MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA.- The second edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, the International Art Show, closed its doors on Sunday, December 7, 2003. The exhibiting galleries, the world press and the international public rated Art Basel Miami Beach positively, and again spoke of a successful and exciting event. The superior quality of works of art, good to excellent sales results, and distinguished visitors from all over the world have made Art Basel Miami Beach the most important art show in the USA. Many galleries commented that they even met new clients at the fair and more collectors from around the nation and the globe. Many famous artists and celebrities of the entertainment industry also attended the show. The 175 exhibitors from the USA, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa said farewell to their 30’000 visitors after five days packed with events, discoveries and successful sales. Samuel Keller, Director of Art Basel Miami Beach, stated, «The successful second edition clearly confirmed Art Basel Miami Beach to be the No 1 art fair of the Americas. Everything was bigger and better, and Miami was a wonderful host to the international art world.»
Art Basel Miami Beach is an event that combines an art show with an exciting program of special exhibitions, visits to private art collections and crossover events with music, film, sports, architecture and design. The mild weather of South Florida welcomed 30’000 visitors from every continent to Miami Beach. The 175 leading galleries from the world’s important art cities, the international press and the public agreed that the second Art Basel Miami Beach was a complete success. The prominent list of participants makes this international art show the most outstanding modern and contemporary art show on the American continent.
Art Basel Miami Beach attracted thousands of the leading collectors, artists, curators, art critics, art dealers and art lovers from around the globe. 700 representatives of the media visited this international art event. At the Vernissage before the official opening, Art Basel Miami Beach had the privilege of welcoming 6’500 important guests.
More than 60 museum groups from all over the world flocked to Art Basel Miami Beach. New York delegations came from the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the New Museum. Others came from SF MOMA in San Francisco, from the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, from the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, from the Menil Collection in Houston, and from many other US cities. Many more museum and collector groups came from Canada, Spain, Latin America and Italy. Curators and private collectors from all the world’s important art capitals gathered information on the best that the international art market has to offer. In addition to important representatives of the American and European art scene there were many art aficionados from Latin America.
The art experts present rated the quality and variety of the works on display at Art Basel Miami Beach as excellent. The exhibiting galleries spared no effort to show the most interesting works of art and to present them in carefully designed exhibitions. Various booths showed thematically grouped exhibits and one-person shows of artists. Many galleries presented newly created works of art, video works and large installations. There were paintings and paper works, as well as photography in evidence at the show.
The newly created sector «Art Nova», where 13 galleries from eight countries benefited from attractive rates for presenting their artists’ latest works, attracted great attention from visitors as well as the media. Visitors and families alike also made much use of the daily guided tours in English and Spanish, and the newly launched «Art Kids» kindergarten, both organized in collaboration with the art magazine Art Nexus.
The special section of the art show attracting the most attention was the container village «Art Positions» on Miami’s beautiful South Beach, and the «Art Video Lounge» with its futuristic architecture at the Miami Beach Public Library. In «Art Positions», 20 young galleries from nine countries benefited from more economically-priced rates to show their cutting-edge programs. Here, the international public gathered for a Happy Hour on the beach every evening to enjoy the sunset accompanied by hot rhythms and cold drinks. The program of the latest video works by artists from around the globe, curated by Chrissie Iles (Whitney Museum, New York) and shown in the «Art Video Lounge», attracted an interested audience.
Another special crowd-puller proved to be «Art Statements» - sixteen one-person shows of young artists from 11 countries in the Miami Beach Convention Center. The participants were very pleased with the great interest shown in this platform, which not only rewarded them with good sales but also brought them contacts with many curators from around the world and great media interest.
The public’s appetite for contemporary art appears to be stronger than ever. According to surveys by the Show Management, all the exhibiting galleries succeeded in finding interested purchasers for their works. The majority of participants spoke of good to excellent sales results. Objects were sold in all price categories, from works by young artists costing less than US $5,000 to museum-quality masterpieces with price tags in the millions. The yellow-dot campaign initiated by the Show Management and the Selection Committee, indicated that exhibits cost less than US $5,000. This sparked great interest from the exhibiting galleries as well as from the international visitors. The attention of collectors was focused both on contemporary art and museum-quality masterpieces costing millions. It is pleasing that works by young, sometimes still unknown, artists also sold excellently. The international art market is strongly supported by private collectors, while most public institutions still have access to limited funds. According to statements by many galleries at Art Basel Miami Beach, there is fortunately no lack of young collectors. The society’s interest in contemporary art and its pace setters have risen sharply over the past few years.
«UBS is proud to be a sponsor of Art Basel Miami Beach for the second consecutive year. This festival brings to an American-based audience the experience of Art Basel, which continues to be the leading and most prestigious forum in the art world. We are pleased to be associated with such a fine event,» said John Costas, Chairman and CEO of UBS Investment Bank.
The extensive program of receptions, events and panel discussions taking place in conjunction with Art Basel Miami Beach attracted a large international audience. The concept of the crossover events with film, sports, design and music worked well. The film night, where Kathryn Bigelow presented her movie «Strange Days» was attended by over a 1’000 guests. The concert of the New World Symphony Percussion Consort with works by contemporary composers on Friday night was also well attended. The invitations to the «Art Loves Music» event with Lenny Kravitz were snapped up in no time at all. A highlight of the events schedule was the appearance of the «Greatest of all time», Muhammad Ali, at the book launching event hosted by the publisher Taschen, that includes Will Smith, P. Daddy, Edda James and Jeff Koons.
The «Art Basel Conversations», discussing the art of collecting, architecture for art collections, and private art collections going public, were fully booked every day. They featured leading curators, private collectors and architects, including Glenn Lowry (Director, The Museum of Modern Art, New York), Cuanthemoc Medina (Independent curator and critic, advisor for the Latin American art collection of Tate Modern, London), Barbara Bloemink (Director of the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, New York), Steven Learner (Architect, Steven Learner Studio, New York), and Rafael A Romero D (Director, Colección Cisneros, Venezuela).
The biggest crowd was attracted by the «Art Loves Design» party in the Design District of Miami on Thursday night. Over 10’000 visitors were interested in the many art and design exhibitions. Another popular feature was the series of visits organized by Art Basel Miami Beach to Greater Miami’s most important private art collections (The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Rubell Family Collection, Rosa & Carlos de la Cruz Collection, Debra & Dennis Scholl Collection, Michelle & Jason Rubell Collection, Dacra Collection, Tom Healy and Fred Hochberg Collection, Ruth & Richard Shack Collection, Monica & Javier G. Mora Collection), which generously opened their doors to the international public. The museums of South Florida spared no effort to present interesting special exhibitions and also reported a great influx of visitors during Art Basel Miami Beach. BMW provided a car service for the VIP guests to take them around Greater Miami.
Cooperation with the representatives of the City of Miami Beach and the Dade-County worked excellently and contributed significantly to the success of this cultural event. The Host Committee, consisting of 200 leading personalities from culture, politics and business headed by Chairpersons Norman and Irma Braman, made sure that the international guests felt at home in South Florida. The Art Basel Miami Beach Jr. Host Committee, chaired by Juan Carlos Arcila-Duque, Susanne Birbragher and Jason & Michelle Rubell , also contributed significantly to the success of the event.
The elaborately designed catalog book, which provides an extensive overview of works currently offered on the international art market, was highly popular among visitors. A few copies are still available from D.A.P. in New York (toll free phone +1/800 338 2665, fax +1/212 627 9484) for the USA or from Hatje Cantz Publishers in Germany: fax +49/711 4405 220, (payment by credit card).
In summary - The second edition of Art Basel Miami Beach was once again highly praised by the international art world, as well as the people of South Florida. The high quality of the works, the broad array of artistic genres on display, the excellent sales and the glittering side events made Art Basel Miami Beach a successful and exciting event. Over a short space of time, Art Basel Miami Beach has established itself as the leading art show in the USA and become the favorite winter meeting place for the international art world. The next Art Basel Miami Beach takes place from December 2 to 5, 2004.
Art 35 Basel - Art 35 Basel, Switzerland, will take place from June 16 to 21, 2004. A number of 850 galleries from all continents have applied to participate. The Art Committee has chosen 270. They will present works by over 1,500 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Special sectors show one-person exhibitions by young artists, graphics and films. The «Art Unlimited» hall offers artists and gallery owners a platform where works can be shown that transcend the boundaries of exhibition booths at art shows, and often also those of galleries, museums and other traditional locations for the presentation of art. On Monday, June 21, 2004, Art Basel is launching the new «Professional Day». It is aimed at curators, workers, dealers and collectors. Furthermore, there will be the «Art Basel Conversations» with leading personalities of the international art world. Art Basel is the largest and most significant art show, and one of the prestigious cultural events, in Europe.
