Artpun points among the whispers of the Miami paradise

In spite of all my pre-MiamiBasel artworld angst, I actually have to say "it wasn't that bad". It was actually pretty nice. There were some darn magnificent moments. The setting was awesome. Clear blue skies, soft ocean breezes, the ocean always in sight... Everyone also seemed very happy- from the dealers to the gallerists there could be overheard intelligent talk about the art. I saw plenty of red dots dispersed throughout, attesting to a presence of a collecting audience.

 

Galleries from around the world showed their best art.

And, in my opinion there was some clever use of materials, some brilliant humor.

I loved the sculptures of Larry Kagan at the Canadian based Longsdale Gallery. He used steel and shadow! And then there were Andres Basurto's broken beer bottle and epoxy putty skulls shown by New Orleans' Red Truck Gallery. The dealers were having a fine time at Scope. They also had tiny works drawn on the insides of matchbooks displayed under glass domes. Then there the Cavalier Galleries Inc from Greenwich, CT. Artist Bradley Hart showed a giant copy of Seurot's Bathers at Asnieres, a turn of the last century painting...only this time it was produced by injecting paint into individual bubble wrap pockets.

Of course, Andy was and still is everywhere in Miami. Somehow he just resonates with the Miami mindset. Kyoto artist turned movie industry make up Santa Monica based artist, Kazuhiro Tsuji displayed his 7 foot tall Andy, price on request.