An artsy local's guide to Art Basel Miami Beach

What I am most excited to see this week + pro tips on where to eat like a native Miamian and not a tourist!

(photo of the 2006 South Beach parade Skywalkers featuring 18 magical blimps)

Hi friends, this week Miami is transformed into the global Art mega event known as “Basel” which starts this weekend. According to Miami Beach City Manager Alina Hudak, “economists have estimated $400 million to $500 million annually in related economic impact as a result of Art Basel Miami Beach.” The week also brings lots and lots of traffic as hoards of people attempt to criss cross between the beach and the mainland via our three causeways and bridges. There is also epic people watching, elitism, and FOMO since every event is “VIP” and there is a mad, collective scramble to get on “the list” for whatever opening, performance, after-party, exclusive dinner or whatever is on the agenda. I have been living in Miami for almost 20 years, and during this time I have witnesses this global art fair BOOM!

Like many locals I lament its over commercialization: this week every luxury brand becomes a gallery by hosting a DJ and an open bar “art activation.” Alas, I remember the early, pre brand activation years of ABMB when someone brought a young 23 year-old Ohio-born artist to a dinner party and declared him the “next big thing.” Turns out they were spot on, that artist, Daniel Arsham,a critical and commercial darling, has gone on to become an art super star who collaborates with brands like Tiffany's — to me this is emblematic of the direction Art Basel as an event has gone: corporate.

But today I want to highlight the flip side of Art Week, the good stuff, the incredible chance to discover new artists and see some great art. Here is my list of the top three art openings, all three are in hometown institutions because while most people talk about all the galleries from elsewhere that come to Miami this week, I believe the really interesting work is already here during the OTHER 51 weeks. So if you are visiting us, check out what the locals are doing, and if you live here don’t miss the chance to engage with our vibrant arts scene.

Here is a list of three things I cannot wait to see:

1. Miami museums host some of the best things to see in Miami this art week, starting with Sasha Gordon’s debut solo museum show “Surrogate Self” opening at the ICA. What I love about her hyper-realistic paintings (see below) is that she unapologetically takes up space. (Not-so-fun fact: a pathetic 11 percent of acquisitions and 14.9 percent of exhibitions, at 31 U.S. museums between 2008 and 2020, were of work by female-identifying artists). As women, especially WOC (she is Asian American), we are often at the margins or behind the scenes propping other’s up and doing the emotional and domestic labor— who else is over the “behind every great man is a great women” trope? ME!!! I have been an avid follower of Sasha Gordon’s instagram account and I personally cannot wait to see her painting up close, taking up valuable art real estate and IRL!

   

   If you want to read up on Gordon, here is a brilliant summary of her work: “Gordon paints surreal, anthropomorphic versions of herself in hyper-realistic detail. The artist uses these doppelgängers to explore the complexity of her identity as a young, queer, Asian-American woman…Through these avatars she portrays the othering of unconventional human bodies and examines her own experiences of alienation, whilst challenging the logic of certain limiting social norms. “

   Twenty four year-old Gordon is half white, (Polish American Jewish father), half Asian, (Korean mother), queer, grew up “in the very white town of Somers, in Westchester County, New York" and was recently profiled in American Vogue. Her art explores themes of identity and her experience as a “a larger person” in world where the ideal for women, and even sadder for girls, is white and thin (cue Alix Earle as the IT girl for Gen Z and Gwyneth Paltrow as the ideal wealthy white patriarch for Gen X). Voices, and pictures like Gordon’s matter, and the message they convey uses wit, a trait that is lacking in much of the art and fashion sphere these days.

   The first picture in this newsletter is from a 2006 parade/performance by the collaborative Miami art duo FriendsWithYou who also use humor, a trait that Gordon’s sometimes uncomfortable paintings have in spades. With so much happening in the world these days, I am looking forward to getting lost in her fleshy, stunning work. And if you cannot get to Miami watch this video of her work.

2. Also on my Art Week agenda is this ground-breaking show on Juan Francisco Elso curated by Cuban-American Olga Viso. Much of the show hinges on this 1986 artwork (see below) called Por América which according to the Miami New Times “changed the face of Cuban art forever.” This wooden sculpture of a man covered in mud and fleur-de-lys arrowheads who holds a sword in his right hand is José Martí, “a founding father of Cuba who died in battle during the fight to liberate the island from the Spanish.” Martí is a bonafide decolonial icon. The choice of this colonial symbol piercing an exhausted Marti is quite intentional, the fleur de lys signifies various European empires and also the Virgin Mary, the crown and the church: the potent arms of the colonization of the Americas.

(photo caption: the sculpture Por América, 1986 syncretizes a Christian saint, an African spirit-figure, a political monument, and Juan Francsico Elso’ self-portrait)

This exhibit comes to Miami via El Museo del Barrio in the Bronx, where it took curator Olga Viso twenty five years to produce it, between dealing with dodgy diplomatic relationships with Cuba and the ephemeral nature of much of the art work. It was on the NY Times critic’s list for top shows in 2022 and seeing it in Miami at MOCA, another one of our top-tier local institutions is a real treat. Viso knew many of the other artists in the show personally, making it more intentional and intimate. Elso died at 32, one of the reasons there are some thirty other pieces from artists including the brilliant Ana Mendieta who like Elso also died tragically young (here is my personal homage to Ana)

The aforementioned Elso sculpture of the anti-colonialist Cuban writer Martí is the apex of the show. He conceived of America as “a yet-to-be-realized social utopia” and the style of the wooden sculpture is ubiquitous to anyone who grew up in heavily Catholic Latin America. My abuela had strategically-placed religious sculptures of bleeding hearts and pierced limbs everywhere, a curious trait I have adopted.

(photo caption: on left,18th century St. Peter, on right, Vero’s armless St. Francis)

Quito, where I was born is considered to house the best Baroque art in the Americas, and one example is this 18th century image of Saint Peter by Bernardo de Legarda, pictured here next to an armless sculpture of Saint Francis from my own collection. Elso, in taking a traditional religious sculpture and transforming it into an emblem of a utopian, Post-Colonial America, that is some great art folks! And this exhibit, one that explores the indigenous, Afro-Caribbean traditions of Latin America via the art of the 1980’s is the perfect show to see before you head over to my third must-see-this-week show…

3. Finally, do not miss Hormiga Caribe (Caribbean Ant) that opens December 1st and runs through the 10th @ 7338 nw miami ct. It features the work of several emerging artists from the region:

   

Fun fact: why did the curators choose the fire ant as a symbol for the show? According to the press release:

“because of its humble yet astonishing strength – capable of lifting up to 50 times its own weight. Together, these modest creatures quietly face challenges with a subtle determination, showcasing a collective prowess to overcome. In Native American cultures, ants are seen as symbols of diligence, patience, and hard work…. And they cannot be domesticated…”

Full disclosure: another reason I cannot wait to catch this show is because it features interdisciplinary Afro-Dominican scholar, activist and artist Patricia Encarnación who I saw speak several times during last Basel. Her work takes aim at the stereotypical image of the Caribbean as a vacation paradise while questioning the colonial paradigms present in this narrative of “tropical getaway.” And if you think Art Basel is just for moneyed collectors here is the twist: I collect her work! And if I can collect art, so can you! (ask me how) After hearing her talk, I was so inspired that I bought one of her pieces which I enjoy daily. So go to the smaller shows, meet the artists, delve deeper into their work and become a patron of the arts, this, more than the spectacle of over-hyped Art Basel as a whole is what makes this week so extraordinary.

PS Here is some of her work:

Lastly, if you are on the mainland in Miami seeing all this art, eat like a native. Forget the over-priced, crappy tourist joints. Head here:

• Eat Argentine empanadas, dulce de leche alfajores and the best basil lemonade on earth (I promise) at empanadas Sur (fun activity: count the amount of times you hear people talk about Art BASIL.)

• Have a cachito, the best iced coffee, chocolate croissant and BLT at Caracas Bakery on Biscayne Ave

• Treat yourself to an arepa and tequeños at La Latina (BTW they are open late and make great post-party food.)

• If you want a sit down for a proper meal by a local Uruguayan chef whose entire family works at the restaurant and could not be lovelier treat your self to homemade pasta here at Luna Pasta e Dolci (6815 Biscayne Ave)

  Enjoy the art and the food !!!! And please share with anyone coming to town this week!

  xoxo Vero