Friday, December 14, 2007

Miami Art Basel- Day 2 (Saturday)


Friday was mind numbing as far as amount of artwork viewed by my eyes, and today would be no different. You sorta get numb to it all after a while, and a piece really has to move you or be substantially different to get noticed. There is soo much art.

I was a bit confused myself at first so for those who don’t know, “Art Basel” is a catch-all phrase for all the art events in Miami that go on that weekend. Art Basel itself is at the Miami Convention Center, and is the main show (or at least started out as the main show). I guess the name stuck, and the whole event is called Art Basel. The other art fairs take place at different venues, mostly hotels where rooms are turned into art galleries.

Being my first time I thought the art events were confined to the peninsula town of Miami Beach where I was staying. I quickly found out there were art fairs pretty much all over mainland Miami, so many in fact that it’s pretty much impossible to see it all.

I decided for my first trip to stay close and see as much as possible, including Art Basel proper at the convention center. I started my day at Bridge Art fair with pal James Jean. Saw these nice Marcel Dzama pieces.



Had brunch with James, Gary Baseman, Marion Peck and Mark Ryden. Super nice people all around.



Then James and I were off to Art Basel.....

Taylor McKimmens. Wow! Always inspirational to me....

Barry McGee of course


Some Swoon magic....


Unknown artist but beautiful cut outs....

Diamond dust Damien Hirst print


Lari Pittman!

Ryden’s new piece (I showed this to Shannon and she said, “Puppy! Awww so cute.”

Lisa Yuskavage

Kara Walker

Never knew Warhol did a Mogwai piece...

A Man Ray painting. Interesting image, I'm more familiar with his photography.

Ed Templeton

More random shots of work I liked....


Afterwards, I went out to the beach again. Nature really outshines all the excess and partying that was taking place (at least for me). I think after so much visual stimulation it’s important to breathe and refresh, like drinking some water in between bites of flavorful foods. It’s a quiet and serene place, pretty much the opposite of the rest of the evening!



There was a big dinner party that started off smallish and kept growing. The Clayton Bros. were there, Jamie O’Shea, Evan Cerasoli and Freddi C, Biskup, Baseman, Ryden and Marion Peck, plus alot more; it was a nice evening. And the food kept flowing in which is always good.



Walking over to Jamie O’Shea’s Supertouch party...



At the party....

Jamie and I, yeah I look a little crazed..

Andrew and Andrew were DJing.

Marsea Goldberg is awesome...

David Choe, me with lollipop (why not, the bar had them everywhere), Sam (of Friends With You) and Mr. James Jean.

After party dessert fun with Brandt Peters, Kathie Olivas, Mark Murphy, and Colin and Sas Christian.

Another long day. Day 3 (Sunday) coming soon...

11 comments:

Ian O said...

The unknown tape piece is:
Simon Evans
Diagram of the Human Body, 2007
mixed media on paper
50.5 x 95 inches

KO said...

how did you manage to smuggle a camera into the convention center??
Thanks for sharing:)

Jeff Soto said...

I used Jedi mind tricks...nah I just kept it in my pocket and saw that they weren't patting anyone down. No one cared once you're inside, the galleries see it as good publicity to have their work photographed.

ianophelan, thanks for the info...

the chung said...

Dyyyaaaaaaaamn! fuckyeah thanks for the post. wish i could have been able to go. I think my brain has been in need of some art overload.

Anonymous said...

Is that fish sculpture a Lee Bontecou? Looks like her more recent stuff.

shaunna said...

Great entry Jeff. Looked like an awesome time. I was shocked to read about the Harold Golen Gallery fire today. That breaks my heart. Did you happen to see any of the work there?

Ivan Aguirre said...

Jeff your blog is bad ass. you always post the coolest stuff. Anyway, Im not sure If you remember me,But a while back I sent you an email asking you for advice and also sent you some artwork.Im the kid from riverside who also went to novi. I mentioned that I wanted to get into the Animation Industry. Well the advice you gave me has helped alot, I think Ive come a long way since. You told me to keep you updated on my work. I know you must get tons of emails from people, so If you ever want to see what Im up to.. check out my blog.
-Ivan

greg oakes said...

wow!! that's gotta be so cool hangin out with some of the biggest names within the industry eh?! speaking of big names, marcel dzama is actually from my home town of winnipeg; we have many mutual friends. thanks again for sharing the pics. all the best! ~go

Anonymous said...

oo i spotted two of Barri Kumar's pieces
sweet!

Anonymous said...

If only Juxtapoz was still this packed full of my favorite artist.

matthew feyld said...

Taylor McKimmens always on point!