Wynwood at Art Basel.

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Plans to go to Art Basel on Saturday were Shanghaied when I went to a gallery in New Smyrna Beach. I couldn’t sketch at this opening, so there isn’t much to report. I kept my hands in my pockets except when sipping a Coke or eating pretzels. Occasionally shrimp circulated around the room on a tray. The show consisted of small paintings competitively priced for the holidays.

I made the three-and-a-half hour drive down to Miami on Sunday instead. After parking in the Wynwood District I only had to walk one block before I saw a graffiti artist at work. This NYC artist was named Cortez. I couldn’t make out what the letters were in the tag, but now after the fact, I’m thinking it might be his name. I got lost sketching the tag, so don’t expect to read it in my sketch. It became an abstraction of bright colors, valves and shapes. The artist’s girlfriend videotaped me as I sketched, and I asked the artist to sign my sketch when I was done. Art tourists kept taking photos of the wall in progress. For some people, the only way to experience art is to photograph it.

I explored the Wynwood Walls and several galleries before heading over to the convention center, which is at the heart of Art Basel. Tickets to get in are like $45. I got there at the end of the day so paying for a few hours of browsing seemed like a waste. Instead I went to Ink, which consisted of galleries specializing in limited edition artists prints. Flying Horse Editions from UCF here in Orlando was on site. Each gallery had a quaint motel room surrounding a courtyard with a long central fountain. Since I am searching for a rental apartment, I desperately wanted to convert one of these small units into a studio.

I went to a public park near the convention center where sculptures we scattered in the grass. Long- legged camels walked above a shimmering mirage reflection. Jesus had open avocados on his head, shoulders and forearms. Perhaps he as actually the patron saint of avocados. A black hula hoop was plopped on top of a pile of road tar, and the crowning glory was a pile of six-foot-high brightly colored pebbles that looked like the cheery painted rocks you might find in a fish tank.

I stopped at Maxine’s on Collins Avenue for a bite to eat. It isn’t as good as the Maxine’s in Orlando, but I went in h honor. Afterwards I followed the long line of red taillights that inched towards I-95 to drive north into the night.

Evoca 1 paints a mural at Falcon Bar in Thornton Park.

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Artist Evoca1 paint original artwork on the wall outside The Falcon Bar and Gallery last week. The artwork is curated by The Falcon and sponsored by Thornton Park District Main Street.

About the artist:
Dominican-born and Miami-based, Evoca1 is a figurative painter, designer and muralist, who is strongly influenced by his Latin American culture. Founder of Sketches for Mankind, Evoca1 works to raise awareness to important local and world issues through art. His powerful imagery can be seen on walls from Mexico to Peru to England.

About this project:
The Falcon become a fan of Evoca1 after seeing his work in the Wynwood Arts District in Miami during Art Basel a few years back and then again more recently in Saint Petersburg, FL during the Shine On Mural Festival. His figurative style is what attracted us to his work and is also what makes it unique from the more traditional mural styles. Evoca1 and The Falcon chatted about what makes The Falcon Bar and Gallery and Thornton Park District distinctive and he came up with a concept that compliments our beautiful historic neighborhood and the uniqueness of The Falcon Bar and Gallery.

I loved how boldly the artist worked. His first bold brushstrokes that blocked in the composition where still visible as I sketched. He used a large paint pan as a palette and worked on the mural like it was an oil painting, gradually building up the lights.  He used a large flat house paint brush as his tool of choice. He spent most of the well refining the mural. Periodically admirers would stop and ask a few questions.

Pop Up Discos in Miami try Stayin Alive.

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Terry’s friend Elaine Pasekoff organized monthly Pop Up Discos in Miami. Her thought was that 50 somethings aren’t interested in the modern club scene, but they have fond memories of their disco days. Elaine had a birthday Disco party that was a blast, and she wanted to keep the party going. She used to work for the Miami Herald, so she called in favors to get ad space for her Pop Up Disco concept. During Art Basel, this disco had a fair attendance, but it was to far from the main arts scene to really pull in a huge crowd. The venue changes month to month and this one was in a small back room of a bar. A friend of Elaine’s was the DJ.

When the evening was over, Elaine confided that she is about to give up on the Pop Up Disco concept. It is a full time job to promote the event on social media and the newspaper. Attendance was never as high as she had hoped so the profits don’t justify all the hours she puts in to keep the concept alive.  A young crowd had been offered a discount on the cover charge since they livened up the dance floor. Unfortunately most 50 somethings are content to stay at home rather than kick up some dust on a disco dance floor.

Outside the Spectum Tent at Art Basel local artists worked.

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The Spectrum Tent at Art Basel in Miami featured Monique Lassooij and Eleazar Delgado hard at work on large canvases. Monique’s work is somber being executed mostly in black and white with some hints of red, while Eleazar’s work was bright with orange flames visible even on the back of his canvas. The canvases were held up with two by four supports which were anchored into the ground using lengths of re-bar. I found some nice shade and started sketching. The Art Miami tent was right across the street. There is so much happening during Art Basel that it seems redundant going into the tents. Besides the art, there is the lure of air conditioning however.

The Miami Project tent at Art Basel offered plenty of surprises.

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This sketch of the entry to the Miami Project tent at Art Basel in Miami Showcases a sculpture by Mei Chin titled Cabinet of Craving. The large spider, 9 x 14 x 14 feet, was made of white oak, antique English bone ware (circa 1843), footed silver tray, steel, pigmented dye, and shellac.The sculpture is an homage to Louise Bourgeois, a Houston artist and friend, Jesse Lott, and Victoria artist, Madeline O’Connor. It
assembles cross cultural adaptations found in furniture, ancient motifs
mix bred with nationalist symbols, all under the influence of
addictions that shape historical destinies. This crouching spider like
monumental sculpture pushes it’s abdomen to the ceiling. Just behind this
decorative mongrel visage, of an English bulldog and ancient Chinese
“gluttonous” taotie mask, is Victorian-style glass case revealing it’s
curious diet, an antique 1843 teapot upon a silver serving tray. The
sculpture is a hybrid monster born out of addictions and manipulations
of empires, in this case, the Victorian English craving for tea and
porcelain, the Chinese desire for silver and the insidious and illegal
trade of narcotics that lead to the Opium War.

A lounge chair and coffee table contrasted the sinister theme inherent in the spider. Catalogs where placed on the coffee table periodically that showed many o the artists works. I never picked up a catalog since I didn’t want to carry around the weight. I was already carrying 3 sketchbook ins in my art bag.

I had wandered away from the crowd I was with so that I could find a quick sketch subject. Re-finding my friends was a challenge since every tent was packed with patrons. It was easy to develop “art burn” after a few hours at which point very work of art seems pretentious and homogenized. Most of the time I was focused of winding my way through the crowds rather than focusing on the art. I also rather enjoyed the fashionable people watching.

Terry’s friend Elaine Pasekoff, had parked at a local parking lot, but Terry and I decided to stay later and then we took a bus back up to the condo in Miami Beach. Traffic is crazy at Art Basel, so taking the bus was a relief.

The Sea Fair was a unique venue for viewing art at Art Basel.

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The first Art Basel venue Terry and I went to was the Sea Fair on board the luxury yacht “Grand Lux” (100 Chopin Plaza Bay front Park South Dock Downtown Miami, FL). SeaFair offers a venue through which the world’s finest galleries are
able to deliver art to collectors’ doorsteps in a unique, self-contained
ultra-luxury seagoing venue. I sketched while Terry scouted out the galleries. Once my sketch was done, she showed me her favorite pieces. My favorite was a sketch done on a wrinkled up piece of paper. The wrinkles were incorporated into a large graphite drawing of an old man’s face.

Sea Fair is the world’s first mobile mega yacht venue. The $40 million
custom-built yacht was designed by internationally acclaimed yacht
designer Luiz De Basto. At 228 feet and 2,800 international tons, it is
the largest ship built for commercial operation on the Intracoastal
Waterway and requires a draft of only 6.5 feet allowing it to dock at
small yacht facilities in central city locations such as Chopin Plaza.

The well-appointed luxury venue features an impressive formal marble
entryway, 28 individual exhibit spaces, a coffee bar, the Luxe Lounge,
an open-air champagne and tapas bar on the aft deck, Sapore’, a formal
glass-walled restaurant/club on Deck 3, Bistro360, an informal open-air
restaurant and Bar360, a sky deck cocktail reception area.

Besides the dock side exhibition, the yacht took select patrons on sunset cruises, Brunch and Cay cruises and afternoon Bay cruises.  While enjoying the amenities, patrons could wander through the five decks which  offered 20 unique art galleries and
luxury boutiques. Cruised featured local and internationally renowned artists,
receptions, art performances and more. The yacht was ostentatious and pretentious which might help inspire wealthy patrons to want to buy art. It is a much better place to experience art than a convention center or outdoor tents. I preferred a quick walk through which minimized the risk of getting sea sick or experiencing art burn. From this venue, Terry and I rushed to a museum where an experimental dance performance was to take place.

Art Basel is a yearly crucible to experience the art market.

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Once a year, Terry and I drive down to Miami Beach to experience Art Basel. Art Basel draws tens of thousands of visitors, collectors, gallerists,
artists, curators, and other art enthusiasts from across the globe,
all coming to experience the highest quality of Modern and contemporary
art. Terry and I stay with friends Elaine Pasekoff and Derek Hewitt. Elaine and Derek purchased three apartments in the same Miami Beach building, and they decorated them with themes from their world travels together. I believe this is the Africa suite. There is also a Paris themed suite. All of the floors were resurfaced and the kitchen was opened up by removing part of a wall to create a corner counter. The amount of work that went into these units is amazing, especially since Terry and I have had color swatches on our living room walls for the past decade.

The drive to Miami beach is a long one and we had to drive through torrential rain and the infuriating impatient Miami traffic around rush hour. By the time we arrived, we just wanted to relax. Elaine always has the Miami Herald, which is a good place to research which Art exhibits were generating some buzz. It is also fun to read about which celebrities were in town for the exclusive all night parties. Elaine and Derek know where all the best local restaurants are, so we eat out when we are there. The apartment is just a few blocks from the beach, so walking down to the beach as the sun sets is always an appealing way to end the day.

Red Bull presented Hip Art Inspired Water Cooler Conversation

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On July 24th, Red Bull Curates presented the Orlando Canvas Cooler Project in the gorgeous Orchid Room at 122 West Church Street which was once Paris Hilton’s Nightclub. As I arrived, Red Bull girls with backpacks were getting ready to work the venue in their tight shorts and v-neck shirts. They were about to climb a metal fire escape staircase to enter the building. I asked if that was the entrance and she pointed me toward a door around the corner with a Mini Cooper that had a huge Red Bull can on the roof. There were two entrances, one for media and one for everyone else. I decided to walk in the Media door. The volunteer looked for my name on the list and I wasn’t there. I repeated my name several times until she said, “Alright, you must be media.” If you believe you are the media, then you are the media. I had a tablet in my bag because I want to start drawing with it more often. I decided to stick with paper however since the room was so spacious that I felt I needed to work across a large spread in my sketchbook. Digitally, I tend to spend too much time zooming in and out of the program which means I’m not sketching as fast.

20 Orlando artists were picked to decorate Red Bull coolers. Of these artists tow were picked for the possibility of being picked for the chance to have their creation show at this year’s Art Basel in Miami Beach. Judges for the Orlando event included, Sam Flax Owner of Sam Flax Art Supply, Patrick Kahn the founder of Snap! Cultural Events, Inc, Commissioner Patty Sheehan of Orlando District 4 , Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon the curator of Jai Gallery,and Erin Sullivan the Senior editor at the Orlando Weekly.  

Featured artists were, Brandon McLean,
Andrew Spear, Skippy, Adaro Art, Winkstyles, Soco Freire, Peter Van Flores III, DRES13, Holly Tharp, Chris Rodriguez,
Christopher Reason, Swamburger, Peterson, Sean Hartman, Christie Miga, SPEN and Wolfrich. There were a wide variety of colorful styles. I was a bit disappointed that all the coolers were already finished. I had hoped to sketch the artists at work. They had eight hours to complete the work on the Sunday and Monday before the event. Canvas tarps were spread around the venue and tables so the artists wouldn’t make too much of a mess. Christie Miga claimed she was so nervous about the event that she was considering backing out. She did an amazing job however when the ax hit the grindstone.

Sketching the event was a challenge since the crowd was endless and ever shifting. People stopped to say hello every few minutes, and I was happy to say hello but then got right back to work. I didn’t have the luxury of being able to relax when the sketch was still unfinished. Billy Franchey, from Artsfund introduced himself and he was fascinated by what I do, but he didn’t have a business card and neither did I. He is responsible for these events all over the country. Terry explored the room and was able to interact socially with everyone we knew. The winners for the evening were Marcos Cruz and Gregorii.  Both artists are represented by Jai gallery. Their pieces might end up in the scope art Fair in Miami as part of Art Basel but they are up against 10 other who were winners in cities around the country.  There was also a peoples choice award that was given to G. Lemus. A social media contest in November could put him in contention as well to have his creation shown in Miami’s Art Basel. The next Red Bull Curates events will be in Houston on August 14th and in Philadelphia on September 25th.

As I walked Terry back to her car, she told me that Patty Sheehan had told her that the Red Bull marketing people might like me to document future events around the country. It is funny that I was working so hard that no one mentioned this idea to me. I suppose people don’t want to interrupt me when I’m in the middle of the process.

Wynwood Block

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During Art Basel week, (December 5-8), graffiti artists from around the globe converge on the Wynwood Arts District to cover buildings. Some buildings are completely covered. Wynwood is Miami’s gallery district and every time I have gone the place was hopping. I go to sketch the artists at work.

The artist on the right is named Bruno, or “BR” for short. His wall portrayed a vibrant inter planetary scene. Characters were covered in vibrant Mexican fabric patterns, and sinister green clouds floated overhead in a purple universe. The other artist was likely painting a portrait of a rap or hip hop artist. The face was cut up into a grid and each panel was a different color. Even the van parked in the street was covered in dripping ice cream graffiti lettering. I never did figure out what the lettering spelled.

Terry and a friend went to one of the many Art Fair tents and when my sketch was done, I walked towards them. My college, The School of Visual Arts, was exhibiting student work. Terry introduced me to the SVA Faculty who were supervising the show and I shared one of my sketchbooks with them. There was some really good art in this tent. One memorable wall was covered with paintings on small panels of Obama. Each panel was painted in a different way creating an amazing variety all of the same face.

The Pérez Art Museum just opened in Miami and a group of us went to an exclusive preview of the collection in the evening. It is an impressive modern museum. Hanging from the ceiling of the entries were columns covered in foliage. The ground floor had an exhibit of model boats suspended from the ceiling that I liked. Had there been time to draw, that is what I would have focused on. An entire room on the second floor had hundreds of bicycle wheel rims interconnected by a horizontal metal framework. Guards tried to stop people from spinning the rims, but there were too many rims and the compulsion was too strong. People watching was more fascinating than some of the art. High society was out in force and every fashion was strutting on display. I would like to return sometime when it isn’t so crowded.

As we were leaving, we bumped into Patrick and Holly Kahn. Patrick just opened the new Snap Gallery in the renovated Cameo Theater, 1013 E. Colonial Drive Orlando FL. The gallery opened on January 18th and the crowds where overwhelming. It is the first time I’ve been to an exhibit in Orlando where people had to wait to get in. It seems Patrick has managed to bring some of the Miami excitement and exclusivity back to Orlando.

Positions

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All the guests who had gathered in Miami Beach for Elaine Pasekoff‘s birthday went down to the convention center together. There were eight of us packed into two cars. Admission to Art Basel in the convention center is expensive. As we all stood in line for tickets, Terry realized that there was a group rate discount for ten people. The couple behind us in line joined us to get in on the deal. With the discount, the ticket price was $26.

I wasn’t allowed to enter the exhibit hall with my art supply bag. I had to check it. I pulled out one sketchbook and stuffed it in my belt and pulled my shirt over it. My pallet went in my front pocket along with one brush. When we got in, my plan was to immediately settle somewhere and get a sketch done. I quickly was drawn to this astro turf lawn with undulating hills. It came complete with fake trees and there were always people sprawled out and relaxing. This little corner in the vast sea of gallery exhibitors was called “Positions.” This area was a platform for galleries spotlighting a single emerging artist with one existing project. Visitors could discover ambitious new artists from all over the globe.

With the sketch done, I texted Terry and searched the maze of galleries to find her. This year  Art Basel had more Representational art as opposed to abstract art. A New York gallery had a wall full of paintings by Edward Hoppers. Terry had the premise that since the economy is picking up, that galleries are pulling out great art works because they feel they can get the proper price for them. She asked the gallery owner about this but was told,”If you have a Hopper, you sell the Hopper.” I joked that last years show was all about hair and mirrors. Literally every other piece used human hair in some way or a mirror. This year however I was delighted with much of the work that I say. Execution matched concept.

After a few hours of seeing endless art and getting lost, gallery burn out sets in. Elaine and her friends went out to lunch while Terry and I kept looking. We set a time to meet back at the parking garage. Terry and I got there on time, but the rest of the group lingered at lunch. Terry and I decided to get lunch ourselves and then take the bus back to the condo. This gave us a chance to visit another satellite fair that had nothing but prints. We paid close attention to how work was framed since I need to frame work soon.