Ric's adventures in Art Basel - Day 1
First off, let me say that it was incredibly important for Liz and me to get REV up and running before Art Basel. The event has gotten world-wide recognition now and there are so many thing going on that you can spend the whole week going to different events and not even come close to experiencing them all.
Last year I didn't get to make it out to the actual Art Basel event at the Miami Beach Convention Center, but I did manage to make it to a lot of gallery showings, exhibits, and concerts in the Wynwood Art District and Design District in Downtown Miami.
Along with those areas, there are several hotels and galleries in the South Beach area that had showings as well as the Bass Museum of Art and The Wolfsonian.
Day 1 I went to the Wynwood Art District. I got there late and a lot of the galleries had already closed, and then my camera died! What a shame.
- FIFI projects - 167-B nw 23rd st
The first place I stopped by was FIFI Gallery. I've been to this place before and I really dug the art there. While taking some pictures, I met the gallery owner Hugo Lopez, who also had some photography pieces on exhibit.
I was really fascinated by the the pictures; an all encompassing black that highlighted a small burst of white - one being the sun breaking through clouds, the other being a phosphorus light in a dark room. It reminded me of how Jazz musicians say that often times it's the rests and pauses in music that enunciates the notes that are played, or how in Buddhism a part of meditation is appreciating how silence highlights sound.
I also asked Hugo about his process of creation. Is he more of a creator, a person who purposefully goes out looking for a specific idea, or a receiver, a person who is open to letting art find him? He said the latter. That the two pieces came together by themselves; that he always has a camera on him and he is recording the world around him.
Also, he's a full time artist, huge respect for that.
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There was also another photograph in the gallery that I liked of a church, by Christoph Morlinghaus. The alter in the middle of the picture was incredibly detailed and eerily stood out:
In the warehouse next to FIFI was Ellen Charapko Gallery. I talked to Ellen for a little bit about the pieces she had on display. I was especially fascinated with the faces and these blue abstract pieces.
The faces, one titled "Crash" and based off a famous painting of the face of Medusa, were done by artist Johniene Papandreas using casein on muslin. I have no idea what that means, but it made the paint look flat and realistic. Apparently casein is made from milk.
The blue pieces are by artist Sylvio Gayton, who she told me is a local artist from Miami. I really really liked this guys art! It was fantastic. The colors were brilliant. It was just interesting, to say the least.
I asked Ellen what makes her choose certain pieces and artists.
Of course, she admits, she has to love someones art, but the overriding factor is how well she can work with the person. It goes to show you, art world or business world, building and maintaining good working relationships is paramount for success.
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After that I went onto a couple of other places, including Human Nature by Federico Uribe. I wasn't particularly impressed by it, but it was an interesting concept of using everyday materials to create farm animals. I've attached some photographs from it below.
Also, I walked into one exhibit that had the work of a famous photographer from the Miami Herald. I can't find his name anywhere! Plus my camera died at this point. But the women marching in Cuba at the bottom are from the collection. There also were pictures of Mohammed Ali with the Beatles at the Fifth Street Gym, Elvis in Miami, and several pictures from revolutionary Cuba.
That was it for Day 1. Days 2 and 3 coming soon.
If You Enjoyed This Post, You May Also Like:
- REVMiami's Coverage of Art Basel
- Ric's adventures in Art Basel, Day 3: Art Asia & Scope Miami
- Ric's adventures in Art Basel - Day 2: Art Basel on Miami Beach (Day) & Wynwood Art District (Night)
- Ric's Adventures in Art Basel: Day 3 - Kill Your Idols
- February Wynwood Artwalk
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