Which galleries will be at Art Basel Miami Beach? Here are some highlights
For some people, the time to get ready for Christmas is the second Halloween ends. For Miami, the time to (mentally) prepare for Art Basel Miami Beach is now.
Art Basel, the brand behind the premier international art fairs, announced the full lineup of galleries for this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach, with nearly two-thirds of exhibitors hailing from the Americas, including Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru and Uruguay. VIP preview days are Dec. 4 to 5, and the fair is open to the public from Dec. 6 to 8.
Art Basel Miami Beach will host 283 galleries from 35 countries and territories, the fair announced on Monday. The lineup of galleries includes 32 first-time participants, the largest cohort of newcomers since 2008.
Miami-based artists and art galleries have received an influx of international attention in recent years. Five local galleries will present at the fair: David Castillo, Central Fine, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Piero Atchugarry Gallery and Spinello Projects.
Miami Beach’s Central Fine will showcase works by gallery artists including Buenos Aires-born, New York-based painter Constanza Schaffner. David Castillo will present works by Belkis Ayon, Sanford Biggers, Pepe Mar, Amelia Pelaez, Maria de Los Angeles, Rodriguez Jimenez, Xaviera Simmons and Vaughn Spann.
Piero Atchugarry Gallery will show work by Linda Kohen in the Survey sector, dedicated to historically relevant works made before 2000. In the Nova Sector, a platform for younger galleries and artists, Spinello Projects, an Allapattah gallery and studio space run by Anthony Spinello, will show works by sculptor Nina Surel.
“I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity and for Anthony Spinello’s vision,” Surel said.
Surel, an Argentine Miami-based artist who works out of Little Haiti studio complex Collective 62, is known for her terracotta sculptures of the female form. Surel will present at Art Basel for the first time in her career with works inspired by classic Greek sculptures, the Taino mother earth deity and the breast-shaped attalea fruit of Mexico.
“I am interested in the strength of the human body, the persistence of life, the resistance of the soul, the legacy of past lives and the possibility of reinventing oneself by diving into a deeper, more intimate yet collective, search,” she said.
If Spinello’s performance at last year’s fair is any indication, Surel’s work is sure to be a hot commodity. Last year, Spinello showed five works by Puerto Rican painter Esai Alfredo. They all sold within an hour.
The heavy Latin American representation is no surprise given Art Basel Miami Beach’s status as an important gateway for the Latin American art market.
Isla Flotante from Buenos Aires will show in the fair’s main sector for the first time after a six year run in the Positions and Nova sections. Argentine artists Valentina Liernur, Valentin Demarco and Mariela Scafati. Instituto de vision, a gallery based in Bogota and New York, will present six artists from Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Mexico.
Brazil’s Luisa Strina is celebrating the 50th anniversary as Sao Paulo’s longest-running contemporary art gallery. It’s booth will celebrate the gallery’s history with pieces by painter Cildo Meirelles, ceramist Anna Maria Maiolino, sculptor Clarissa Tossin and works by Luisa Matsushita, the former lead vocalist of the rock band Cansei de Ser Sexy.
This year’s fair is the first with director Bridget Finn at the helm. Finn, a gallerist and curator, is the fair’s first director since Noah Horowitz left the role in 2021. In a statement, Finn said it was the fair’s goal to “carve out a more equitable path” for small and mid-sized galleries to enter the fair’s coveted main sector.
“The proposals in Nova, Positions, and Survey are of exceptional quality and ambition, and it’s clear that the galleries in the main sector will not be holding back come December, bringing their best of the best to this all-important fair in the world’s leading art market,” Finn said.
This story was produced with financial support from individuals and Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
