Art Fairs in South Florida

[Karl-G]

South Florida has more art fairs between the beginning of December and end of March than any other area in the world. If you are coming to vacation, a visit to one or more will be most enjoyable. Fort Lauderdale is halfway between Palm Beach to the north (40 minutes) and Miami to the south (30 minutes). All along I 95.

 

1. The first week of December is Art Basel /Miami Beach, Art Miami, Art / Context, Art / Aqua and many more fairs in Miami. If you are interested in art, it is worth a destination visit and spending several days. But a few hours at either Art Miami or Art Basel is well worth it. Context and Aqua are contemporary younger artists. But if you like cutting-edge, these are the places to visit.

 

2. Wynwood Murals, just north of downtown Miami, hosts the world's largest collection of graffiti art / street art, and it stays up all year. 35 minutes from Lauderdale. Great for 2 - 5 hours. Great and famous graffiti artists from all over the world come here.

 

3. This week, Jan . 11-15, is Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary, which is very good. Galleries are by invitation only and the best from around the world.

 

4. Next week is Art Palm Beach, an older show with all different major galleries. Dealers have told me that many Palm Beach residents (with money) don't like the drive and traffic to Miami and don't attend Art Basel or Art Miami. Galleries do very well in sales in Palm Beach, and the artists are all prominent. PB Convention Center.

 

5. Feb. 14-20 is Palm Beach Art, Jewelry, and Antiques. It's a huge show and excellent.

PB Convention Center.

 

6. Feb. 15-19 Art Wynwood just north of downtown Miami. Last year this was the best of these smaller fairs, after Basel and Miami.

 

7. Mar. 15-22 is Art Boca, 25 minutes north of Fort Lauderdale.

 

Most are open from 11-6 and offer cafes and light refreshment. All the fairs have excellent websites.

 

8. In addition, if you like art, Miami now has four excellent small private (free) museums in the Wynwood area, all endowed by wealthy Hispanic art collectors. This is 35 minutes south of Fort Lauderdale. The Rubell Collection is the largest and has amazing revolving shows. The De La Cruz Collection is nice but smaller in a great building. The Nader Museum of Latin American Art and Contemporary Art is very good. The Margulies Collection is interesting. In addition, the Institute of Contemporary Art has just opened in a spectacular new building, but I have not yet seen it.

 

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[JayCeeKy]

Thanks, Karl. Very useful for those of us planning a trip to south Florida in order to thaw out.

[Karl-G]

You can take the new (relatively) high speed commuter train from Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach, which would drop you off two blocks from the art fair. It is called the Bright Line and it began running yesterday. The trip will be 30 minutes and cost $10 one-way, and you can book on-line. The trip FL to WPB will be 30 minutes, and the return 40 minutes (I'm not sure why). The line will eventually go on to Orlando. Station in Fort Lauderdale is in the former main bus station on Broward and 2nd. It starts at the Miami Airport.

[+ nycman]

I've never understood the appeal of art fairs.

 

I mean it's nice to see lots of art in one place....but a well planned trip to NYC galleries

yields the same (or better) results 365 days of the year....with no maddening pretentious

crowds of people who know little to nothing about art.

 

As spectacle...I get it.

 

As a forum for looking at or buying serious art.....not really.

[Karl-G]

There are probably several reasons why people enjoy art fairs and attend.

 

1. These art fairs show between 100-300 galleries each. To walk to this many galleries in one city would be exhausting / impossible. The fairs present the works of many galleries in one convenient location; they are a great savings in time, energy, and money. Many American cities do not have the number of galleries that New York does.

 

2. New York art is parochial. These art fairs present galleries and art work from many world capitals - London, Paris, Mexico City, Madrid, Munich, Moscow, Rio, Bogota, Lima, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Beijing, Toronto, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, and many more. It is impossible to find this art in New York or a typical American city. These galleries show artists whom viewers have no chance to see otherwise; it is exciting and informative. These are the best galleries from all over the world. The fairs also show American art from centers other than New York - California galleries, Chicago, Dallas, Santa Fe, San Francisco, and other important centers away from New York. If you only see New York, you have not seen or experienced very much.

 

3. These fairs have participation by invitation; only the best are allowed to participate. Going from street to street in Chelsea and looking for high quality is time consuming and energy consuming.

 

4. The owners/operators of all the galleries are on hand to answer questions about the art and artists they show. They know personally the living artists whose works they handle. They are an enormous font of information, from whom to learn. Dealers from Amsterdam and Bogota and Shanghai are happy and eager to talk about their unique art; one cannot find this art or knowledge in New York. One can learn a lot.

 

 

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[+ nycman]

There are probably several reasons why people enjoy art fairs and attend.

 

Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

 

New York art is parochial.

 

Yes, it is. Guilty as charged....and LOVING IT!

 

These fairs have participation by invitation; only the best are allowed to participate.

 

Minor correction...."only the best...who can afford to pay the fees.....are allowed to participate."

I've heard some of the prices for show space at these fairs (including the ones in NYC)....are insane!

 

Obviously, it's not my thing....but I'm glad others enjoy them.

 

PS I'm still kicking myself for not picking up a small Giacomo Balla at a recent art fair.

[bigvalboy]

Thanks Karl-G...Excellent information.