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12.17.2008

FAIR WEATHER: Aqua Wynwood

Miami Art Fairs, Art Basel Miami, Aqua, Art Miami, Bridge, Pulse, Red Dot, Scope, Rubell Collection
Already posted:

OK, I think we're a little more than halfway through this series. It's a good thing I have that Type-A compulsiveness to get the job done, otherwise you would have lost me after Art Miami. This is a shitload of work!
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There's no mistaking where you are
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Here we are at Aqua Wynwood, a one-story, cement-floor structure across the causeway from the beach. It was a good show--better than last year, and good enough to earn its organizers my "Indie Basel" award. Seattle-based Jaq Chartier and Dirk Park are artists who had a great idea a few years ago: Create an alternate venue that included galleries from the Pacific Northwest, an area they felt had been overlooked by the other fairs.
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The Aqua Hotel fair was a hit that first year, and it has been one of the not-to-miss events ever since. Chartier and Park have not only expanded their geographic reach in terms of exhibitors (D.C., Philadelphia and Boston are included), they've expanded their reach in terms of exhibition space. Adding the Wynwood venue last year must have been a gamble. The show was uneven, and the space and lighting were not so great. They fixed all of that this year. It was terrific. And the fact that it has a comfortable outdoor patio with chairs and drinks, right in front so that you can see who's coming and going, is a plus.
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Here's an overview of what I saw and liked, starting with some installation views to give you a sense of the space:



I love the wide aisles, though this year none of the fairs were particularly crowded. On the left, a Marcus Linnenbrink painting on the outside wall of the Patricia Sweetow Gallery, San Francisco. In the center, a look at the outer walls of the Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco

Below, a panoramic view of the Hosfelt booth. I merged two images so that you could get a sense of what they did with the geometry of the installation. (Some dealers take larger spaces; this was a triple wide.)




Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland: The outside wall, above; the inside view, below, with specific image below that


Jaq Chartier is not only an one of the Aqua organizers, she's a working artist. And I just happen to love her painting at Elizabeth Leach



Miyoshi Barosh sculpture from the Luis De Jesus Seminal Projects, San Diego, with another long view of the exhibition space

The wall of framed gouaches just behind the sculpture is below. They're by Alexander Gorlizki, showing at Gallery Joe, Philadelphia


Steven Cushner painting and plates at Hemphill Fine Arts, Washington, DC


At Traywick Contemporary, Berkeley: Amy Kaufman painting, above; cut paper collage by Lena Wolff below, with a detail below that








Drawings and works on paper were very much in evidence at this fair

From Littlejohn/Accola, New York, small framed paintings by Barbara Klein, above and below




Jutta Haekel, Crossroads, oil on canvas, 63 x 78 inches, at Hosfelt Gallery


At Paul Kotula Projects, Detroit: Luminous sculpture by Jim Shrosbree, 14 x 15 x 8 inches



At Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia: The merging of art and life as Morgan Lorenzo stands before a painting by Jackie Tileston

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