Torquato’s Golden Ticket through Art Basel, 2015
Torquato’s Golden Ticket through Art Basel, 2015
Simply put, Art Basel 2015 was a fr#*kin incredible whirlwind of inspiration. I was a first timer and fortunately I had the best possible tour guide by the name of Gregory de la Haba.
Gregory is an incredible artist and writer but he also publishes Whitehot Magazine which produced a special issue for Art Basel. What this means is that every fair, opening, party or VIP event opened it’s arms to Gregory and I was right there to ride in with his crew. Looking back a couple of weeks later, it all seems like a bit of a blur. Fortunately, I snapped some photos along the way, here are some highlights I can share:
Fresh off the plane, I learned the ‘official first stop’ for a proper Art Basel experience is Club Deuce for a cold beer.
We drove to Wynwood to pick up photographer David Jay and see his new Miami studio. Along the way I caught a glimpse of this epic Cleon Peterson wall and was reminded to beware of the land sharks.
Shark Toof
When I first saw David Jays work, it stopped me in my tracks. Intense, bold, provocative, insightful beautiful and so much more…
Our first event was the Jeffery Deitch / Larry Gagosian UNREALISM preview party. Apparently this was a pretty big deal as there was a heavy police presence, snipers included.
Once inside, the location and work certainly didn’t disappoint.
The Mr Chow life size candle was a hit.
The Richard Prince Untitled series was my favorite.
We swung by a party for Lenny Kravitz which was put on by Leica. The series of photos on display were from Lenny’s POV as fans took pictures of him.
Once inside the Main Basel Fair, the works of legends, the dreams and the inspirations all came to life.
I found myself drawn to certain works and this is where the real fun began.
Being on your feet all day can be tiring. Davidoff sponsored a lounge where you were encouraged to get off your feet, have a glass of champagne and sample their cigars.
Next up was the Untitled fair and as you might guess there was more incredible work!!
These works by Ronald Davis were some of my very favorites.
Inside the SCOPE Fair, on the same day that the tragic events were unfolding in San Bernardino, this piece by Sabrina Rocca certainly drew a lot of attention…
I am a big fan of texture…
Back to Wynwood and some wallside wisdom
to keep things in perspective.
There was some humor as well…
In and out of the various galleries, there were so many great works. This piece by Miscre8 titled ‘Fight the Power’ is great.
The Murals are masterful and in abundance, here are a few:
Kenny Scarf
Shephard Fairey
Shephard Fairey
Miss Van 
Retna
Faith 47
Ernest Zacharevic,
Case
One of my favorite fairs was in Wynwood and titled ‘No Commission’ which was curated by the Dean Collection and brought to life by Swizz Beatz.
Hyon Gyon
Hoxoh
Michael Vasquez
stand tall
At this point in the week, as the marathon continued, it becomes unclear now which fair we went to next… I did however catch images of more AMAZING works:
the ultimate selfie
Jonathan McCree
Peter Demetz
unknown on tag stag
58 Basquiat
Mr Brainwash
Mr Brainwash
Andy Moses
Basquiat
Michael Dweck, Triple Gidget
Banksy
Next stop was to hotel suite for a special show of works by LA based artist Gregory Siff.
Gregory Siff
Gregory Siff
As Saturday came rolling through, brunch at the Sagamore Hotel was the call. There was great food and more interesting works along with fascinating people. However, inspirational overload was kicking in and total exhaustion was approaching. I was toasted.
Jen Stark
It was time to fly home and regroup, rest and prepare to turn this inspirational journey into fuel to propel my work forward. More to come from this front soon.
Big thanks to Gregory de la Haba and his family, Brian Thatcher, Carley Montgomery, the team at New Utopia and Cindy Schwarzstein for the amazing hospitality, guidance and for making my first Basel experience absolutely incredible.
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Michael Torquato deNicola. Mike is a Los Angeles based artist who grew up making sense of the world through surfing and art. Born and raised in Orange County, California, he has never lived far from the ocean. Mike started surfing at age 12 and was on the US team by age 19. As the first pro surfer from the US team to graduate from college, he learned to negotiate between his atheletic pursuits, and the business of surd, working with some of the industries top brands from Quicksilver, Hot Tuna, O’Neil and BC Surfboards to collaborating with his sponsor Spyder to design a line of wetsuits.
Mike has always designer the work on his boards, but it was only when he started traveling and competing internationally that his work developed into the style it is today. Painting his own borads and developing his kinetic style of story telling through Indonesia, Samoa, The Galapagos, Iceland, Europe, Australia, Panama and Canads, Mike’s boards tell the story of his relationship with the ocean from around the globe.
If Mike’s surf style can be called fluid his large and colorful mixed media pieces resonate the same fluidity in a layered collage of rhythms, patterns and forms. His art can be seen on his painted surfboards, installation pieces, and film. Some of his ventures have come from working with Marie Claire, The Olson Company and creating and producing Red Bull’s ‘5X’ series, seen on Fox, NBC and Fuel TV which feature a new format of competitive surfing. Mike is currently producing his first feature length documentary ‘The Westsiders’. His work has been seen in Maxim, Surfer Magazine, Surf Europe, Waves, Marie Claire and Sports Illustrated. More here on Michael’s website.