Art Basel takes place at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, USA. Over 500,000 square feet of exhibition space will host the Galleries, Nova, Positions, Edition, Kabinett, Survey and Magazines sectors, as well as Conversations and Salon. Public artworks are shown nearby at Collins Park, while Film is presented across two venues, inside the MBCC and in the outdoor setting of Sound Scape Park.
In 2014 the show attracted an attendance of 73,0000 over the five show days.
In July, Art Basel appointed Noah Horowitz, who had served as Executive Director of the Armory Show in New York since 2011, as the first Director Americas. The Public sector of Art Basel, whose Lead Partner is UBS, will open on Wednesday,
December 2, with a special evening performance program featuring Xavier Cha (b.1980,
United States), Ryan Gander (b. 1975, United Kingdom), Pope.L (b. 1955, United
States) and Yan Xing (b. 1986, China).
Nicholas Baume’s curatorial premise, ‘Metaforms’, will consider how art making is, at its
core, a process of transformation. The manners in which artists conceptually and
physically reimagine objects or symbols will be explored, and in doing so add new layers
of significance to what was once familiar in order to reveal unexpected truths.
Several of the works will be participatory. Jacob Kassay’s (b. 1984, United States)
‘Untitled’ (2012-2015) is designed to provide a place for individuals to gather together in
conversation. ‘Healing Pavilion’, a gemstone-encrusted sculpture by Sam Falls (b. 1984,
United States), will similarly provide communal seating, in this case enhanced with
metaphysical properties through minerals such as amethyst, orange calcite, jasper, lapis
lazuli and rose quartz. Other work will convert inanimate objects into ‘moving beings’, as
with ‘Mountaineer Prototype’ (2015) by James Capper (b. 1987, United Kingdom).
Widely known for his large-scale, man-operated machines, Capper’s brightly-colored
kinetic sculpture will walk around on four telescopic legs, remotely operated via a control
panel.
Power, manipulation and structures of oppression will be implied themes in several
works. ‘Ukpo.Edo’ (1993/1996) is a stainless steel installation by Melvin Edwards (b.
1937, United States) comprised of large metal links, a poignant symbol of both the history of slavery and oppression, as well as the interrelation between people and cultures. Matt Johnson’s (b. 1978, United States) ‘Twisted Jersey Barrier’ (2015), evocative of a
warped concrete highway divider, and Sterling Ruby’s (b. 1972, Germany) ‘Big Yellow
Mama’ (2013), based on the notorious Alabama electric chair, both reference objects
designed to exercise control. Robert Wilson’s (b. 1941, United States) tall, slender chairs
from the original 1976 production of ‘Einstein on the Beach’ will evoke a trio of elevated
figures standing in judgment.
Newark artists have been represented at Art Basel for years now. Akintola Hanif, photojournalist, filmmaker, and Editor-In-Chief of HYCIDE Magazine said of his experience there, “Basel is the one place you can find artists and art aficionados of every genre, ethnicity and region; all together celebrating the visual arts. I swear it seems like every artist, art lover and art groupie in the world is out there. You can feel the money in the air and the vibes are always on 10.”
Hanif said, “It’s the best place to go to get inspired, see what the competition is doing, meet the competition, rub shoulders with the best or get your hustle on. I love it and the (art) parties are through the roof! I’ll be out there again this year releasing the next issue of HYCIDE at Fade to Black our annual art party with MoCADA museum, AFRO-PUNK, okayafrica and more. HYCIDE x Basel Baby!”
As in the past three years, a selection of artworks will remain installed in Collins Park until February 1, 2016 as part of ‘tc: temporary contemporary’, a city-wide temporary public art program which is present by the Bass Museum of Art in partnership with the City of Miami Beach.
