great works by Stephen Kaltenbach, a peer of Nauman who seemed to create work that dealt with a lot of the same issues and ideas. The Nursery was another highlight – especially the children of the world. Also at Aqua were two Philadelphia galleries that had great photographs. Edward McHugh had very dreamy photographs that were of the waterfront and seemed like a dreary day void of any human activity. The other gallery had Paul Oberst’s photographs of three men painted in a zebra pattern in different positions. I am not sure why I liked the work but it had a tribal/animalistic vibe that appealed to me, especially since all the men were naked and again you could not tell their race.
At Art Miami I fell in love with Chul-Hyuan Ahn’s sculptures that used light and mirrors to create infinite landscapes both to hang on the wall or as floor sculpture or fabulous, very expensive coffee table. The pieces were in the $10,000 to $30,000 range but were very playful, especially the roller coaster inspired smaller pieces. Oddly, both Ahn and Navarro create similar works, but I don’t believe have ever collaborated. Also, Paris-based Louise Alexander and Ilan Engel Gallery had a great wall sculpture of a battered Jesus-like Superman bleeding gold as well as beautiful, mystical photographs by Salime Pigalle that melted the world or art, fantasy and theater with an animal-like quality; it managed to be hard and soft at the same time – wish I had an extra $9,000 for one of these.
Kim Luttrell’s “Without Confidence, Dollars Are Nothing More Than Green Colored Paper” was a beautiful piece made of free color samples from Home Depot. It had a great texture and spoke to the value of money since the medium is free. Salustiano’s three red pieces stopped me in tracks. The rich, gorgeous bright red reminded me of Walead Beshty’s current photographs at MoMA. These two pieces have enriched my appreciation for pure color. The red sweater on the (fairly sexy) man below made the color pop even more and I just wanted to wrap myself up in it in that delectable, luscious cherry.
Finally, the urban planner in me was pulled into Matthew Moore’s “Rotations: Moore Estates, 5” a large photograph of a mock suburban housing development made from wheat and sorghum. The realism of the plan highlighted the ridiculous patterns in which we design and build our communities.
I wanted to see Jordan Donner at 101/Exhibit and also Photo Miami, but didn’t have time (plus someone at the table next to us at lunch said Photo wasn’t worth it due to its very small size this year). I also am very disappointed I didn’t make to Verge, the new Bridge Art Fair. The parking and traffic seemed to be crazier this year then last and I clearly cannot do it all in three days – next year I will need at least four days. And there definitely will be a next year as I was reminded this is one of the best weekends of the year – the city becomes alive and both an international crowd and the locals are thriving off the energy of the fairs.
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