A Touch of Basel

Chris Sherman | 12/1/2009

"Depression Bread Line" — George Segal, 1991. Bronze cast. The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse

Art Basel Miami Beach 2008 [Photo: MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel/Zurich) Ltd]

Art patrons, art dealers and even artists crowd Miami Beach this month for the eighth U.S. showing of Art Basel. The young spinoff of Switzerland’s contemporary art fair celebrates art of all kinds, including the art of the deal and Miami’s favorite pastime: Partying.

For one long weekend, Dec. 3-6, thousands of VIPs will eye and sometimes buy — a good test in this economy — artwork by 2,000 artists from around the world. The biggest salons are in the Miami Beach Convention Center, but shows, lectures and parties stretch from museums and studios from North Miami Beach to Wynwood, the Design District and Coral Gables, Miami’s artiest neighborhoods.

The crowds are a thrill for artists. “You make art for people to see,’’ says Juan Valadez, acting director of the Rubell Family Collection, which kicks off “Beg Borrow and Steal,” its big annual exhibit during Basel. “Everyone is in Miami: Artists, gallerists and collectors. It gives them a chance to get seen.”

“4-Color Barbara” — Deborah Kass, 1992. Four panels, acrylic and screen print on canvas. The Rubell Family Collection “Beg Borrow and Steal” exhibit

The spectacle and wildly diverse selection puts Miami at the center of the elite art world for a few days and reminds Floridians without VIP tickets that the city is an endless gallery of world-class art year-round.

Miami has blossomed in every medium. It has a huge body of generous collectors and supporters who open museums, galleries and their own homes and are not afraid of progressive art.

An art scene this big doesn’t vanish when Art Basel folds its tents. Art fans will have plenty to see any time of year. In the past 20 years, Miami’s working artists and designers have reclaimed dicey warehouse and loft neighborhoods west of Biscayne Boulevard, from downtown north through the MiMo zone.

Rosa De la Cruz with “Untitled” ? (America #3) — Felix González-Torres, 1992. Sixty-two feet long, 15 watt light bulbs, extension cords, porcelain light sockets. [Photo:CM Guerrero]

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a city where people make such a public display of their art,’’ Valadez says. At the Rubell, that amounts to 28 galleries in a big red warehouse in Wynwood. It’s filled this year with 74 artists, both new and those who inspired them — from Andy Warhol to Jeff Koons.

Not far away is the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, 45,000 square feet for the collector’s large sculptures and installations, modern and vintage photography and video. This season’s stars include Miro and Noguchi and life-size figures of George Segal.

A unique art supporter is Rosa de la Cruz, a Cuban immigrant who is one of the city’s biggest collectors of contemporary art along with her husband, Carlos. She’s known for great Basel parties and will open a big warehouse in the Design District to put some of her collection on display. That’s in addition to the home on Key Biscayne where they and the rest of the art live.

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