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Li Shurui, Untitled, 2012, acrylic on canvas;

Li Shurui, Inner Rainbow, 2011, acrylic on canvas;

Zhu Jinshi, Epoch Color, 2010, oil on canvas;

photos courtesy of Rubell Family Collection, Miami

ARTS & dESIGn

art basel and its approximately 18 satellite fairs are the “silk road” of the art world; a vibrant

marketplace where artworks are sold on extremely short timelines, where emerging artists

get exposure to internationally renowned collectors, and where beginning collectors can find

artworks from all areas of the globe at all prices.

The fairs, however, are not simply a marketplace for collectors; rather they are a site for first

hand cultural exploration. the art fairs represent “a co-mingling of international aesthetics and

concerns, a visual cultural symposium,” says andrew Goldstein, editor of artspace. although i

have extolled the virtues of the internet for providing the ability to discover art on the other side

of the world or in geographically remote places, there is no substitute for seeing art in person,

meeting the team of gallerists who believe in the quality of the work and the reputation of the

artist, and in some cases, even having the opportunity to meet the artist. and the best of the

best is there to behold at the fairs. art basel, the main fair and namesake of the weeklong

art gathering, represents a microcosm of global trends and interests, showcasing 258 leading

international galleries from across 31 countries.

While there is generally more international presence at the fairs, one must ask, given that

these cultures have increased access to one another, has Contemporary art become more of a

melting pot where, through this greater exposure, the specific styles once attributed to certain

cultures become mixed together and what we are really seeing is a reflection of global trends in

contemporary art?

ARt FAiRS ARe not JuSt FoR BuyeRS

each year, art galleries, artists, institutions and collectors from around the world

flock to sunny South Beach, Miami to check out the best art of the moment.

Bleecker Street Arts Club new york Head Curator JeSSiCA Hodin recounts

highlights from 2013’s year-end spectacle.

Bleecker street arts Club is an innovative, contemporary art and design space in downtown New York.

www.BSACny.CoM

Nor are art fairs a place solely for art world insiders. even

if you don’t hold a Vip card, there are numerous ways

to engage through integrated activities, some associated

with the fair and others independent. art basel itself held

a vibrantly diverse program of talks, performances, and

film screenings. And outside the walls of the convention

centre, one can find anything from open-air concerts with

cultural music tastemakers such as French dJs spinning

decidedly trendy parisian club music, to a new fair called

prizm dedicated to showing the works of artists from the

african diaspora. these representations of culture bring

a strong international presence and mood to the week’s

menu of activities.

other fairs with lower price points such as Nada (New

art dealer’s alliance), scope, pulse, and untitled also

have a solid mix of galleries from around the world and

pose very interesting cultural juxtapositions. stereotypical

Japanese kitsch and playful aesthetics were represented

in two booths at the Nada fair: XYZ Collective (tokyo,

Japan) staged a colourful installation of fake sunny side

up eggs bearing purple yolks by soshiro Matsubara; and

MuJiiN-to production’s booth, also from tokyo, displayed

lyota Yagi’s 3d paintings required to be viewed through

those retro gimmicky plastic 3d glasses. Yet, in between

both wild Japanese galleries was the Green Gallery from

Milwaukee, usa who brought works by spencer sweeney

and anicka Y with a more traditional, painterly aesthetic.

by the same token, there is plenty of cross cultural mixing,

as we all know that aesthetics can travel fast, artists can

study and have residencies all over the world, thereby

picking up as well as depositing cultural morsels, and news

of successfully selling styles can disperse the quickest!

the famed rubell Family Collection, free and open to the

public, showcased “28 Chinese,” one of their most exciting

exhibitions in years. “the show displays how Chinese art

has changed since the first wave of contemporary work

gained world attention in the early 2000s. At first, much

of it dealt with the omnipresent symbols of the regime

in power for decades – pictures of Mao were riffed on

endlessly… Now artists have turned inward.”1 Mera rubell

says, “they are dealing with a loss of culture. there’s

a lot of dealing with how to maintain the power of the

individual.” it was a chance for anyone to see compendium

of Chinese contemporary culture, and even don and Mera

rubell, the patrons of the collection along with their son

Jason, admit, “the excitement is discovery.” 1 ted Loos, Cultured Magazine, Winter 2013, page 136.

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