The 10 Best Booths at Art Basel in Miami Beach 2023

A chilly, overcast morning on the Florida coast was heated up by the atmosphere of Art Basel in Miami Beach, which returned to the Miami Beach Convention Center for its 21st edition. The fair’s VIP day was quickly abuzz with spirited engagement from collectors, artists, gallerists, and celebrity guests, including Serena Williams and Leonardo DiCaprio. By 11:15 a.m., queues on all sides of the venue were spilling out of the doors.

“This year’s fair feels like it did five years ago at the height of the last market cycle, where people ran in at 11 a.m. eager to acquire works,” said Michael Kohn, director of the Michael Kohn Gallery. “There is a palpable excitement in the air. I’m a little less sure about the secondary market, and I’ll have to ask my colleagues how they’ve done, but the primary market for young and established artists is really strong.”

John Utterson, gallery director at C L E A R I N G, noted that collectors have returned in full force at this year’s fair. “Business has been brisk, particularly brisk,” Utterson told Artsy. “We are overjoyed, and it’s always a treat to be in Miami. We have seen many people who we haven’t seen for a few years, and we’re delighted they’re back.”

Art Basel in Miami Beach invited 277 exhibitors to the fair, a slight reduction from 283 at last year’s fair. This year, an abundant selection of large-scale paintings was a theme among the works on view, which brought in several big-ticket sales. The purchase of a $20 million Philip Guston painting at Hauser & Wirth’s booth led the slate of reported sales from the VIP day; other notable sales included the following:

• A painting by Tracey Emin at Xavier Hufkens sold for £1.2 million ($1.5 million).
• A painting by Alex Katz at Kasmin sold for $1.4 million.
• A painting by Tom Wesselmann at Almine Rech sold in the range of $1.25 million–$1.35 million.
• Thaddaeus Ropac sold a painting by Robert Rauschenberg for $1.7 million, and two paintings by Georg Baselitz for €1.5 million ($1.6 million) and €1.2 million ($1.3 million).
• David Zwirner sold three Robert Ryman paintings made between 1961 and 1964 for $2 million–$3 million apiece, an Alice Neel painting for $2 million, a painting by Noah Davis for $1.6 million, and a painting by Elizabeth Peyton for $1.3 million.

Check back on Monday for our full recap of reported sales. Here, we present our 10 best booths from Art Basel in Miami Beach 2023.

C L E A R I N G

Booth B60

With works by Aaron Garber-Maikovska, Sara Flores, Robert Zehnder, Shota Nakamura, Celia Vasquez Yui, Sergey Kononov, Marguerite Humeau, Blair Whiteford, Calvin Marcus, Ken Price, Loïc Raguénès, Javier Barrios, Jean-Marie Appriou, Daisy Sheff, and Henry Curchod

Among the stunning work shown at C L E A R I N G’s booth, Shota Nakamura’s bright red canvas Untitled (2023) is the first to pull you in. The work by the Japanese artist—who was selected in the Artsy Vanguard this year—depicts a figure at the base of a sweeping landscape, and serves as a compelling prelude to his substantial show at the gallery’s Los Angeles outpost this upcoming January.

Similarly, the gallery is presenting artwork from several artists set to show with the gallery in 2024, including Henry Curchod’s Turbine (2023) and the late Loïc Raguénès’s Dream Wheel (2022). From December 16th to January 20th, the gallery will host a solo show of works by the French artist, who was one of the first names to join its roster. Another highlight from the booth is Blair Whiteford’s Horizon with New Growth (2023), a mesmerizing and highly gestural oil and watercolor painting on linen.

“He works by spilling his watercolors, and then he traces and pursues forms out of like chance operations,” said Reilly Davidson, director of programming at the gallery. “[At first], it’s similar to a Rorschach test, and then he uses Italian Renaissance techniques such as the interplay of light, focusing on his precision of gesture and texture. When you get into these paintings, you see there’s actually dimensionality.”

Bradley Ertaskiran

Booth P11

With works by Azza El Siddique

Bradley Ertaskiran’s booth is one of the few standout solo exhibitions at the fair. The gallery presents Final Fantasy (2023), an installation from Sudanese-Canadian artist Azza El Siddique. Inspired by ancient Egyptian and Sudanese culture, this multisensory and immersive work resembles a tomb guarded by two cement sculptures of Dobermans in a sphinx position (cast from the artist’s own pet Doberman).

At the center of the artist’s installation is a large square steel structure with a platform over a basin holding both unfired and bisque-fired clay vessels, which gradually undergo erosion from the fountain’s water. Above that, there is a stock ticker translating the ancient Egyptian funerary text The Book of the Dead. Here, El Siddique is grappling with how control, religion, and loss are paralleled in contemporary society.

“The Book of the Dead was not only helping get into the afterlife but also helping chaos become order,” said Antoine Ertaskiran, who co-founded Bradley Ertaskiran with Megan Bradley. “When we talk about elements of power and wealth and control, that is everything that she talks about [in her work].”

Instituto de Visión

Booth N7

With works by Aurora Pellizzi, Cristina Camacho, and Tania Candiani

Located in the corner of the Nova section dedicated to artists presenting new works, Instituto de Visión’s dynamic exhibition of three women artists—Aurora Pellizzi, Cristina Camacho, and Tania Candiani—catches the attention. On the left is Pellizzi’s Stheno (2023), a naturally dyed wool woven onto agave fiber depicting a woman’s open legs, priced at $9,000. On the right wall are three works from Camacho, including Eco de un susurro (2023), a painted canvas cut into intricate designs priced at $18,000.

“These artists propose a necessary conversation about the ways the notion of the body has been meticulously shaped by the concepts implanted by hetero-patriarchal society,” said Beatriz Lopez, artistic director at Instituto de Visión.

Meanwhile, the centerpiece is Candiani’s Reverencia III (2022), priced at $55,000. These headdresses are activated by its partner piece, Candiani’s Los Quetzales From the series, Dance Score (2022), which is priced at $9,000. These 13 embroideries detail the dance of the women who wear the headdresses.

“In the rituals, there is no original end at the time,” Lopez said. “It’s circular in a ritual. The beginning and the end are the same.”

Perrotin

Booth A3

With works by Emma Webster, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Kathia St. Hilaire, Xiyao Wang, Jason Boyd Kinsella, Alex Gardner, Takashi Murakami, Iván Argote, Daniel Arsham, Johan Creten, Mathilde Denize, Nick Doyle, Zach Harris, Kara Joslyn, Lee Bae, Gabriel de la Mora, Danielle Orchard, Park Seo-Bo, Paola Pivi, Gabriel Rico, and Josh Sperling

At Perrotin’s booth, works such as Alex Gardner’s Sleeping Through The End (2023) and Xiyao Wang’s Allongé No. 5 (2023) were among the standouts at the fair. However, the main attraction is Emma Webster’s presentation of large paintings priced between $80,000 and $175,000. These works, reflecting a decade of Webster’s focus on fantastical landscapes, depict terrifying and captivating natural phenomena that examine our complex relationship with the environment. Additionally, she creates these paintings using a hybrid VR method, where she traces and paints her VR creations onto canvas.

“My booth with Perrotin has a kind of rapture, which is perfect for a paradise like Miami,” Webster said. “The booth reflects Miami’s tidal energy and vivacity. The imagery snakes between pleasure and dread. I’m excited to show new paintings in Miami that fittingly address ecstasy, fear, and awe in landscape. It’s going to be wild.”

The French gallery recorded successful sales throughout the fair’s VIP day. The gallery’s founder, Emmanuel Perrotin, said that the gallery had sold artworks by Webster, Wang, Josh Sperling, Emily Mae Smith, and Alex Gardner, among others.

Hales Gallery

Booth B41

With works by Sir Frank Bowling OBE RA, Jordan Ann Craig, Martyn Cross, Anthony Cudahy, Sarah Faux, Chitra Ganesh, Sunil Gupta, John Hoyland RA, Anwar Jalal Shemza, Virginia Jaramillo, Daniel LaRue Johnson, Hew Locke RA, and Kay WalkingStick

Among the more notably well-received booths on the fair’s opening day was from the London- and New York–based Hales Gallery. Stuart Morrison, managing director at the gallery, noted that turnout was positive for its impressive booth, which features works by contemporary artists like Anthony Cudahy’s What we built (2023) alongside more historical works like Anwar Jalal Shemza’s Square Composition 13 (1963).

“We’re seeing a lot of curators, in particular, which is important for a number of our…historical artists, but also a lot of the collectors are in the room as well, which is great,” said Morrison.

Bridging the gap between past and present, the gallery is also showcasing several works by Kay WalkingStick. Among the contemporary pieces are her three landscape paintings, including her illustration of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, Seal Rock Storm (2023). These paintings approach landscape painting in a way that intertwines her Indigenous heritage with broader American art traditions, challenging the history of American landscape painting.

Roberts Projects

Booth B9

With works by Luke Agada, Amoako Boafo, Daniel Crews-Chubb, Jeffrey Gibson, Wangari Mathenge, Suchitra Mattai, Mia Middleton, Alejandra Moros, Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, Wendy Red Star, Betye Saar, Kehinde Wiley, and Justin Williams

At the booth of Roberts Projects, visitors are greeted with a meticulously curated selection of artworks, each a standout in its own right, making it a challenge to pinpoint just a few highlights. Jeffrey Gibson—who will represent the U.S. at next year’s Venice Biennale—is renowned for his large-scale beaded paintings and mixed-media works, and presents a new piece at the booth: LOVE ME WITH ALL MY FAULTS (2023), priced at $120,000. At the other entrance is the more muted but equally striking Crossers (2023) by Luke Agada, selling for $12,000. As if distorted by heat, an image appears wavy and shimmering, as if rippling in a heat haze, with lines bending and colors blending in a mirage-like effect.

The Los Angeles gallery also presents 11 small Mia Middleton oil paintings, depicting scenes that co-founder Bennett Roberts described as “an ambiguous or middle story.” These works range from $3,500 to $7,500. Situated among these paintings, Suchitra Mattai’s sculpture Re-Union (2023) is a thought-provoking piece that explores layers of identity through braided and woven saris, and adds a textural and conceptual depth to the exhibition. The work is priced at $65,000.

“[The materials] are all saris that are collected from her mother, from her sister,” Roberts said of Mattai’s work. “They’re all repurposed to create these [sculptures]. She also buys older tapestries, but then she hand-sews all of them to make them much more about her and her [experience] as Indo-Caribbean.”

Michael Kohn Gallery

Booth A9

With works by Alicia Adamerovich, Lita Albuquerque, Martha Alf, Wallace Berman, Jinbin Chen, Bruce Conner, Li Hei Di, Sharon Ellis, Heidi Hahn, Nir Hod, Siji Krishnan, Sophia Narrett, Ilana Savdie, Chiffon Thomas, Shiwen Wang, and Christopher Wool

One of the most prominent sales made on the VIP day of the fair was Alicia Adamerovich’s Big and sweet by the light (2023), which sold to ICA Miami. It’s no surprise that the work attracted the attention of the esteemed institution: Positioned prominently at Michael Kohn Gallery’s booth, the painting features a surreal landscape that captivates viewers with its intricate brushwork and complex composition.

The Los Angeles gallery prides itself on juxtaposing such incredible works by gifted younger artists with historical pieces. A notable example is a rare Bruce Conner assemblage sculpture from 1959 entitled HAP BIRTHDAY MIKE, which was acquired from a private collection and is priced at $275,000.

“It’s really exciting for us to show work by incredibly gifted younger artists alongside the historical work,” Michael Kohn, the gallery’s director, told Artsy. Kohn was enthusiastic about the sale of the Adamerovich work: “It is really gratifying to place young artists’ work in museums and institutions—it confirms what we’ve always known, that is, Adamerovich is a truly gifted artist. The brushwork, the complexity, the compositional weight within the painting, all point to her extraordinary talent,” he added.

Anat Ebgi

Booth B58

With works by Marisa Adesman, Jessica Taylor Bellamy, Caleb Hahne Quintana, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Greg Ito, Jordan Nassar, Soumya Netrabile, Krzysztof Strzelecki, Cosmo Whyte, and Faith Wilding

After exhibiting other sections of Art Basel prior, Anat Ebgi’s first foray into the main gallery sector of the fair showcases its stunning roster of artists. The gallery’s booth spans Faith Wilding’s Leaf Series: Red Tongue (1976–78), priced at $150,000, to Krzysztof Strzelecki’s Gods on the Beach (2023), presenting a diverse and compelling mix of historical significance and contemporary innovation.

“Going into the gallery sector was important for us to really show a cross-section of the program,” Stefano Di Paola, a senior director and partner at the gallery, told Artsy. “We’ve got historical works by Faith Wilding, we’ve got video pieces by Jibade-Khalil Huffman, we’ve got works on paper and charcoal by Cosmo Whyte, and embroideries by Jordan Nassar. It’s really showing the breadth of what our program can represent.”

Jordan Nassar’s No Thorns Were Mentioned (2023), priced at $80,000, exemplifies the artist’s innovative approach to the traditional Palestinian embroidery technique known as tatreez.

“He takes this traditional craft practice and modernizes it by incorporating this landscape in the center, which is supposed to refer to this idea of the homeland that is promised to you by your family or your elders…it’s this utopia that exists only in the minds of the diaspora,” explained Di Paola.

Another standout is Greg Ito’s Past Present Future (2023), priced at $60,000. The meticulously painted work grapples with themes regarding the duality of life, drawing inspiration from the artist’s family history, particularly from the meeting of grandparents in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Ito’s piece intertwines generational trauma and joy, reflecting on how past events shape present and future existences—yet another artwork from the gallery that is interested in a dialogue between past and present.

kurimanzutto

Booth B37

With works by Abraham Cruzvillegas, Ana Segovia, Anri Sala, Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, Carlos Amorales, Damián Ortega, Gabriel Kuri, Gabriel Orozco, Gabriel Sierra, Haegue Yang, Iñaki Bonillas, Leonor Antunes, Minerva Cuevas, Nairy Baghramian, Oscar Murillo, Paulina Olowska, Petrit Halilaj, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Roberto Gil de Montes, WangShui, and Wilfredo Prieto

Mexican gallery kurimanzutto makes a striking impression with a presentation that features a range of artists both new and long-standing to its program. The booth showcases Gabriel Orozco’s latest works, including Untitled (2021–22), where his compositions inspired by nature are immortalized using ancient tempera techniques.

Adding to the diversity on display across the booth, works by Oscar Murillo and WangShui offer unique artistic journeys: Murillo’s collaboration with children results in wearable art pieces rich in spontaneous markings, while WangShui’s innovative “machine painting” process with artificial intelligence creates captivating aluminum universes. Meanwhile, in the center of the booth, Nairy Baghramian presents a sculptural installation, Maintainers D (2018), made from casted aluminum, painted aluminum, cork, styrofoam, and paraffin wax.

“We have had positive feedback on works by artists with whom we have been collaborating for decades, such as Gabriel Orozco, Gabriel Kuri, and Damián Ortega, as well as by artists with whom we recently began our journey, such as WangShui and Petrit Halilaj,” Karen Sofie Kvamme, the gallery’s senior sales associate, told Artsy.

Xavier Hufkens

Booth A58

With works by Lynda Benglis, McArthur Binion, Louise Bourgeois, George Condo, Tracey Emin, Sayre Gomez, Giorgio Griffa, Roni Horn, Thomas Houseago, Leon Kossoff, Sherrie Levine, Robert Mapplethorpe, Paul McCarthy, Alice Neel, Nicolas Party, Sterling Ruby, Joan Semmel, Danh Vō, and Frank Walter