Arts & Culture
Originally published on Thursday, 13th December 2012
Art Basel Initiation
For years now we’ve been saying we need to check out Art Basel, so when we got the call that a good friend was doing an event this year, we decided that the time was nigh.
What we expected: events with art. What we got: a typhoon of events (#SoBe stress), with some remarkable art that’s left a lasting impression.
Here are our highlights.
Pop ups:
Chez André (a cool, largely NYC crowd with karaokeing, of course), Silencio at Delano’s FDR, the roving Le Baron (we loved the circus location but it was a bit far out…), The Westway at Shore Club (with Demi looking understated and demure outside), Le Pompon at Hotel Victor and Amy Sacco’s Rec Room at the Gale.
UJ also loved:
The MOCA/Vanity Fair beach party with Lykke Li at The Raleigh, The Hole Gallery Party with A$AP Rocky at Delano, The Impossible Cool x Sonic Editions limited edition prints poolside at Freehand, the Louboutin boutique soiree (complete with Fiona Leahy-designed red emoticon drink trays) as well as Plane Text – planes towing poetry in the sky, LOVE IT – by the Morgans Hotel Group. Afternoons at Soho House were a highlight – the best Mexican roof menu and an even better beach BBQ menu – and the coolers at the foot of beach chairs were a nice touch too. Then there were the sunsets at the Mondrian (we still love the Delano, but Mondrian’s apartment-style rooms, with large terraces overlooking the water and Miami skyline, are pretty special). We also loved our trip to the Design District. Michael’s for lunch is a must (make a reso), the Architecture for Dogs is worth a peek and the inflatable Breakfast Tacos at Tiffani’s structure was memorable too.
And for the art?
UJ instantly fell in love with the main art fair. After we got over the overwhelming news that there were actually nine other fairs in town, we decided to hone in on one and got down to business at Art Basel. Running from room to room, taking in works from NYC to Zurich, Tokyo and everywhere in between, we thought this might just be one of our top five favourite days ever. We were less impressed with Design Miami – though we loved the building – and the same goes for NADA (aka New Art Dealers Alliance) the one alternative ‘fair’ we managed to check out.
The verdict:
Art Basel is the WMC all grown up. The art was unbeatable and we left feeling truly inspired. It will be interesting to see what happens in years to come, though. With so many events on (it seemed like every brand/publication was doing something) in the future the fair may have to go on for longer (like WMC) – or perhaps next time we’ll just have to be more organised. Either way, you can bet UJ will be there to see how it goes down.
Top Tips:
Get organised. There is so much on that you have to go with a game plan or you will end up with no plan. Everything operates by guestlist too, so make sure to get names on lists of the parties you want to attend. No list – no entry.
If you love art, culture, sunshine and people watching, you can’t really ask for a better pre-Christmas jaunt.
* Special thanks to Stevie King at Purple PR, Denny Lee at Another MOtive and Fiona Leahy.
www.basel.artbasel.com