Art Basel Miami 2022
I attended my 4th art Basel Miami and did not come back disappointed. It looked a little different this year as I am almost 20 weeks pregnant so I opted for skipping a lot of the nightlife parties. I still wanted to recap some highlights from the main fair as well as my thoughts on some of the satellite fairs.
The main fair is not to be missed, I know some people just come for the parties and networking but if you’re in town for Art Basel and don’t go to the main fair, I’m not sure what you’re doing. Besides epic pieces from well known artists (Picasso, Basquiat, Calder, Damien Hirst, etc) it’s a time to discover new artists and for me the most exciting is observing the commentary artists are making on society today. This year the talk of the show was an ATM machine that ranked people who inserted their debit cards by how much money they had in their account (10 slots total) - the machine even took a photo of the person too. This was the ‘banana’ taped to a wall of years past but the 2022 edition. I loved a lot of the egg themed art I observed this year too - see below for pictures. There were a lot of great pieces not to be missed, but I will say it’s rare that I ever cover the entire convention because it’s just so large.
If you follow me on instagram you know my favorite part of Art Basel Miami is across the street from the main convention - Design Miami - this year I attended for the second time with Camron PR. I love interior design and seeing all of the booths with different aesthetics gets me every time. This year a new stand out was the Dolce and Gabbana jewelry display. I also happened to see ASAP Rocky presenting at a booth this year as well. My absolute favorite booth was the dusty pink themed Moniomi with marble table tennis piece.
After this year I am done attending Untitled Art Fair - I love the location of the fair but the art is really sub-par, it’s the second year in a row where I found myself uninspired and tired walking the fair and really mostly enjoying the view of the ocean from between the galleries. The first year I attended it was really great but for some reason it’s been getting worse every year.
Lastly, this year I was invited for the first time to Context Art Miami with their press team. I REALLY enjoyed this fair, maybe even more than the main convention. I saw expensive high net worth pieces that art collectors know and love mixed with more Miami eclectic pieces, colorful and though provoking. To me thought provoking pieces are the reason to attend these fairs. I loved one specific piece - a periodic table with elements that make up miami - including Cr (Crypto) Lu (Luxury), Ci (Cigars) and so many more with entertaining descriptions. The one thing to note about this fair is it’s not on south beach but in downtown miami - the traffic was terrible but if you pair this with a trip to the design district for lunch or dinner you’ll get to see some beautiful parts of Miami while you’re there.
One bonus place to see art - head to the Faena hotel, behind the infamous Damien Hirst gold mammoth on their beach you will always find some great displays, especially at night - I loved the commentary on climate change portrayed in the pieces on the beach this year. The Living Room was also a mind-bending experience.
Drop any questions in the comments if you have any! Until next year, Art Basel.
