Art Basel 2012

 

 

Art Basel was so astonishing last year that no question about it,  I was ready for a repeat.  Again I took the TSKW luxury coach atwitter with excitement. Early on, I was surprised by how critical people were of the works –  not something I expected. I’m talking about visual artists that I consider open minded, modern. I think I enjoyed watching reactions to the art almost as much as the work itself. Maybe being a writer keeps me sitting on my own shoulder at all times. But it’s about the pagentry of the thing, the whole magilla. The clothes, the buses of billionaires in colored jeans, the split second assessment/dismissal of the gallery girls and boys.

This configuration was typical of many spaces; a swath of art in an otherwise stark edited environment and a small (usually) geometrical hive of apparently disinterested humans poring over secret documentation.

Here it is again – note the small hive in back.

Actually, this was one of my favorite exhibitors. I loved the dimensional play of shapes color, lack of color.

This is the glorious spectacle of Art Basel, everyone on a visual binge. I stopped bothering to ask if I could take a pic. One of these two said, “everyone gets one.” I was sure they meant a picture so I snapped this, happy to oblige.

A visual artist I was with noted the absence of painted canvases, post 2010.  It is almost impossible to attend Art Basel without revealing a secret philosophy of sorts even if it is just that all is a money grubbing phoney bunch of posers – something often expressed – the anger interesting in its own right.

 

Here is one of the more traditional paintings – very textured.

Many depictions of birds.

 

 

 

Lots of superheroes, mostly caught off guard or otherwise stripped of their powers.  This one paint on canvas.

 

This an action figure under glass.

 

 

More, each confined to a small sad space:

This which combines the two – a quilt made up of heavy metal t-shirts.

This is my second visit to Art Basel and I remain enamored with the Astroturf installation in the heart of the Miami Convention Center, an area suitable for lounging, on chairs or indoor alfresco, a post-modern picnic. I don’t know whether this is original to Miami but it’s perfect.

Here’s another angle.

I really enjoyed the satellite fairs a few blocks from the convention center. Our visits were always well appreciated.

This was a great nervy roadshow we passed along the way.

Yes, mannequins in Miami are bustier than their New York counterparts.

I’ve always loved message art, especially when it has it all, statement, humor and anxiety, even composition.

The importance of Santa

It’s wonderful that Art Basel has become so significant, a must do in the art world.  On the Art Basel homepage, attendance is referred to as “encountering art.”

Stuff to deal with around every corner like these fragile vessels filled with water, forcing me to pay attention to where I walk.

I desperately wanted this piece

And this (a tiny tender oil painting)

And this

But I got these

Here’s a close up of the nasty bunny t-shirt – irresistible!

This bracelet – a $15 find from a street vendor on a side street.

Some work was really nervy

Here’s a close-up.

These two were favorites

Loved the regal 70’s feel to this piece – the whole look,  although faceless women are a common theme, this year and last.

After six hours of scratching the surface, we headed to the Wynwood Walls for food.

Then finally, back home.