By Regina Suárez del Real Sanchez De Tagle
Art Basel is an annual art fair that showcases some of the world’s leading artists, galleries, and collectors of contemporary and modern art. Based in Basel, Hong Kong, and Miami Beach, Art Basel offers art enthusiasts the opportunity to explore different art forms such as painting, photography, sculpture and film. Serving as a platform for artists to develop networking opportunities, Art Basel has become an important player for the development of the art world. In its 2019 Miami Beach edition, the fair received over 70,000 visitors and showcased over 250 different galleries.
The Organizing Committee:
Marc Spiegler
Born in 1968, Marc Spiegler is a American / French art journalist with experience writing for magazines such as The New York Magazine The Art, and ART+Auction. He is currently ranked as one of the 25 most influetial in the art world by Art Review’s Power 100.
Noah Horowitz
Named Art Basel’s America’s Director in 2015, Noah Horowitz has published for multiple magazines such as The New York Times and The Art Newspaper. In 2011 his doctoral thesis “Cotemporary Art in a Global Financial Market”, was published by Princeton University.
Adeline Ooi
Art Basel’s Asia Director Adeline Ooi is a Fine Arts graduate from Central Saint Martins University in London. In 2009 Ooi became a co-founder of RogueArt, a cultural foundation in Malaysia, she is also a former recipient of the Nippon Foundation’s Asian Public Intellectual fellowship grant.
Basel’s History:
1970’s: Ernst Beyeler, Trudl Bruckner, and Balz Hilt celebrate the inauguration of Art Basel’s first edition in their hometown of Basel Switzerland.
1980’s: Art Basel becomes a leading platform for the promotion of photography.
1990’s: In the Stadkino Basel a film sector is finally debuted.
2000’s: First Basel edition of Miami Beach is inaugurated with over 160 galleries from 23 countries.
2010’s: Launch of Art Basel Cities Initiative and the publication of the Annual Market Report in 2017.
Names you need to know from Art Basel Miami 2019
Artist： Mickalene Thomas
By creating eye-catching collages , artist Mickalene Thomas uses her art to communicate important social issues such as the Black is Beautiful Movement. Taking her inspiration from magazines such as Jet, and different African-American Icons including Naomi Sims; Thomas has found the perfect way to connect with her audience and bring forward important discussions.
Thomas is the perfect example of how contemporary artists are shaping the way current social issues are viewed both in the United States and in a global scale.
Gallerist：Mendes Wood DM
Run by Felipe DMAB, Matthew Wood, and Pedro Mendes, this gallery is currently celebrating its ten year anniversary. By bringing art and architecture together, this successful gallery’s mission is to encourage the exchange of Brazilian Art with the rest of the world.
In the Art Basel video series, Mendes Wood DM explains that galleries exist as a crucial mediator party between artist and audience, and are responsible for setting what they describe as an almost ‘meditative’ state for they enjoyment of art.
Collector：Takeo Abayashi
In a five minute video comissioned for this year’s Art Basel Miami edition Takeo Abayashi takes us on a fascinating tour of his home that currently serves as a living artwork.
Based in Tokyo Japan, Abayashi’s home over-sees a new artistic comission every two years placing (as stated by Abayashi) art over practicality.
This famous businessman’s house was designed by architect Tadao Ando and currently holds pieces by Marc Quinn, Yayoi Kusama, and Daniel Buren among others.
Editor:
Born and raised in Querétaro, México, Regina Suárez del Real holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Creation and Development. With experience working at photography festivals and volunteering at temporary exhibitions for museums such as Museo de Memoria y Tolerancia in MX City. Passionate reader, writer and traveller @reginasrst
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