The Virgin Diaries: Art Basel Miami 2010 (Thurs. Photo Recap)

Man Ray

No one could have predicted the chaos that has been the second day of Art Basel Miami. Don't worry, it's all been very successful with hundreds, if not thousands, of people milling about the Miami Convention Center in search of art. A couple of highlights; Man Rays' seclusive presentation by the Francis M. Naumann Fine Art gallery in New York, and Thomas Hirschhorns large scale multi-media posters that utilize on images of explicit sexuality and raw death.

Art Basel is broken up into various sectors, which allows for organization, specialization of galleries, and maximum experience for the public, press, and art collectors. The Art Galleries section features over 200 galleries from all over the world, and mediums include everything from print, to film and also sculpture. The Art Position (a personal favorite) focuses on a single piece, usually quite large and that of a new artist. This section is a bit more engaging because you're dealing with just one piece of art as opposed to quickly glancing and moving onto the next piece. Art Kabinett presents small curated exhibitions, most of them being group exhibitions within delineated spaces. In the Art Nova, 50 established galleries showcase new works from their respective countries, and is a really good place to explore global talent (you'll also find lots of art collectors in this section). There really is something for everyone, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of high school students touring the exhibition with some of Basels' top curators.

The evening ended with a few openings exposing more talent; Miguel Parades and the aforementioned Hyperbolic Aerosolic. The Hyperbolic Aerosolic show exceeded my expectations (look for more in a future post), and also creatively included a DJ who switched between turntables and drums, drawing a crowd of women in awe (me being one of them). The night was topped off with the Maison Martin Margiela exhibit (they proudly presented their new designed space), stacked with sneakers, newspaper lined walls, white furniture tightly wrapped in plastic, and a few vintage pieces on display.

Some pictures below and will let you know what today has to offer soon. 

Thomas Hirschhorn

Hyperbolic Aerosolic opening.