Our Curated Guide to Miami Art Fairs
NADA Miami 2021. Photo by Casey Kelbaugh. Courtesy of NADA.
Miami Art Week is fast approaching, and collectors, dealers, and art enthusiasts are readying their wallets, presentations, and schedules. World-renowned and emerging fairs will draw the biggest names in contemporary art and design to the sandy beaches, palm tree–lined streets, and Art Deco hotels for which Miami is famous.
The main events of the week—Art Basel in Miami Beach, New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), Untitled Art, Design Miami/, Scope, and Art Miami—present ideal opportunities to discover new artists and build your collection, at a variety of price points. While Miami truly has something for everyone, this curated selection of fair highlights will help guide your week, complete with booth locations for each exhibitor mentioned below.
Art Basel in Miami Beach
Miami Beach Convention Center, 1901 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach
VIP Previews: Tuesday, Nov. 29–Wednesday, Nov. 30
Public Days: Thursday, Dec. 1–Saturday, Dec. 3
Lisa Williamson, Atmosphere, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Los Angeles.
As the cornerstone of Miami Art Week, Art Basel in Miami Beach draws the largest crowds and brings out works by the most coveted names in modern and contemporary art. Exhibitors range from rising galleries to blue-chip dealers at the top of the art market. The 2022 fair marks the 20th anniversary of Art Basel in Miami Beach, and at a size of 282 galleries, it is the biggest edition yet. To reflect on the fair’s 20 years in Miami Beach, Art Basel’s Conversations program will include a panel with major collectors who have helped support the city’s growing art ecosystem: Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz, Craig Robins, and Martin Margulies.
At the fair itself, heavy-hitter Marianne Boesky Gallery (B12) is bringing a selection of works by several of its artists, including C-print photographs by the newest member of its roster: New York–based conceptual artist and crypto pioneer Sarah Meyohas. Hailing from her “Liquid Speculation”series (2021–present), the mesmerizing images play with light and reflection to create an endless illusion. Tanya Bonakdar Gallery (H18), on the other hand, is bringing a new, whimsical wall sculpture by Lisa Williamson. The artist, who is currently featured in a solo show at the gallery’s New York outpost, invites viewers into deep explorations of color, material, and shape.
Erin M. Riley, questions and answers, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and P.P.O.W.
In addition to showing these gallery exhibitors, Art Basel will present a selection of large-scale and immersive works in its Meridians section, curated by Magalí Arriola. P.P.O.W will show a monumental, 26-foot-long, handwoven tapestry by Erin M. Riley. It depicts intimate, psychological, and raw imagery that thematizes issues of sexual violence, trauma, and the lived experience of being a woman.
Don’t miss the Editions section, which will feature a look at leading publishers of prints and multiples. A highlight will be the legendary Los Angeles–based publisher Gemini G.E.L. (C12), which will present new works by some of its frequent collaborators. Two incredible editions by Julie Mehretu will be on view: 10-panel, 50-plate etching/aquatints measuring nearly 15 feet long.
Untitled Art
Ocean Drive & 12th Street, Miami Beach
VIP Preview: Monday, Nov. 28
Public Days: Tuesday, Nov. 29–Saturday, Dec. 3
Exterior view of Untitled Art, 2021. Photo by Casey Kelbaugh. Courtesy of Untitled Art.
Sited directly on the sands of Miami Beach, Untitled Art is a highlight of the week because of both the art on view and the prime location. Untitled features established contemporary art dealers who show a strong selection of emerging and mid-career artists with international reach. The curation is always top-notch.
This year’s edition of Untitled includes an impressive presentation of Ukrainian artists from the Kyiv-based Voloshyn Gallery (C34). Mixed-media works by Nikita Kadan will be on view, reflecting on the memory and history of war at large, in order to better understand the current conflict with Russia.
Another highlight will be Asya Geisberg Gallery’s booth (B09), with new works by Marjolijn De Wit, Melanie Daniel, Rebecca Morgan, and Shane Walsh. Particularly captivating are De Wit’s paintings, which are filled with ceramic objects that explore man’s relationship with nature and the built environment.
Making its Untitled debut is Carvalho Park (B48), which is showing large, luminous paintings by Yulia Iosilzon and Maximilian Rödel. Riffing on Untitled’s sunlit halls and the fair’s vistas of ocean and sky, Carvalho Park’s booth will exhibit Rödel’s soft pastel renderings of dreamy skies and sunsets.
The fair will also feature events, panels, and performances throughout the week, including Her Clique’s “What Can Art Do?” conversation series with leading artists and curators such as Zoë Buckman and Hank Willis Thomas, who will explore art as a political and social tool.
Several special projects will also draw viewers. Artist Rachel Garrard, for example, will mount a site-specific installation of large, rusted steel sculptures that appear to emerge from the sand, connected by drawn lines and mounds that create patterns and geometric symbols. Mexico-based Colector is responsible for this installation, titled Pathways Beyond Time (2022).
New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Miami
Ice Palace Studios, 1400 North Miami Avenue, Miami
VIP Preview: Wednesday, Nov. 30 (until 4 p.m.)
Public Days: Wednesday, Nov. 30 (after 4 p.m.)–Saturday, Dec. 3
Zinaida, She 1, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and Sapar Contemporary.
Also celebrating its 20th edition, the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Miami fair brings together small and mid-size galleries presenting an exciting selection of emerging and mid-career artists. Located in Downtown Miami, the fair embraces the warm climate with outdoor lounging areas where visitors can relax and enjoy a robust series of panels, music performances, workshops, and artist talks.
A highlight of the fair will be Sapar Contemporary’s booth (7.12), featuring a new series of acrylic prints by Zinaida, entitled “She.” The artist completed these works in Kyiv in June 2022 under constant bombing and limited access to electricity. The woman in “She” wears a costume that symbolizes eternal, divine femininity and contains references to Ukrainian, Greek, Berber, Arabic, Bulgarian, and Jewish cultures. Another highlight will be Shulamit Nazarian’s booth (6.02), which celebrates gallery artists with recent or upcoming career milestones (for instance, Maria A. Guzmán Capron’s SECA award and exhibition “Respira Hondo,”which opens December 17th at SFMOMA).
Maria A. Guzmán Capron, Delirio, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and Shulamit Nazarian.
NADA will also host its third Curated Spotlight section, featuring eight solo presentations of artists from NADA galleries, selected by a renowned curator. This year’s grouping was selected by Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels, director of Jack Shainman Gallery and founder of the roving gallery We Buy Gold. Included in the Curated Spotlight is Olympia (7.03), which will present new dreamy, egg tempera paintings by Lee Maxey.
Art Miami
1 Herald Plaza, NE 14th Street & Biscayne Bay, Miami
VIP Preview: Tuesday, Nov. 29
Public Days: Wednesday, Nov. 30–Sunday, Dec. 4
Exterior view of Art Miami, 2021. Courtesy of Art Miami.
Located downtown, across Biscayne Bay, is Art Miami, the city’s longest-running art fair. Now in its 32nd edition, it shares space with partner fair Context. With windows overlooking the palm tree–lined bay, Art Miami celebrates the city’s tropical climate. The fair features emerging and established galleries that exhibit an eclectic range of media. Installation and digital art are on view alongside more traditional examples of modern and contemporary art.
A highlight of the fair will be Hollis Taggart’s two booths (AM319, AM511). The gallery is exhibiting a stunning selection of colorful, abstract paintings by contemporary artists Hollis Heichemer, Alex Kanevsky, and Bill Scott. Particularly engaging are Kavensky’s abstracted domestic scenes and figurative works, as well as Heichemer’s poetic paintings, which are inspired by the environment surrounding her New Hampshire home.
Seoul-based Pyo Gallery (AM300) is bringing work by a selection of leading Korean artists including Chun Kwang Young, whose predominant medium is the handmade Korean paper called hanji. Chun is known for his unique “aggregation” works, which are three-dimensional objects wrapped and tied with hanji.
Reflecting on the current war in Ukraine, Art Miami is also featuring several artists who are donating portions of their sales to support various Ukrainian fundraisers. British printmaker Phil Shaw, for instance, has made a limited-edition run of charity prints, “Solidarity” (2022), which will be on view with Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery (AM427). Exhibitors will also show their support by highlighting Ukrainian artists, such as Avant Gallery (AM236)’s exhibition of Kyiv-based Lina Condes’s stainless steel sculpture The Thinker (2022).
Design Miami/
1800 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach
Members/Collectors Preview: Tuesday, Nov. 29
VIP Preview: Wednesday, Nov. 30 (11 a.m.–1 p.m.)
Public Days: Wednesday, Nov. 30 (after 1 p.m.)–Sunday, Dec. 4
Ellen Pong, Horsey Dolphin, 2022. Photo by Luis Corzo. Courtesy of the artist and Superhouse.
Design Miami/ features some of the biggest names in contemporary design, as well as noteworthy emerging designers and dealers. This year’s fair will mark the 18th edition of Design Miami/ with a special theme: “The Golden Age: Looking to the Future.” Selected by the fair’s curatorial director Maria Cristina Didero, the uniting concept expands on that of this summer’s Design Miami/ in Basel, “The Golden Age: Rooted in the Past.” The idea is to explore the stylistic and metaphorical concept of a golden age that can be a utopian, hopeful future or an idealized history.
Highlights include the Design Miami/ debut of Superhouse (C04). The gallery is presenting “Dreamroom,” a booth from the Curio section that takes the form of an immersive bedroom scene with wild forms and bold colors, featuring designs by Ellen Pong, Kim Mupangilaï, Ryan Decker, and Sean Gerstley. In line with the cutting-edge and exploratory ethos of the Curio section, Superhouse’s designs include a futuristic, playful side table and lamp by Pong that is part horse, part dolphin.
Gaetano Pesce, installation view at Bottega Veneta’s Spring/Summer ‘23 fashion show, 2022. Courtesy of Bottega Veneta.
Throughout the fair, mirrors abound. Emma Scully Gallery (C02), in its Design Miami/ debut, will present a Curio booth entitled “Reflecting Women,” dedicated to mirrors by female designers; and Gallery All (G19) will bring several new cast bronze peach mirrors by The Haas Brothers, including one whimsical, splashy design entitled Mirrorianne Boesky, after the duo’s gallerist Marianne Boesky.
The fair is also known for its luxury partners such as Audi, Perrier-Jouët, and Fendi, which will present a range of exclusive new projects and immersive experiences throughout the week. Particularly exciting is Come Stai?,a new chair by Gaetano Pesce with Matthieu Blazy for Bottega Veneta, in the luxury brand’s first partnership with Design Miami/.
Scope
Ocean Drive & 8th Street, Miami Beach
VIP Preview: Tuesday, Nov. 29
Public Days: Wednesday, Nov. 30–Sunday, Dec. 4
Installation view of Scope, 2021. Courtesy of Scope.
Like Untitled Art, Scope is located on the sands of Miami Beach. Celebrating its 21st edition this year, the fair provides a platform for artistic innovation, embracing artists and exhibitors who are diverse and experimental. Scope aims to showcase contemporary art with a global lens and engage in critical issues and global politics.
A highlight of Scope will be the booth for Knowhere Art Gallery (F05), a Black-owned space based in Martha’s Vineyard. The gallery will present new paintings from rising star Charly Palmer’s “Infinite Black” series, which is inspired by Black power, pride, and strength. Also of note is Imago (B27), a gallery based in Lugano, Switzerland, which will show works by Andrea Gallotti, Matteo Pugliese, and Tom Vack. New abstract, mixed-media paintings by Gallotti will showcase the artist’s explorations of color, material, and gesture.
Also embracing mixed media is The Contemporary Art Modern Project (E011), based in Miami and Westport, Connecticut, which is presenting several mixed-media and fiber works including Sherene (2022), a vibrant new figurative collage by Brazilian artist Silvana Soriano. The piece exemplifies Soriano’s interest in using art to explore narratives, poems, and personal stories.
Scope also features The New Contemporary, an experiential, multidisciplinary program in the atrium where daily events will occur. Included in this year’s program are musical performances, panel discussions, and morning healing and meditation sessions.
