It has been two and a half years since I left Miami Beach, but I was ecstatic as soon I felt her warm, humid embrace again. What took me so long?
While I was there, I even made a little playlist to capture the spirit of my experience on South Beach.
Give it a listen while you’re here. If you like, feel free to subscribe on Spotify
As for Art Basel Miami, this was not my first experience but it has certainly been my best.
This is due, at least in part, to my recent exposure to the LA art scene since working with up-and-coming LA artist Ty Joseph. I assist him with his online magazine, Exposures, and other various tasks related to the promotion of his art (including his first solo show, on exhibit now at Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts through January 31, 2019!
In fact, one of my very first tasks with him was reaching out on his behalf to galleries that would show at Art Basel Miami. The fruit of our efforts these last few months was having his work featured in, not one, but three major Art Basel shows this year:
- SCOPE Miami Beach
- Aqua Art Miami
- & Spectrum Miami/Red Dot
With roots in Miami and my new connections to the art world, it seemed only fitting that my reunion with South Beach should take place during Art Basel Week 2018.
Seeing a narrow window of opportunity the week before Basel, we finalized arrangements so I could accompany Ty with VIP Preview Passes to his shows.
Worlds collided as I got to meet more of Ty’s distinguished art friends, while he got dragged along to various clubs and Basel parties by way of my Miami Beach contacts, mwahaha…
Perhaps the most exciting part of the whole trip was seeing one of Ty’s pieces of artwork sell from SCOPE on the very first night.
We ran into his artist friend who was also showing there, Myles Hendrik, and snagged this quick picture with him in front of one of his large prints (which is good because I became an instant fan of his photography!)
Soon after, I spotted my friend Pedro waiting in line for free cocktails. After kissing hello (two besitos is the Miami custom) we got a few pictures together and discussed our plans for the remainder of the week.
A social butterfly with a knack for the finer things, Pedro Alvarado has been living and working as a VIP Concierge on Miami Beach for over 10 years. He specializes in facilitating the finest Miami Beach nightlife experiences, and I can always count on him to show me a good time. Feel free to follow him on Instagram and hit him up when you’re planning your next trip to Miami (or New York!)
In my dizzy excitement, I failed to take down the names of most of the other artists. Still, a few other pieces stood out to me enough to want to share them here.
If you recognize any of them, please let me know and I’ll happily update this post with a name and a link. Have a look below:
SCOPE 2018 Art Picks
Aqua 2018 Art Picks
Spectrum/Red Dot 2018 Art Picks
Still exhausted from our late flight in and a marathon of back to back art shows, I was really dragging by Thursday. I spent a little time recharging on the beach, enjoyed some guava pastries, sipped a cafecito, etc, etc.
By the evening, I had some of my spark back. Pedro and I got together for a Basel Party at the RUDOLF BUDJA GALLERY where I was given the most delicious, guilty, boozy dulce de leche non-vegan ice cream I should have never had… Plus, specialty cocktails served by handsome Latin men.
Ty met us there, then we all headed to STK to meet Pedro’s friend Arnel for a launch party for a designer. There we met several interesting characters, including an androgynous fashion stylist named Deylight and a mom-daughter blogging duo from Alabama (The Style That Binds Us.)
There was plenty more to do that evening, but I decided to turn in shortly after dinner in preparation for the weekend ahead.
I broke my Art Basel recap into two sections, not only because there was entirely too much content, but because the focus during Art Basel week in Miami is far different from the nightlife on the weekend.
Click here to continue to the Crypto Castle post with a full recap of the weekend!
xoxo
