Inspiración

Whether you call it Miami Art Week, Miami Art and Design Week, or simply refer to all seven days of surprise and delight by the name of the hero fair that started it all—Art Basel Miami Beach—the annual, sun-soaked extravaganza is once again upon us. Each December, the greater Miami area comes to life as galleries, collectors, museum directors, foundations, and the art curious arrive to the Magic City for a constellation of blue chip art and design fairs.  The City of Miami Beach even dresses itself up in inspiring annual commissions—this year with Jen Stark’s mural and site-specific installation over Española Way, Sundial Spectrum, the latest vibrant public art addition. The seven fairs we’ve selected warrant a time commitment, but they’re far from the only ones that deserve a visit. A sprawling survey of the contemporary art world today, as presented by a global roster of top galleries, Art Basel Miami Beach is divided into several sections—those of general exhibitors, and those adhering to more specific rules, like the large-scale works defining Meridians, or the emerging galleries with solo presentations in Positions. 268 galleries from 38 countries will participate this year—u

To visit Miami during art week and ignore the city’s own museum, galleries, and local pop-up programming is as misguided as attending Miami Art Week to skip the fairs and only show up at the parties. Miami’s innate art and design ecosystem—led by organizations like The Bass Museum of Art, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami), Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) and, of course, the Design District—warrants annual consideration for world-class curation and pioneering discourse.  The public art pieces of “No Vacancy, Miami Beach,” the fifth edition of the juried art competition awarding local artists, adorn 12 hotels across the City of Miami Beach. And this year sees architect and urban designer Nicole Nomsa Moyo as the recipient of the tenth edition of the Annual Design Commission. Her installation Pearl Jam, which draws inspiration from South Africa’s Ndebele tribe, greets guests to the Miami Design District. For the duration of Miami Art Week (and even beyond), these activations deserve in-person reflection and recognition. Seletega—a large-scale, site-specific commission by multidisciplinary artist Nicholas Galanin, of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska—anchors this year’s astonishin

Here, we ask an artist to frame the essential details behind one of their latest works. Three words to describe it: Drawing, painting, sculpture. An interesting feature that’s not immediately noticeable: I feel this question shouldn’t be for me, the artist, but for the viewer. I’m too aware of all the little things I might’ve hidden in there. Maybe you could let me know about this once you see the show… How the work reflects your practice as a whole: I always approach my shows as one single work. My background is in installation, where you have to consider the space and existing architecture. So, I’m still working that way—certain colors, elements, and moods connect different parts of it, every painting is related to the other one, and then every exhibition connects to the previous or next one. Consider this your guide to just a few of the fairs bringing all manner of art and design to Miami...

Here, we ask an artist to frame the essential details behind one of their latest works. What was on your mind at the time:  I was thinking about the Elegy Quilts I had been making previously and how people in prison were selecting animals as symbolic representations of themselves. In my search to find visual images of their respective animals, I kept coming across art historical depictions of animals being caged, controlled, or hunted. This made me reflect on the history of punitive ideologies and how they show up in the art historical canon. Simultaneously, I was also thinking about the prison as a microcosm of our increasingly globalized world that is shaped by myriad systems of capture, containment, and control. The fragmented ways in which we experience images, bodies, objects, and artworks are determined by what such systems conceal or reveal and ultimately shape what we view as valuable or disposable. An interesting feature that’s not immediately noticeable: In Stag, like the rest of the works in exhibition, the piece features an animal hidden beneath the intricate layers of embroidery which are drawn directly from microscopic images of cancerous cells. Through my process of

With the Neutra VDL House as their stage, LA-based artists Lily Clark and Lachlan Turczan conduct “Confluence,” a dazzling interdisciplinary art show that balances the tactile and intangible. The manipulation of water is an integral component to both sculptors: through her mesmerizing practice, Clark calls attention to the liquid’s archetypal, droplet form. For Turczan, water is a medium with which to depict invisible natural forces like sound waves. While Clark’s approach is water first and vessel second, Turczan often uses his revelatory creations to sculpt the water itself. Here, the artistic duo, also a couple, use their distinct methods to engage with the Neutra VDL House’s built environment and surroundings. “Richard Neutra’s philosophy of architectural biorealism—designing spaces that deepen our connection to nature—resonates with both of our practices,” Turczan tells Surface. “Neutra uses water and light to create spaces that feel both welcoming and restorative. My favorite feature is the water mirror on the top level, which, when viewed from a certain angle, seems to merge seamlessly with the Silver Lake Reservoir across the street.” With some of his reflective, basin-like

What I love about this week in Miami each December is sketching the intersection of art, activations, and of course, parties. I meet more people during this one week than I do the rest of the year. This was the third year I’ve hit the scene with the Surface team—and each edition has been more vibrant and electric than the last. This year started at The Standard Spa—you can check out my mural next time you’re there—for D’Puglia’s charity dinner, where we toasted Puglian heritage, learned about LIND’s artist-collab electric surfboards, and had a riveting conversation with French artist Lucas Beaufort.  One of my favorite events of the week is always the Soho House artist luncheon, hosted in the beach tent by Kate Bryan and Anakena Paddon, Soho House’s global arts team.  A few of my paintings are installed at the Miami Pool House, and I love getting to know fellow Soho House artists and creators, trading stories over endless pours of rosé. I met Toronto-based figurative artist Erin Armstrong (illustrated), and Phaan Howng who was showing her work at NADA with Dinner Gallery. I illustrated one of her paintings “Mayaimi Dreams”. Her concept is super-interesting to me. She’s fascinated [

Television painting icon Bob Ross famously said, “It’s the imperfections that make something beautiful.” In “Ugly Pretty,” leading artists, art professionals, and creatives delve into the idea of imperfect beauty by analyzing a single artwork. Through their perspectives, we uncover how these unique works reshape the way we view the world. Listen as they describe the artwork in their own words. I’m an archaeologist, not an art historian, so in many ways I am still learning about art. But I’m responsible for the largest cultural institution in Germany, overseeing 19 museums that span history, from the Stone Age to Contemporary Art. It’s a privilege to work with such collections and open exhibitions across different eras. One artist whose work has always been particularly special to me is Caspar David Friedrich. Friedrich, a late 18th- and early 19th-century painter, is the focus of major exhibitions in Germany this year in celebration of his 250th birthday, one of which will travel to the Metropolitan Museum in New York in February 2025. Often called the “painter of the German spirit” or the quintessential Romantic artist, Friedrich is closely tied to Germany’s philosophy and cultura

The general director of the Van Gogh Museum has her eye on major shows celebrating the namesake artist. As general director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Emilie Gordenker is tasked with celebrating the legacy if one of the world’s most recognisable (and undeniably popular) artists. The American-born historian is an expert in Dutch art, and spent 12 years at the Mauritshuis in The Hague, before assuming her new post in the spring of 2020. It might sound like a technical, business-as-usual matter, but according to the Dutch Heritage laws, our museum is assessed once every four years by an independent panel. The assessment report, which appeared over the summer of this year, was extremely positive and even called the Van Gogh Museum a “phenomenon”. At the risk of sounding boastful, our own exhibition “Matthew Wong/Vincent Van Gogh: Painting as a last resort” (1 March–1 September). This was the first extensive overview of the artist’s work in Europe, and one that touched and surprised many visitors. “Van Gogh and the Stars” at the Fondation Vincent van Gogh in Arles. Curated by Jean de Loisy and Bice Curiger, the exhibition shed new light on the erudite work and research carried

This year, we lost creatives from sculptors and photographers to designers and painters who shaped 20th- and 21st-century art history. As yet another year draws to a close, it’s a good time to commemorate those in the art world who died in 2024. We at Artnet News want send our condolences to all those who knew and loved them, and express our appreciation for their many artistic achievements and contributions to society. The list that follows is alphabetical, and contains artists, curators, museum professionals, dealers, among others who made their career in the arts. Hope Alswang, museum director “During Ms. Alswang’s nine years at the [Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida], she diversified its collection with more contemporary art and photography; acquired nearly 1,600 works; focused on generating more original exhibitions, rather than relying too much on traveling shows; and championed women and minority artists,” wrote the New York Times. “In 2011, the museum introduced ‘Recognition of Art by Women,’ an annual series of solo exhibitions that has showcased, among others, the painters Jenny Saville and Sylvia Plimack Mangold and the visual artists Njideka Akunyili Cros

"It’s exhilarating to think art can labor on behalf of world issues and personal struggles." Television painting icon Bob Ross famously said, “It’s the imperfections that make something beautiful.” In “Ugly Pretty,” leading artists, art professionals, and creatives delve into the idea of imperfect beauty by analyzing a single artwork. Through their perspectives, we uncover how these unique works reshape the way we view the world. Listen as they describe the artwork in their own words. I think Robert Colescott’s George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware embodies an idea of imperfect beauty. The work is inspired by and serves as a commentary on George Washington Crossing the Delaware, the iconic painting by Emanuel Leutze from 1851. That painting depicts George Washington crossing the Delaware River, heading toward the Jersey shore in a moment that symbolizes the founding of America during the Revolutionary War. In Colescott’s piece, George Washington Carver, one of the most prominent black scientists of the early 20th century, takes the place of George Washington. The boat is surrounded by icebergs, but what’s striking is the replacement of the historical figures in Leutze’s pa

The writer and curator is hoping for 'fearless action' in 2025. Kimberly Drew had her breakthrough in the art world in 2011 with her Tumblr page @museummammy when the sector was dabbling with ways to implement social media as a communication strategy. This was also a moment when many institutions were finally coming face-to-face with massive holes in their white male-washed collections. Drew’s account (which she started as an undergrad student at Smith College) documented contemporary Black art and demonstrated the possibilities of an alternative way of access in the industry. Since then she has held a social media manager role at The Met and authored the 2020 book This Is What I Know About Art. In 2022, Pace Gallery announced Drew as a curatorial director. This August, Drew organized an ambitious exhibition of Gordon Parks at Pace’s Los Angeles outpost. The show featured around 40 images that included groundbreaking figures such as Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X and Duke Ellington, as well as everyday Black subjects. After 13 years of working in the field, I finally curated my first institutional exhibition. I had the incredible opportunity to collaborate with The Gordon Parks Foundation

SEATTLE — In the edge becomes the center at the Frye Art Museum, Mary Ann Peters invokes the suppressed histories of mass killings and forgotten diasporas. The first solo museum show for the second-generation Lebanese-American artist, it presents her drawing series this trembling turf (2016–21), along with a site-specific installation. The drawings — dense sketches of white ink on black clayboard, each titled with the series name followed by a unique subtitle — depict fanciful geomorphic abstractions in some cases (for instance, those subtitled “the shallows” and “down deep”), while others, such as “(surge)” and “(burst),” imply associated dynamic phenomena.   Get the latest art news, reviews and opinions from Hyperallergic. A subtler tour-de-force is “impossible monument: gilded” (2024). This upright rectangular chamber, in a heavy wood frame, looms large, taking up most of one gallery alcove wall. It holds a set of objects obscured behind a mesh-like fabric grid whose patterns allow partial glimpses of what’s behind, depending on a viewer’s position. The striking elements within the frame include ribbons, keys, door lock plates, and laminated survival blankets, all seen through t

DETROIT — Food has always played a vital role in fostering and maintaining community. It’s a key component of cultural heritage: How food is prepared, served, and shared is oftentimes communal and ritualistic. Food tells us stories — be they personal, historical, or social. And food culture is a form of art. The Art of Dining: Food Culture in the Islamic World, currently on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts, transforms meals into narrative experiences, showing how food connects people not only to their roots, but also to each another. The exhibition showcases almost 230 pieces, spanning centuries and ranging from cooking vessels to paintings, from 30 public and private collections across the world.  Our introduction to this realm comes initially from a map of the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region, which greets the visitor as they enter the show. Several cities are highlighted on this map: Istanbul, Cairo, Mecca, Baghdad, Isfahan, and Delhi. The captions explain that these sites have been significant for trade, artistic production, and pilgrimage. They were also both culturally and historically important for Islam, the exhibition posits, and they hold a special plac

These stories reminded us why art still matters. In 2024, we published nearly 4,000 stories. That’s 4,000 glimpses into the art world’s triumphs, challenges, and transformations—moments that made headlines, sparked debates, and gave us pause for thought in this fast-moving world. Our writers brought you everything: from bold investigations and market shakeups to unexpected revivals and voices reclaiming their place in history. Here, we’ve gathered a selection of our favorites—the stories that reminded us why art still matters. Before we step into 2025, let’s take a moment to look back. It’s a good time for Ryan Trecartin to make a comeback. The last time we heard from him, he had been making a splash as the young experimental artist taking internet culture by the horns through his boisterous and visionary films. Since his most recent missive Whether Line came out in 2019, Trecartin had been quiet, living in rural Ohio with his creative partner Lizzie Fitch. Now, there are rumblings of a return for Trecartin, as he recently switched up his gallery representation from Regen Projects to Morán Morán. We can anticipate a solo show at the gallery early next year. While he’s working on it