Sunday, 10 December 2006

Bigger and brasher than ever, Art Basel Miami Beach just left a trail of creative destruction in Miami that should give the art world a collective hangover until Christmas. The show has become so large and so popular that artists, collectors and dealers all complain it gets harder and harder to get any work done, but this year proved that you simply must be there whether your liver likes it or not.

Hub Culture hosted a Salon on design (more details later) which explored a whole range of issues. Some of the other hot appointments included Bruce Weber's party at the Raleigh and Visionaire's colouring bar at the same location, the UBS party on Wednesday night, and Nadja Swarovski's work with Crystal Palace.

This year felt very global, and the standouts included a Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima, who's simple Counter was elegant and tasteful.

Charles Sandison featured Reading Glass, a cool video art installation, and Sebastian Gordin, an Argentinian artist who creates beautiful dripping installation pieces were both notable.

Hrafnkell Sigurdsson, an Icelandic artist represented by i8, featured a series of cool tryptchs that folded onto themselves, giving you two photographs for the price of one. This is one to take note of for already selling top price in Christie's Nordic Art and Design sale.

On the inside: desolate Icelandic landscapes. On the outside: photographs of trash. The interactivity of the piece, coupled with an agressive composition between the two scenes, were pretty cool.

We also liked Lithuanian artist Zilvinas Kempinas and his "O" (Between Fans). His gimmick for the show included two fans set opposite to eachother, blowing a piece of recording tape in the air between the two. Not exactly practical, but fun to watch anyway.