This week the contemporary New York art world glitterati flocks to Miami, and Bushwick is in perfect step. Wednesday marks the opening of the Miami Basel Art Fair, complete with a plethora of other fairs that will fill hotels, convention centers and even line the beach. While some news outlets are focused on the shock and awe campaigns of certain artists’ supposed “crashing” of the fair, Bushwick’s art scene will be represented not only in pop-up performance art and rave space, but also in impressive numbers at several different fairs all around Miami Beach, proving that Bushwick will not only bring the hippest, coolest kids in town, but also the fair’s most up and coming, inspiring and groundbreaking art. If you’re one of the lucky ones escaping the blustery, cold winter days of New York for the breezy, more temperate climate of Miami, make sure not to miss these Bushwick born and bred outlets. Bushwick, represent!
#1 Bushwick Gone Basel @ 2805 Collins Ave
Touting the fact that Bushwick is more than a place…it’s a lifestyle: ” a dozen of Bushwick artists and musicians will pilgrimage down the coast to bring the gift that is Bushwick to the international art world. To close out the fair Sunday night, Bushwick celebs Ms. Fitz and Angelina Dreem will curate a night of performance and visual art straight from the most talked about and misunderstood neighborhood in New York City.” If you’re down in Miami, make sure to join this crew as they rub shoulders with art world big wigs and crashing parties. Don’t let the hype fool you though – these artists are sure to bring more than a party to Miami; they are bringing the underground soul of Bushwick to the beach.
#2 & 3 Fuchs Projects and The Parlour @ Scope Art Fair
The unofficial Mayor of Bushwick, Rafael Fuchs will strut his stuff at Scope Art Fair. He’s spent the last few days installing a gigantic printed mural, “an homage to my parents, dancing,” he says. Both Fuchs Projects and The Parlour will also be part of Scope’s Breeder program, which appears to present a mix of American and International alternative and contemporary galleries and art spaces that offer a refreshing and charismatic counterpoint to the more established side of the Fair.
#4 Robert Henry Contemproary @ Aqua Art Miami
Housed in the infamous South Beach Aqua Hotel, Aqua Art Miami strives to present new and emerging artists and galleries side by side with the mid-career and established. I was a little jealous when Henry Chung and Robert Walden, directors of Robert Henry Contemporary, described their sunny courtyard-side booth! Their booth will feature the likes of artists such as Richard Garrison, Liz Jaff, Noah Loesberg, Jerry Walden, James Cullinane, Sharon Lawless, Robert Lansden and Deanna Lee. The gallery is sure to fit right in to this relaxed yet critically acclaimed milieu and will be the only Bushwick gallery showing at this fair.
#5 & 6 Auxiliary Projects and Microscope Gallery @ Untitled
Located literally on the beach, Untitled Art Fair is committed to showcasing not only emerging artists, but also contemporary art non profit and alternative spaces. The show’s curator Omar Lopez-Chahoud is interested in focusing on the artists, not the galleries, giving a different experience than one might find at the other Miami fairs. Auxiliary Projects and Microscope Gallery will both have booths here, so make sure to look out for them!
#7 C l e a r i n g @ NADA
C l e a r i n g has proven to be one of Bushwick’s most important bridges to Europe as they not only represent an array of American and European artists, but also have a second location in Brussels. Showing this year at NADA (Art Basel’s hipper younger sister), C l e a r i n g will present an exhibition of new works by a number of their artists including Harold Ancart, Korakrit Arunanondchai, and Sebastian Black, all of whom have been named a part of the group of “25 Artists to Watch in 2014.”
#8 Dave Hardy & Siebren Versteeg: Ideas are Executions @ Emerson Dorsch Gallery
If you need an escape from the beach (yeah, right!), make sure you devote one day to Miami’s lovely warehouse district, Wynwood. Amongst the pseudo-gentrified warehouses, galleries have been popping up like crazy in the last few years, and Bushwick visitors will feel right at home! Dave Hardy and Siebren Versteeg of Bushwick’s Regina Rex newest collaboration at Emerson Dorsch Gallery demonstrate the two artists’ investigation of form and the translation between coded algorithm and its result.
