While Art Basel Miami Beach is the main event of Art Week, there are several satellite fairs that feature smaller galleries and emerging artists. For my second full day of art, champagne and parties, I headed to Art Miami and Context, partner fairs just across the bridge downtown. Overlooking Biscayne Bay with glimpses of the water and bright blue sky visible from glass doors, the location of Art Miami and Context is a refreshing break from Art Basel’s convention center so closed off to the outside world, you lose track of time. The fairs embrace the tropical, sunny setting of Miami that many of us came here for. Visiting Art Miami first, I was immediately struck by a field of colors, patterns and reflective surfaces.

 

Ross+Kramer and Arcature Fine Art’s booth at Art Miami; Photo by Annabel Keenan

 

At the very front of the fair was the joint booth of Ross+Kramer Gallery and Arcature Fine Art, which embraced their prominent location and greeted visitors with a giant Kaws sculpture and vivid, florescent painting, also by Kaws. Behind these notable pieces was another eye-catching work, an aquamarine butterfly painting Contemplation (2007) by Damien Hirst. The artists drew excitement from guests able to recognize their signature styles. With ticket prices lower than Art Basel, Art Miami and Context tend to draw a wider audience that includes the expected collectors, as well as large group of people without strong art knowledge. The overall result is a more diverse crowd and a refreshingly less serious atmosphere where guests aren’t vetted the moment they enter a booth.

 

Opera Gallery at Art Miami; Photo by Annabel Keenan

 

Next to Ross+Kramer and Arcature Fine Art’s booth, Opera Gallery showcased two monumental LED and glass sculptures in the shape of dodecahedrons by Anthony James. Attracting visitors drawn in by the reflective surface, the booth was interactive and inviting. Behind the two sculptures was a striking purple painting by George Condo of a woman wearing only thigh-high black boots. The gallery used dramatic black paint on its booth walls, which nicely complimented the rich color of Condo’s work and his bold, strong brushstrokes. 

 

David Benrimon Fine Art’s booth at Art Miami; Photo by Annabel Keenan

 

Nearby, David Benrimon Fine Art impressed with a giant sculpture of a red head by Nicolas Party and paintings by Loie Hollowell, Emily Mae Smith and Susumu Kamijo. Smith’s painting was a highlight of the booth. Known for her cartoonish, Surrealist style and commentary on issues of gender inequality and American capitalism, Smith’s works are both playful and ironic, highlighting societal issues in a way that is unexpected and enticing. Titled Scream (2015), the work featured a figure shaped like a broomstick holding a mustache in its hand and facing the viewer with its mouth wide open, recalling Edvard Munch’s famous scream. The figure is in a background of clouds and a deteriorating brick wall.

 

Pyo Gallery’s booth at Art Miami; Photo by Annabel Keenan

 

One exciting discovery of the fair was a monumental, beautifully elegant installation by Bahk Seon-Ghi presented by Pyo Gallery. Known for his use of natural materials, in particular charcoal, the artist explores the relationship between nature and humanity. Titled An aggregation-space, the installation at Art Miami consisted of hundreds of small pieces of jet black charcoal suspended from nylon threads in a free-standing cube that nearly took up the entire booth. The individual charcoal pieces formed different designs in space depending on how they were viewed. The booth was a nice shift from the colorful presentations across the rest of the fair, as well as an important representation of South Korean art.

 

Hashimoto Contemporary’s booth at Art Miami; Photo by Annabel Keenan

 

My favorite piece in the fair was a painting by Natalia Juncadella in Hashimoto Contemporary’s booth. Titled La Merienda (2021), the work shows a yellow checkered or tiled surface viewed looking down from above. Plates with simple spreads of fruit adorn the yellow surface and a warm light from an unseen window casts a grid of shadows. The work was surprising in its simplicity, yet impactful in its straightforward presentation. The piece was nostalgic and heartwarming, inviting the viewer to reflect on their own private moments at home. Hashimoto’s booth in general was crisp and well curated, full of rich, bold colors and a refreshing reminder of some of the amazing work that young artists are making today. 

 

Rory Macdonald, The Libertine from Quantum Contemporary’s booth at Context; Photo by Annabel Keenan

 

Next door at partner fair Context, London’s Quantum Contemporary impressed with a selection of paintings by 24 year old artist Rory Macdonald. Paying homage to the great masters of art history, Macdonald creates highly-skilled oil paintings with Renaissance and Baroque compositions that he reframes in the 21st century with unexpected twists of perception and scale. In one portrait titled The Libertine, a man stands in a dark Baroque background as a painted scene full of skeletons and satanic creatures reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch unfolds on his chest. Miniature nude figures tumble down his leg and begin to pile on the ground below him. Macdonald’s unique, humorous works offer a lighthearted reminder of contemporary art’s own place in the legacy of art history.

With the two fairs in the books, I headed back to Miami Beach to close out the night at some of the many parties scattered up and down the beach. Today I’m sticking to the sand and visiting the fan favorite fair Untitled, an American Express exhibition of emerging artists in partnership with Artsy, as well as an increasingly urgent auction for Planned Parenthood, also with Artsy. Stay tuned for highlights of these events tomorrow.