Fair Game: Miami Overview

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What better way to to open this post?

Lane Hagood, Blog Painting, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 14 x 11 inches. David Shetton Gallery, Houston, at Miami Project

 

The first night in Miami I rode the hotel elevator up to my floor with a man wearing an Art Basel Miami Beach ID, as I was, distinguished this year by a bright pink lanyard. We nodded hello. 

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“What’s your gallery?” I asked.  

“I’m not a dealer. I’m the one who makes it happen,” he replied. 

“Oh, you’re an artist.”

“No,” he said with impatience bordering on contempt. “I’m an art handler.” 

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There are many art worlds, and in Miami they were all orbiting and intersecting in a cosmology that included art and design, high-stakes blue-chip galleries and small artist-run fairs, each open to artists, dealers, collectors, critics, curators, interior designers, and, yes, art handlers. It is probably no exaggeration to say that one seven-figure sale at ABMB is roughly equal to the entire inventory of a small fair like Aqua. No judgment. Some planets in the art world are bigger than others. 

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In seven days of fairgoing--the new Untitled fair had its opening on Monday night-- there were some 22 art fairs, half a dozen private collections open to the public, museums shows, special events, exhibitions in the Wynwood gallery area and, this year, even artists open studios. 

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I made it to nine fairs.

In a nutshell: There was a lot of painting and sculpture, both with conventional materials--i.e. paint, wood, metal, clay--and a lot of material-based work, which includes cloth, concrete, foam rubber, plaster, wax and what have you. I'm planning a couple of posts on painting, a post on sculpture, and a nice juicy post on the What Have You. Here's an overview of the venues:

 

Art Basel Miami Beach

We start with ABMB, where some 250 galleries showed an estimated 2000 artists. This is the fair that makes people get all crazy about the high prices and the commodification of art. I don't know what to tell you. I went to look, not to buy. I didn't love everything I saw, but I loved seeing it. And there was a lot of painting here. (I'll have much more from this and the other fairs over the course of this month.) 

The map of Art Basel Miami Beach

It doesn't look all that large, does it?

 

A peek from the Skywalk here shows you otherwise--and this is just a small section

Below, the view from the floor with the sculpture, center left above, as a guide. The painting is a Bridget Riley from the Max Hetzler Gallery, Berlin

 

 

ABMB: The Lucio Fontana installation at Tornabuoni Art, Paris, is set up dramatically, a rival to any small museum show of the painter's work

 

 ABMB: A Sterling Ruby sculpture made infinitely more interesting by the woman in black and red

 

 

Art Miami and Context

Across Biscayne Bay in Wynwood, Art Miami held forth with a four-and-a-half-tent extravaganza--three and a half for Art Miami, an upscale fair distinguished by the large number of secondary-market and Latin American galleries it hosts, and one large tent for its new fair, Context, billed as a more contemporary fair. Together these two fairs featured about 150 galleries. (Disclaimer: This is the second year in a row that I was invited to hold a Blogger Walk-Through of the fair, and I'll have more on that in a separate post.)

 

The map of Art Miami--three large tents and a smaller section--with a new related fair, Context, at left

 

Art Miami: Kenneth Noland, Adolph Gottlieb, Helen Frankenthaler and John Chamberlain at Arcature Fine Art, Palm Beach. I love seeing these secondary market works; they have not been shown in museums because they've been in private collections

 

Art Miami: Banksy Out of Context, a selection of the mystery artists's wall art--with the entire wall, about 2.5 tons of it

 

Context: Kim Anno at Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta

Context: Jim Dingilian drawn-in-smoke bottles at Packer Schopf, Chicago

 

Detail below

 Context: Front row seat

 

 

Aqua Art

Aqua is the small fair with the big impact. As I typically do, I attended it on the heels of a day spent at ABMB. I love the oppositeness of it: small, open and, friendly in counterpoint to enormous, closed in and reserved. The other important point is that where male artists seem to outnumber female artists by about, oh, nine to one at ABMB, here the gender balance is decidedly more even. You notice these things when you photograph the art followed by the wall label.

 

The big news was that Aqua Art has been acquired by Art Miami. Considering that this fair was started by artists, Seattle-based Jaq Chartier and Dirk Park, let me say woo-hoo! It's nice to see artists get a piece of the pie. Of course the big worry is that Aqua will change. Art Miami's owners say they acquired it because of the venue it is. Here's hoping it remains, though I believe that one change will be the name: Aqua Art Miami.

Above and below: The courtyard at Aqua Art

 

 Aqua Art: Holly Holmes ceramic sculpture and Tom Burtonwood paintings at What It Is, Chicago

 

 

Aqua Art: Artist Kate Kretz and dealer Kathryn Markel at Markel's room. On the walls: Yolanda Sanchez and Kim Uchiyama

 

 

Untitled

One of two big new fairs this year, Untitled, was billed as a curated fair. Fifty galleries were invited by curator Omar Lopez-Chahoud. The gorgeous, largely daylit tent, with its Eero Saarinen-like sweep, added to the impact of the fair though, truth be told, it got a little dark in there after 4:00 p.m. I thought the galleries were well selected, with a distinct bent toward materiality and geometry--ah, my kind of curator--and I loved its location. Bringing this fair to the beach, after so many have decamped to Wynwood, means that with ABMB, Aqua, NADA and a couple of smaller fairs, there's still plenty happening on this side of Biscayne Bay.

At water's edge in South Beach: Untitled Fair

 

Below an interior view of the largely daylit tent

 

Untitled: Rachel Beach sculpture at Blackston Gallery, New York City

 

Below: Hansjoerg Dobliar at Johannes Vogt Gallery

 

 

Miami Project

"How do you like the fair?" I asked an exhibitor.

"I love the tent, the light, and the wide aisles. I really like the other galleries showing here, and the art is pretty uniformly good," he said. "The only thing is that we're not getting the right collectors. I don't know who they marketed to, but we're getting visitors, not collectors, people who come up and ask, 'Is this work for sale?'"

As if on cue, a thirty-something fellow in striped shirt and khakis exclaimed interest in the work and then asked, "Is this work for sale?"

I hope the Miami Project organizers find a way to reach the right collectors, because it's in a perfect location to do well, right next to Art Miami, especially as Red Dot and Scope have been on the decline for some time.

 

Another new fair: Miami Project in Wynwood 

 

Miami Project: Don Voisine at Gregory Lind Gallery, San Francisco 

 

Miami Project: Monique Johannet at Carroll and Sons Gallery, Boston

 

 

Seven 

This collective of seven galleries--Bravin Lee Projects, Hales Gallery, Pierogi Gallery,  Postmasters, P.P.O.W., Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, and Winkleman Gallery--is more precisely called a project rather than a fair. Like Untitled, it is a curated event, but here the gallerists themselves are doing the curating. It was a strong show with a wide range of offerings, and a terrific reminder that taking control need not be just by artists, but by dealers, too.

 

 Back for year three: the independent Seven fair. Image from the event website 

Seven: Yoon Lee painting via Pierogi

Seven: The famous art wall--all seven galleries contribute to the salon-style hanging. I will have one of everything, please

Seven: Tatiana Berg sculptures via Postmasters. Image from the event website

 

 

Pulse

Fairs come and go, but this little fair has been a stalwart in New York City and Miami for some years now. Most of the galleries are mid-level, mid-size galleries, but I notice that some larger galleries, which also have a presence at ABMB, retain a relationship with Pulse, presumably to introduce their newer artists to collectors. At the same time, I notice that some artists with multiple gallery relationships show both here and at the larger fairs, like Art Miami and ABMB. Seeing these connections, you realize pretty quickly that success for an artist is not just about doing great work but about how and with whom s/he is affiliated. Anyway it's a lively fair with a range of work in a range of prices. Dependably interesting--and doable in about three hours. 

 

View of Pulse

Pulse: Lisa Schroeder, center, of Schroeder Romero. She's an island of calm in a very busy booth

 

 

NADA

The biggest disjunct in all the fairs is that of NADA, with its Lower East Side DIY esthetic, ensconsed in the crystal-chandeliered environs of the Deauville Hotel. After a while you get used to it, though some dealers have taped sheets of brown pressed wood over the floral-and-feather carpet. Others just ignore it. There is always a lot to engage at this fair. As at many of the fairs, there was a strong sense of the stuff of artmaking--foam, cement, clay and the like--as well as a strong textile sensiblity.

"Why fabric and why now?" I asked a Scottish dealer who was showing large hangings that resembled pockets. "I think it's a generational thing. This is the stuff the're using in art school."

NADA: A Lower East Side esthetic is crazily at odds with the marble and chandelier decor of the Deauville Hotel. Here, Corin Hewitt via Laurel Gitlen Gallery

 

NADA: At Canada, the booth became something of a souk with rugs for sale

 

I'm still fighting the flu, so the next post won't be until Friday. I have a lot of pictures to edit when I can make it out of bed.

A Little Delay . . .

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Not Jungle Fever. Not Beiber Fever. Not Cat Scratch Fever. Not Peggy Lee Fever. Not Dengue. Not that Vulcan thing that makes you crazy. Just plain old unnnh-gotta-go-lie-down. I have selected images for the overview and will try to write and post tomorrow.

Fair Game: What to Wear to an Art Fair

Animal magnetism at ABMB



MIAMI--One thing you learn rather quickly at the art fairs in Miami is that pretty much anything goes. There is a sartorial standard for the dealers at the big venues--suits for the men, well-cut dresses for the women--but beyond that, come as you are or whom you wish to be. I thought these folks had a little more going on in the personal expression department.

At Art Miami: Yes, they're wearing Delft patterns. They're from Holland

And then there was Norman Leathers from Miami (standing before a wall of Hunt Slonem paintings at the Dean Projects booth at Art Miami).  He's wearing one of his paintings like a backpack. You've got to appreciate his chutzpah, and truth be told, his little painting would not have been out of place at any of the smaller fairs. He was handing out business cards to anyone who stopped to chat with him, which I did. But here's the thing: When I went to go online to see his work, there was no URL, just a phone number and an email address. Dude, don't go through all that trouble just to be unavailable. I would have provided a link here.

Dressing for success?

Postcard From Miami

Apartment courtyard on the way to the Convention Center which houses Art Basel Miami Beach

MIAMI--I'm here, looking and photographing. As I do every year, I'll write a series of posts on my return, treating the coverage in a more magazine-style way with connect-the-dots overviews rather than in bloggy day-by-day chunks. (For some great bloggy chunks, check out Hyperallergic.)

If you are in Miami tomorrow, Saturday the 8th, meet me at Art Miami for a Blogger's Walk through of the fair. David Cohen, publisher/editor of artcritical, will join me. We've got a nice little tour planned. Specifics on sidebar right.

Now, with umbrella, five spare camera batteries, two extra flash cards, and my feet padded for a third day of 10-hour of looking, I'm off.

A Connecticut Afternoon

I visited Connecticut--Westport and New Haven--about a month ago and posted a lengthy review of the group show, Making Room, curated by Suzan Shutan. Then the storm hit and my afternoon in Connecticut got temporarily pushed down the queue as I turned my attention to Chelsea and the aftermath of the flooding . But I've been wanting to publish this post. So while I'm headed down to Miami, here's a look at the some more of what I saw on a warm and sunny late day in New England.

We start with Amy Simon Fine Art in Westport, a gallery located in a former mill building, where the luminous autumnal palette of Molly Herman's succulent losenges was reflected almost hue for hue along the Sasco River that runs by the gallery.

Molly Herman's autumnal abstraction

The view outside Amy Simon Fine Art

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Susan Carr, Untitled, oil on panel, app. 12 x 8 inches

Next we go to Giampietro Gallery in New Haven, which occupies a large space on the ground floor in a factory building where Erector Sets once were made. (The upper floors of the building are filled with artists' studios.) The smaller of the two gallerie held Susan Carr's Recent Work, the larger space,  Elizabeth Gourlay's A Year-long Song. Both shows ran October 12-November 10.

Installation view of both exhibitions, with Carr's in the foreground. Image from the gallery website

I'd known of Gourlay's work for some time (we are both represented online on Geoform) and was eager to see her new work, along with Carr's, which I'd seen for the first time--and loved--during Armory week in March when the gallery brought her work to the Scope fair. Gourlay and Carr played nicely against one another, Gourlay's coolly elegant grids vis a vis Carr's succulent slathers, with chromatic sophistication uniting the two shows. An unexpected element was the late afternoon sun, raking at a not-quite 45-degree angle.

Installation view of Susan Carr's Recent Work. The work on left wall is shown large at the beginning of this review; the work at right is shown large below

Untitled, 2011, oil on panel 14 x 11 inches

View from  Carr's show into the gallery with Gourlay's solo. Carr's painting on the right wall is shown larger below

Untitled, 2011, oilon panel. 11 x 9 inches

Installation view of Elizabeth Gourlay's solo, A Year-long Song, with a closer view below of the work on right

 Open Letter with 4 Forms, 2012, pencil and acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40 inches

WIth the previous painting at my back, I shot this installation view, which includes Oranjes 2 in the distance, shown in full view below 

Oranjes 2, 2012, inc, acrylic and pencil on linen, 40 x 40 inches

Of course I peeked into the office to take a closer look at Clint Jukkala's painting, which was visible through the doorway . . . 

Then I saw a trio of Kevin Finklea sculptures (I wrote about his show at the gallery earlier this year) . . . 

. . . which not only dialogued well with Jukkala's painting but absolutely sang in geometric concert with the late afternoon sun, as you can see below

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Marketing Mondays: Artists' Memberships

 

Image from Designerly Thinking

Membership in an art-related organization is one of those topics that you never think about . . . until there’s a reason to reconsider your membership or it’s time to renew your dues.

My main question for any participation in a membership organization is this: What will it do that you can’t do for yourself, or that a small group of like-minded colleagues can't do for themselves?  (Museum memberships are outside the discussion, because if you are a frequent visitor, the benefit is obvious—plus you get a discount on books.)  There can be very good reasons for being part of an organization, but I wonder about the organizations that require you to pay annual dues, then hit you up for every event, every exhibition, every project throughout the year. Where does all that money go?

 

Considering membership?
. Is it open to anyone who can afford to join? Then very likely it’s not going to be comprised of the professionals you wish to meet, so what’s the point?
. Is it a professional group with criteria for membership? Better. Every medium, discipline and academic affiliation has one or more organizations. Your membership in an organization of this type does several things:
... It signals professional achievement and peer approval
... It may confer privileges, such as workshop discounts, or access to specialized equipment such as a printing press or kiln
... It allows networking with others who share your professional interest and level. Online forums or pages mean that you don't always have to convene physically to meet
. Is it useful professionally? Here’s an example: the College Art Association brings together, via an annual conference, art historians, academic curators, art critics, and those who teach the practice of art. If you are looking for a job in academia, membership in the CAA is eminently useful, as there are listings on the organization's website throughout the year, and an opportunity at the conference itself to interview with institutions who are looking to hire. It’s also a good opportunity to meet other artists in academia.
. Is it part of a larger mission? I'm thinking, for instance of the Women's Caucus for Art, which seeks not only to recognize and support the contributions of women in the arts, but provide women with leadership roles and exhibition opportunities, as well as support "local, national and global art activism."

Other useful professional perks might be the option to take advantage of group health or travel insurance, travel, or cross-organization entry to museums or events.

Members Only

Co-op galleries are membership organizations, usually incorporated under a not-for-profit 501 c (3) charter. Typically you must be juried into the membership. In return you pay an initiation fee and monthly dues to become a participating member. This will get you a solo show every couple of years, regular inclusion in groups shows in which you have a reasonable assurance of quality, and access to a community of artists.

I think it's important to say that commercial representation is not for everyone. Artists who are raising a family, or involved in a 9-5 job, or who do the kind of work that is just not commercially viable may be better served by co-op membership. A well-chosen and well-regarded gallery could be a perfect fit (outside of New York City, co-op galleries are more fully embraced).

Relatedly, there are many arts organizations that have formed to give their members opportunities to meet and exhibit. Good! But look for a history of strong exhibitions in good venues with the inclusion of professional artists like yourself. The last thing you want as a serious artist is to be lumped with Sunday painters and hobbyists--a sitatuation that's good for them (they get to show with you) but what do you get? 

 

If you’re paying money to enter juried shows, even at a member's discount, but the jurors don't have particularly prestigious bona fides, the exhibition venues are not of the quality you expect, and the exhibitions are of disappointing quality, what value is the discount? What value is the show? Indeed, what value is the membership?

Let’s Talk Business

. Memberships typically come with fees.  Do the rank-and-file members have any say in how the membership money is spent? Do you have any idea where your money is going? Do you know how much money is in your treasury?
. Are the organizers accountable to the membership? Do they respond quickly and clearly to members’ questions or do you feel you’re given the runaround when you ask who, what, why? Are you satisfied with the organization's offerings?
. Does your membership come with opportunities to apply for professional development grants or scholarships? For mentorship? For reduced fees in member-run workshops?
. Is your group one chapter in a larger organization? If so, what is that larger organization doing for you that your local or regional group cannot do for itself? Here’s an example. Let’s say 20 members pay $100 each to become members of a group; that’s a $2000 kitty that you give to the larger entity. Now suppose you want to organize an exhibition in your region. When you petition the larger organization for support funding, you get $500. Wouldn’t you have been better off as a small group on your own? 

I understand that we might want to be part of a group that does what we do, but as one who has seen many groups promise a lot and deliver little, I would ask: What's in it for the group? And what's in it for you?  

As artists, we can be stronger in groups, that’s true. But let’s make sure those groups will do what we need them to do. Otherwise membership is not priceless. It’s worthless.

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This is the last Marketing Mondays column of the year, as I will be posting from and about Miami starting this weekend. When the column returns in January it will become Marketing Monthly. After almost 200 Monday posts over the past four years, Marketing Monthly will post on the first Monday of each month. Fewer posts mean I'll be able to offer you longer, more researched pieces. I want to do more interviews with dealers, curators, critics and publishers--people who have a point of view that I don't have--and I want to more fully explore the great projects that artists are doing, ways they are marketing themselves and taking control of their careers. If I feel that I can include an extra extra post in a given month, you know I will.

Please know that your donations make this column possible. If you have not donated a suggested $20 for the year, please consider doing so before the end of the month. A Paypal button is on the sidebar right  and just up a bit. This is not an officially tax-deductible donation as I am not incorporated as a non-profit, but if you consider reading this blog as part of your research as an artist, the IRS may allow it as a deductible expense.Your tax preparer can guide you.