New American Paintings' Miami Beach Highlights
For the past decade, Miami has effectively become the art capital of the world for one week in early December of each year. Spearheaded by the launch of Art Basel Miami in 2001, the city now plays host to more than a dozen satellite art fairs, and countless events and performances spread throughout the city. Hundreds of galleries from around the world participate in the various fairs and events, and they offer the unprecedented opportunity for art enthusiasts, collectors and art world professionals to consider the work of thousands of artists. Overwhelming? Absolutely. Fun? You bet. An art fair might not be the best situation in which to seriously consider works of art, but there is no better place to get the pulse of the current art world. -- Read more from NAP Publisher, Steven Zevitas, and see some highlights after the jump!
Artist Amze Emmons (NAP #41, MFA Annual 2002, #81, #98), in front of his work at Fountain
I spent an intense 72 hours in Miami surveying as much as possible with our Communications Manager, Alexa Kinne. We visited Art Basel Miami, the NADA Art Fair, Aqua Miami, Pulse Miami, Seven, Fountain and a number of private collections and galleries. It would be impossible to sum up everything that we saw. Some trends stood out: ceramic sculptures, works executed on mirrors, manipulated photography and abstract paintings were everywhere. Yet, as would be expected, pluralism once again ruled the day and we encountered every possible media and subject matter in our travels.
Painting was well represented in Miami. Some standouts for me included: Hernan Bas, Analia Saban and Dianna Molzan, all at Miami Basel; John McAllister, Gabriel Hartley and Echo Eggebrecht and NADA; and Christopher K. Ho at Seven. As always, my eyes were open for artists who have appeared in New American Paintings over the years, and we came across dozens. Many of these artists appeared in our publication early in their careers - in some cases they were still in school - and I am always thrilled to see our alumni thrive. Here are some New American Paintings alumni that caught our eye.
