Art Basel Miami 2007 - Part 2

Visiting Art Basel Miami is like going to a huge museum show where you can see the best in international contemporary arts. The thing with museums is that you can admire and covet everything you see on their walls but nothing is available for sale, hence the name "museum". The artworks are usually part of their permanent collection through acquisitions or on loans from other museums and private collectors. At Art Basel you can actually take home a Picasso, a Miro or an Andy Warhol original, hence you have the big bucks - I mean BIG BUCKS! That's what makes this fair so cool, it's that besides getting your creative juices going, you can actually dream of owning a museum-quality piece of art. And there are tons of it to choose from. It's is overwhelming to see the sheer quantity of top names that are displayed on it's many gallery stands. I lost count of how many Warhols I spotted by weaving through all those hallways. Making a fashion analogy: it's like walking through a big shopping mall which every other shop sells Prada, Dior or Gucci runway pieces - not key chains or sunglasses - but couture level clothing. Welcome to Art Basel!

Here are a few more images from a few of my favorite artists that I came across during my art excursion in Miami on Sunday. From the top: Damien Hirst, Kehinde Wiley, Candida Hofer, John Currie, Julian Opie, Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara below.

Click on the artit's name to view older Little-Pumpkins posts on them.

Kehinde Wiley Tapestries

Cerealart's newest edition "The Gypsy Fortune-Teller" by Kehinde Wiley is an elegant 76 x 96 inch tapestry that was woven in Belgium. Recently "The Gypsy Fortune-Teller" was photographed installed in the ballroom at the historic Powel House in Philadelphia.

I couldn't find any pricing info on the site but I am sure it will cost a pretty penny. I really like and respect Wiley's work - urban thugs in classical painting settings - and his technique is amazing.

Doesn't it look GREAT in there? Love it!

High Art Beach Towels

Jump-start your holiday shopping, or replenish your stash of towels before guests arrive, with bath or beach towels decorated with images by the artists Cindy Sherman, Elizabeth Peyton, Jeff Koons, and Kehinde Wiley. The limited-edition towels will be sold at the Raleigh Hotel pool in Miami Beach during the annual Art Basel Miami Beach show, from Dec. 5 to 9. They will also be sold through Target.com and Worksonwhatever.com, starting Nov. 19.

The 60-by-70-inch, 100 percent cotton terry towels are $50 each, and the proceeds will be used to support public art projects around the country.

Via The New York Times

Kehinde Wiley @ Cerealart

Kehinde Wiley is best known for his paintings which reference specific works by Titian and Tiepolo. He also incorporates into his paintings a range of art historical and vernacular styles, from the French Rococo to the contemporary urban street. Wiley describes his approach as 'interrogating the notion of the master painter, at once critical and complicit.' He makes figurative paintings that quote historical sources and position young black men within that field of power. His figures, sometimes larger than life size, are depicted in poses of power and spiritual awakening. For his limited edition busts Wiley puts his own spin on sacred and secular themes of the Renaissance and Baroque, giving new meaning to codes of gesture and dress, and provoking a reconsideration of stereotypes about masculinity, race and class in our society today.
The first bust is a Bernini-influenced, Baroque-style work positioning a young man dressed in contemporary urban street attire styled as a 17th-century monarch. The second portrays a strong, athletic young man dressed in street attire, holding a book, sceptre and a cognac bottle.
Available at Cerealart, from US$ 1,200-1,400, cast marble dust and resin, editions of 250 each.

(Click images to enlarge)

My birthday is still a few months away but add that to my wish list please!