This year’s Art Basel Miami Beach — the 10th edition — will be bigger than ever: new or bigger events, a secret celebratory party, at least a few new galleries.
The fair’s success has been amazing: I recall the doubts many people, including me, had. Was Miami the right place? Was December the right time? Etc. etc.
It all turned out pretty well, obviously. The art communities in Miami and Miami Beach are much more vibrant than many could have imagined, at least for part of the year. Certainly, the hotels and restaurants do well from the fair. As Marc Spiegler, co-director of Art Basel (the organizer), told me recently, “virtually all of [the fair’s main galleries] do some kind of dinner or cocktail reception on opening night.” That’s above and beyond the functions of the fair itself and the many art institutions and collectors there.
In the special “Fine Arts & Exhibitions” section of The New York Times, now available online but in tomorrow’s paper, I go behind-the-scenes of some of the players at ABMB — David Zwirner Gallery, Blum & Poe Gallery, the Fairchild Gardens (which stages its annual art exhibition during ABMB), and the fair itself. Here’s the link.
It’s not all fun and games, though — and that section of my article had to be cut for space reasons. So I’m posting some of it here:
…A gallery’s owner, directors and sales people …[are there], not only to staff the booth, but also to entertain clients, go to the fair’s events, and visit area collections and maybe satellite fairs. Galleries procure event invitations for their clients, and often escort them, too. Who does what when? It’s a puzzle, maintained by someone at every gallery who tries to spread the load fairly evenly. It can be exhausting.
Here’s what Greg Lulay, a director of the Zwirner gallery, did during eight days at Art Basel Miami Beach last year: He spent two full days installing the booth, and one dismantling it. In between, he worked in the booth from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, preceded by a morning sales meeting, and from noon to 8 p.m. for the next four days. He visited private collections on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings.
At night, he attended the Zwirner gallery’s own cocktails and dinner party with clients at the Raleigh Hotel on Wednesday; the Miami Art Museum reception, followed by dinner with clients, on Thursday; dinner with clients on Friday; the ArtForum Magazine party on Saturday, and the Art Basel Miami Beach closing party on Sunday.
Sunday morning was free.
Not that this is heroic work, but having worked ABMB as a journalist, I thought it was appropriate to outline the long hours so many people put into to making ABMB (or any fair) a success.
That’s a picture of the Hauser + Wirth booth at last year’s ABMB, above.
Photo Credit: Courtesty of ABMB