ART
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH REDUX By Kevin Berlin
Kevin Berlin in front of artworks by Cote Escriva, artCONVEX Gallery Hong Kong, Art Miami, 2021. Photo by Yuki Ko
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hey’re back! “Hundred-thousand dollar cars, everybody’s got ’em… Welcome to Miami!” You don’t need to replay Will Smith’s classic Miami video or read his hot new book Will, to know that Art Basel Miami Beach has still got it. The world’s most prestigious art fair returned to Miami Beach with remarkable success after a one-year absence. While many galleries and visitors, especially from Europe, decided to wait until next year, the attendance was truly outstanding, with an overall attendance of more than 60,000 visitors. Local Miamians got what some described as a watermelon sugar high. “People are hungry!” said Raymond Stuwe, who shipped his latest eye-catching painting collection, and traveled all the way from the Canary Islands to exhibit at Scope Miami. You still needed to know somebody to skip the line at Joe’s Stone Crab, Mr. Chow’s at the W, or anywhere at Faena Hotel Miami Beach. Strollers, baby carriages, and bodybuilders pa-
raded on South Beach. The more popular nighttime venues attracted crowds, though many of the biggest fish spent most of their time on their yachts or on much less crowded private islands. While Art Basel Miami Beach at the Main Convention Center anchored the week, there were dozens of other major fairs and presentations, including Art Miami, the 20th anniversary of Scope Miami, Design Miami, Pérez Museum Miami, the Rubell Collection, and YoungArts Foundation. Among the most exciting was the newly established Museum of Graffiti at the legendary Wynwood Walls, in the Design District. Of course, there wasn’t a restaurant, hotel, Cuban coffee shop, or even a donut shop — not a bare wall or parking lot — in all of Miami without an homage to art. Art Basel Miami Beach continued to earn its reputation with a focus on quality, representing the very best in galleries and artists. Groundbreaking new works and a selection of works Social Life
