Andi Potamkin is a gallerist and curator, living in New York City. She is a Director at Steven Kasher Gallery in Chelsea, and co-owner of Three Squares Studio, a hair salon and contemporary art space in the Meatpacking District. Here is her diary of the Miami Art Basel 2013.
DAY 1 – Perez Art Museum Miami Opening
I arrived in balmy Miami, happy to escape the New York winter, which has been windy and mean. The plane was filled with artists, dealers, and collectors of all sorts, bubbling with excitement. Before the sun rose that morning, I met with Steven Kasher and Yossi Milo in the airport lounge to discuss Miami Project, the fair in which we are all exhibiting. Like the birds, art lovers are happy to fly south to escape the cold. [1]
Tuesday night kicked off the beginning of Basel with the private opening of the Perez Art Museum Miami. Upstairs, the museum showed an exquisite selection of work by Ai Weiwei, perfectly fitting with the museum’s mission to create dialogues across local, regional, and international contexts. [2], [3] Ai Weiwei: According to What? is the first major international survey of the artist’s multifaceted artistic oeuvre and beautifully encompasses his use of art works as a platform for activism and expression. [4] The exhibition stimulates thought and dialogue about the social, political, and cultural positions of China and the world at large. [5], [6] For the next two years, the Perez Museum will be showing changing thematic installations collectively titled AMERICANA. The first installment, housed on the ground floor, features works from South America, North America, and the Caribbean offering critical perspectives on modern culture and society. [7], [8], [9]. The museum also showed works from its growing collection, [10] complimented by works on loan from prominent Miami collectors. [11]
The Museum was designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, and features 3,000 square feet of galleries within a sprawling three-story complex. From the massive windows, one can see the art that is Miami’s skyline: the port of Miami, the American Airlines Area, the Children’s Museum, and the surrounding Biscayne Bay, as well as the highway that links South Beach and south Miami. [12] The building’s aesthetic compliments that of Miami, with a weaving layout, wraparound terraces, and hanging gardens. Herzog explained, “There’s a very thin layer between the inside and the outside”.
My first night of Basel concluded with a late dinner meeting at über chic Casa Tua. (Meetings during these fairs are always early-breakfast or late-dinner.) Casa Tua is one of my favorite places in Miami: tucked away behind walls of vines with no sign outside, it is not the usual ‘Miami hot spot’. The food is superb, as is the service. Michael Eastman photographs were tucked in corners and hung behind tables, blending into the décor of the restaurant. [13], [14] I highly suggest the outside courtyard, which is magical, covered in vines with candles hanging from the trees. [15] I must say, this Miami Winter weather is absolutely perfect. [16]
Andi Potamkin
FESTIVAL
Art Basel – Miami Beach
December 5-8 2013
Miami, USA
https://www.artbasel.com
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