MIAMI BEACH, FL - From
December 3 through 6, 2009, Miami Beach,
will be home to the
8th edition of
Art Basel Miami Beach, the
international art show. More than 250 leading galleries from North America,
Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa will take part. Chosen by renowned
gallerists of the Art Basel Miami Beach Selection Committee, the galleries will
show works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Special
sectors are devoted to very recent artworks, curated exhibits, performance, and
art in public spaces.
This year, the layout of Art Basel Miami Beach will be extensively
redesigned, including larger spaces for many galleries, and a new floorplan
designed to improve the gallery exhibition and visitor experience inside the
convention center. Art Galleries, the main section of the show, will feature
more than 180 galleries from all continents.
For Art Basel Miami Beach 2009 the Selection Committee has chosen 28 galleries
to present an
Art
Kabinett - separate areas within the booths of the Art
Galleries sector, providing a space to exhibit both single artists' works and
thematic group exhibitions spotlighting the curatorial skills of the
gallerists. The projects in this sector of the show feature a wide array of
artists, ranging from emerging artists such as Jakub Julian Ziotkowski, Haegue
Yang and Latifa Echakhch to historical figures like Marcel Duchamp, George
Grosz and Jack Tworkov. Further highlights include projects by Olafur Eliasson,
Anish Kapoor, Richard Prince and Wim Delvoye. Group shows include exhibitions
titled “Ninety Years of Bauhaus” and “Aspects of Pop Art”.
The
Art Nova
sector serves as a platform for the galleries of Art Basel Miami Beach to
present works produced in the last two years, by a maximum of three artists.
This year 64 international galleries have been chosen for the sector by the
Selection Committee. Works by more than 130 artists from around the globe are
on display, including 17 solo shows, featuring artists such as Marc Bijl, Valie
Export, Rashid Rana, Dan Attoe, Michael Beutler, Monir Shahroudy
Farmanfarmaian, Jose Dávila and Marine Hugonnier.
The
Art Positions
sector - focuses on special projects by young artists and galleries, and
formerly situated at Collins Park - will now be sited in the center of the
Miami Beach Convention Center and features works by artists such as Renate
Lorenz, Falke Pisano, Ulla von Brandenburg, Agathe Snow, Egill Saebjornsson,
Reena Spaulings and Marcel Broodthaers.
Art Projects,
curated for the first time this year by independent curator Patrick Charpenel
of Guadalajara, Mexico, features 13 projects by internationally renowned
artists such as Santiago Sierra, Claire Fontaine, William Pope.L, Rirkrit
Tiravanija, and Franz West, selected from proposals by the galleries of Art
Basel Miami Beach. The projects will be installed in the outdoor public spaces
of Miami Beach, within close proximity to the Oceanfront area and the Miami
Beach Convention Center.
The totally new
Oceanfront
environment will be created by Los Angeles artist Pae White, commissioned by
Art Basel Miami Beach and Creative Time, the legendary New York-based public
art organization, and host a daily program including the Art Basel
Conversations, Art Perform, Art Video and Art Film. For the 2009 premiere of
the Oceanfront, Pae White will create an immersive and interactive cityscape
that will provide a new experience with each visit. By day, large color blocks
will dominate the landscape. At night, these colors blocks transform into a
shadowy group of buildings that house various merchants and performers.
Now located at the Oceanfront, the
Art
Basel Conversations will be inaugurated by an Artist Talk
premiere, which this year features Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. For the following
Art Basel Conversations, topics include “Museum Directors: Change in
Generation”, “Art Collections in Latin America” and “The Future of the Museum:
The Portable Museum”.
Art Video,
curated by Creative Time, will involve screenings of videos by Tom Sachs and
The Neistat Brothers, Marc Horowitz, Jill Magid, Kon Trubkovich, followed by
discussions with the artists.
Art Perform
features an intensified program of longer performances by rising international
artists. This program will again be conceived by curator Jens Hoffmann,
director of the CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco. It will take place on
Thursday and Saturday at 9 pm and feature performances by Kelly Nipper, Kris
Martin, Simon Fujiwara, Claire Fontaine, and Mario Garcia Torres / Loris
Gréaud.
This year's
Art Film
event offers an exclusive work-in-progress sneak preview of the feature
documentary film “Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child.”, preceded by a
panel with a selection of the film's participants, moderated by Bob Colacello.
“Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child” is directed by Tamra Davis and
features a long and never-before-seen interview with Jean-Michel Basquiat
(1960-1988) shortly before his death. Art Film is curated by Zurich film
connaisseur This Brunner.
