How Art Basel Miami Changed My Very Soul

Last week, I attended Art Basel in Miami for the first time. I also went to SCOPE Miami, Wynwood Walls (and the whole Wynwood District), and the Juxtapoz Clubhouse.

I expected my mind to be blown and for the trip to be a good experience, but I never knew how much.

Here's what I liked best about each place.

Miami Beach in general: 
I've never been in a place where every single thing was so beautiful. Even Tokyo, NYC, LA, or London don't have the (almost) 100% rate of flawlessly gorgeous humans and buildings that inhabit Miami Beach. I felt seriously underdressed due to my minimalist fashion spree (had a short mental breakdown over it.) But after I recovered, I was newly enthralled with fashion, color, patterns, embellishments, and all the things I thought I'd left behind in my younger days. My fashion brain connects to my art brain, so it was joyous to feel so reinvigorated.

Art Basel:
The show is so huge that it's seriously overwhelming. This is the highest kind of art there is... the type of art that many people don't get, but that sells for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. It was so great to see art selling for insane gobs of cash, and to fill my eyeballs and brain with rows upon rows of gorgeous inspiration. This show truly helped me see that I should aim for a few giant, worthy pieces per year, instead of aiming to sell tons of lower-priced pieces. I also got to see a few original Cy Twomblies, and he is my favorite non-objective artist of all time. The most valuable thing I found here was the HIGH VIBE and HIGH ATTITUDE.

Seeing Cy Twombly's work in real life for the first time!

Loving earthy textural work lately.

Work by Franz Ackermann

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By Tim Okamura

SCOPE:
This is the show that has all the artists I know from all the magazines I read, and sites I follow. It's truly my element, and it was so exciting to see all the works from my art heroes in person. The show was also manageable enough to be seen in one day, though we went twice. All the gallery owners here were very friendly and chatty... it is a relaxed vibe compared to formal Art Basel.

Brian Viveros @ Thinkspace Booth

James Bullough @ Thinkspace Booth

Gosia

Ysabel Lemay

Wolfgang Grinschgl

Ernst Coppejans

Roberta Coni

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Juxtapoz Clubhouse:
We took an Uber to "real" Miami to see the Clubhouse. It wasn't that big, but the percentage of scream-worthy art was SO HIGH! (Plus admission was free!) Once again I got to see all my art heroes including some new people. I don't know why I didn't know of Brazilian artist Mateus Bailon before, but his humongous fantasy botanical piece was in itself worth a trip here. My brain was going crazy!

Mateus Bailon

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Audrey Kawasaki

Wynwood Walls:
Another short Uber ride away was the Wynwood Arts District, which I guess is like many of the new hipster arts districts popping up in cities where the ghetto has become cool, street-artsy, and trendy shops everywhere. It reminded me of Plaza District in OKC times 10,000. I got to see the new murals by my utter faves Audrey Kawasaki, David Choe, Tristan Eaton, Tatiana Suarez, among other total art stars. Ueeeeeeeeee I was freaking out! The independent shops and restaurants were awesome too! I felt totally at home here.

David Choe

Tristan Eaton

Tatiana Suarez

What I learned: *Indigo Montoya voice* There is too much, lemme sum up:

· DRESS WILD
· PAINT BIG
· THINK HIGHER, PRICE HIGHER
· GET GALLERY

I also want to make floral shoes and paint baroque patterns on nude-colored dresses with puffy paint. And I want to buy handcrafted ombré pom-pom earrings from some maker in South America. And I want to just go to Home Depot and buy fifty linen drop cloths and paint on them all.

Have a nice Hanukkah/Christmas/New Year.

Inspired Juuri