Best of Basel with Kasey Billitz of Miami Art Seen

As a native, I’ve had the pleasure of watching the city of Miami become transformed annually (and culturally as a whole), as a result of Art Basel, since it’s premiere in 2002. This year’s “boundless Basel” brought us yet another unrivaled annual art-fest. Each year, “Miami Art Week” seems to bring new challenges. This year we hosted over 20 art fairs and hundreds of artists, giving some of Miami’s finest a chance to shine. Fair veterans, Robert Fontaine Gallery (Scope, X Contemporary Wynwood, & Miami Project), NOW Contemporary Art (Art Miami), Waltman Ortega Fine Art (Context), and Gregg Shienbaum Fine Art (Ink), truly represented the best of Wynwood.

Keeping up in Wynwood alone can prove challenging. This year the Wynwood Walls opened a whole new segment, including fresh paint from Case Maclaim, El Seed, Logan Hicks and Pichiavo (not to mention the great new work in the established portion of the walls by Inti and Crash) The “Walls of Change” was the site for one of my favorite solo shows, “Calm before the Sun” by Magnus Sodamin.

Plenty of great new work beyond the walls as well. (see photos)

The revolving canvas at the “Old RC Cola Factory” hosted NY’s “Bushwick Collective” in an outstanding collaborative block party with Mana Urban Projects & Mana Contemporary. Mana Wynwood (in collaboration with iii Points) also hosted Four Tet & Jaime XX in the Art Basel Concert Series.

My favorite party, hands down was Morningside’s “Fancy Nasty”, it felt like the good ol’ days of early Basel, all great art, minus the glitz and glam, and rsvps.
“A renegade crew of multi-disciplinary artists took control of a huge, soon-to-be-demolished home in an affluent neighborhood in the heart of Miami’s art scene. Knowing the whole thing will be bulldozed soon after, each artist has assaulted the space with the unfettered swagger that typifies a city known as much for raunch as it is for glamour. Miami is almost unrecognizable from just a few years ago. And the Miami you visit today, like the venue for this exhibition, will be gone by the time you return.” Artists: Stuart Sheldon, Michael Loveland, Brandon Opalka, Randy Burman, Hoxxoh, KEMO/MSG, Benji Cospolite, Andrea Nhuch, Lori Nozick, Gary Feinberg, Karen Starosta-Gilinski, Wyatt Gallery, Tamar Zohara Ettun, Lee-Joon Youn … and featuring Strawberrita Dreams with Autumn Casey, Jesse Laino, Kelly Breez, Bootsie Castillo, Kyle Chapman, Makane, Annabell Penelope Lee, Renata Rojo, KC Toimil.
Fancy Nasty was brought to you by Build Crew, a nonprofit dedicated to helping artists build, install and place public art. In collaboration with Primary Projects, Your Fountainhead and Spoke, presenting artists NOVE, t_w_o_o_n_e, Mina Hamada, Zosen and Gustavo Amaral.

The collective show “Unrealism” by Jeffrey Deitch and Larry Gagosian at the Moore building was truly unreal. The two titans of the gallery world, teamed up for an exhibition of figurative painting and sculpture. Jamian Juliano-Villani, David Salle, Ella Kruglyanskaya,John Currin, Elizabeth Peyton, and Urs Fischer were among the many outstanding artists whose work was included.

Top Photo: Joe Lurato Basel 3015 Bushwick Collective x Mana event.

All Photos: by Kasey Billitz

MIAMI ART SEEN: Best of Basel

Best in Fair: Wynwood Galleries at satellite fairs

Robert Fontaine Gallery at Scope

NOW Contemporary Art at Art Miami

Gregg Shienbaum Fine Art at Ink

Outstanding (Street) Art in Wynwood: Basel 2015

Eduardo Kobra

Jose Mertz

Adrian Avila

Inti

Nychos

Magnus Sodamin

D*Face

2alas

Alexis Diaz

Some Miami Basel favorite events:

“Unrealism” with Jeffery Deitch

“Unrealism” with Jeffery Deitch

“Unrealism” with Jeffery Deitch

“Unrealism” with Jeffery Deitch

Fancy Nasty – Stuart Sheldon

Fancy Nasty – Twoone

Fancy Nasty 

Fancy Nasty

Fancy Nasty

Fancy Nasty 

Fancy Nasty 

Fancy Nasty

Fancy Nasty

“Dimensions” by Devonte Hynes & Ryan McNamara

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Kasey Billitz: Kasey is the founder of Miami Art Seen and as a native of Miami, leads tours through Wynwood Art Walk. She is an art enthusiast, and photo journalist, aiming to celebrate Miami’s growing culture while  documenting the arts in the Wynwood Art District and Beyond!

Kasey and Cindy Schwarzstein, founder of Cartwheel Art Tours have become partners for a tour being planned next year in Miami. (More to come on Kasey).

Follow Kasey on her social media for Miami Art Seen on facebook and instagram.