Artwork in Scope art fair’s entrance. Photo: Amanda Jiron-Murphy
Ask anyone who attended last week’s art fairs in Miami what the experience is like. Before they so much as utter a word, odds are that they will make the face that most of us reserve for expressing how we feel after we’ve eaten Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, it’s that overwhelming! I speak from experience, as this year marked my first trip to Miami to see the art fairs for myself. I called the gallery district in Wynwood my home base and from there made pilgrimages out to three art fairs: Scope, Pulse, and Art Basel. Here are a few of my favorite things I saw/did in list form:
– Stumbling upon any number of the graffiti murals in Wynwood, including the impressive walls that grace Wynwood Walls, with pieces by Os Gemeos and Shepard Fairey
An artist hard at work on a mural in Wynwood, Miami. Photo: Amanda Jiron-Murphy
– Interacting with Jennifer Rubell’s food installation Incubation at the Rubell Family Collection, a piece that allowed you to pick up a pot of plain yogurt from a chic all-white yogurt “lab” and then steal a drizzle of honey from a massive fountain-like honey trickle on a white plinth
From left to right: selecting my yogurt from the lab, then getting some honey. Photos: Matthew Mann
– The experience of walking into the plush interior of Art Basel and feeling like I had climbed aboard the Porsche of art fairs–the faux garden resting areas and “Art Collectors Lounge” say it all
The Art Collector’s Lounge (left) and the communal resting areas (right) at Art Basel Miami Beach. Photos: Amanda Jiron-Murphy
– The people watching . . .
Two ladies discussing art and love. Photo: Amanda Jiron-Murphy
. . . and of course the art! There was such a fantastic range of work on view that it was hard to choose just one on which to focus, which in turn made the entire experience feel like a veritable feast for the eyes to the point of bacchanalian excess. I loved the experience, of course, but I’m still digesting it all.
From left to right: pieces from Chris Fox’s “Salon Jetpack”, inspecting matchbook paintings, a booth at Art Basel. Photos: Amands Jiron-Murphy and Matthew Mann
Amanda Jiron-Murphy, In-Gallery Interpretation and Public Programs Coordinator