Art Basel is a private art fair that comes to Miami every year. The seventeenth Art Basel Miami just wrapped up in December 2018. This year’s Basel was held in the freshly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. Galleries exhibiting in all sectors of Art Basel found delight with this year’s show. We love the yearly art show and are bringing you some of the highlights from the exhibits at Art Basel Miami 2018. Want even more Art Basel? You can also read about the 2016 event here.
The 2018 edition of the fair in its spectacularly refurbished home in the Miami Beach Convention Center was a great success for the gallery…the fair consistently delivers museum inquiries, major collection sales and critical discourse on the artists presented. David Castillo, Owner, David Castillo Gallery, Miami Beach
A First for Art Basel: Performative Art
New to the show this year was a large-scale performative installation. The performance was actually the first in the new Grand Ballroom at the MBCC. Abraham Cruzvillegas built a dance stage out of trash for his show ‘Autorreconstrucción: To Insist, to Insist, to Insist…’. The performative art exhibit was a hit this year and should continue to be year after year. If you love performance art, you should also plan to attend the event next year.
Latin American Artists
Lorenzo Fiaschi is the director and partner of Galleria Continua (San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins, Havana). We found that he was pleased with how Art Basel Miami 2018 showcased Latin American artists.
The Latin American market is going from strength to strength and it’s been really fantastic to engage with new collectors from Peru, Brazil and Colombia at the fair. We are very happy to have sold many works by young Cuban artists. Lorenzo Fiaschi, director and partner of Galleria Continua
Women Artists
Steven P. Henry, the Senior Director of the Paula Cooper Gallery in New York, took the opportunity to highlight work by women artists. He was also able to place a piece by Cecily Brown in a Latin American Museum.
We have enjoyed a tremendous week in Miami. This year, we took the opportunity to champion work by women artists, including Cecily Brown, Tauba Auerbach, Sophie Calle, Sarah Charlesworth, Liz Glynn, Cady Noland, Jennifer Bartlett, and Sherrie Levine. We also exhibited significant works by other artists such as Claes Oldenburg and Joel Shapiro. Steven P. Henry, Senior Director, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Classic Modernist Works
Howard Shaw, the president and director of Hammer Galleries in New York, is not a newcomer to Basel. He was, however, pleased with how the show did for him and his clients this year.
We’re pleased to report that this has been our best fair yet, both in terms of sales and new potential clients. We sold major works by Marc Chagall, Wifredo Lam, and Francis Picabia, and we have serious interest in several others. Though Art Basel is mostly thought of as a contemporary fair, we always have a wonderful response to the classic modernist works that we bring. Howard Shaw, President and Director, Hammer Galleries, New York
Art Basel Miami Attendees
Overall, the five days that 2018 Art Basel Miami ran, it attracted more than 83,000 attendees. This includes influential collectors, directors, curators, trustees and also high-level patrons. They come from over 200 leading international museums and cultural institutions and they all made the journey to Miami for this year’s show.
Basel newcomer Selma Feriani is the owner of the Selma Feriani Gallery in Tunis. She also gushed about how thrilled she was with her first Art Basel show.
We are absolutely elated by our first participation at Art Basel in Miami Beach. Introducing Maha Malluh’s practice was a great success, and we sold out our booth within the first two hours of the show. Selma Feriani, Owner, Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis
So, were you able to attend Art Basel Miami this year? We would love to hear what you thought about this amazing show. You can also read more about past Art Basel events like Basel in 2017 in Switzerland.
