Joining the well-heeled jet set for Miami Beach’s most conspicuous cultural fete? Art Basel Miami Beach is set for December 3–6, and these hotels are celebrating America’s biggest art fair with pop-up installations from the world’s top talent.
1. Faena District Miami Beach
The highly anticipated Faena Hotel Miami Beach and OMA-designed arts center will swing open their doors just in time for Art Basel. During the show, artist Jim Denevan will create dazzling beachfront sand and light installations, and Spanish artist Almudena Lobera will erect A Sight To Behold, an oceanfront draped proscenium that encourages the audience to view the performance of everyday life and the spectacle of the natural world on the “stage.” Brazilian artist Eli Sudbrack of assume vivid astro focus will be lighting up the arts center with a psychedelic neo-disco roller rink. All are welcome to strap on a pair of skates and a colorful mask designed by Sudbrack (both provided by Faena) to celebrate the opening of the Faena District. Denevan Installation, December 1–3; A Sight to Behold, Dec. 1–6; angeles veloces arcanos fugaces roller experience, Dec. 3–6, faenaart.org
Ian Schrager’s Miami Beach EDITION celebrates Art Basel and the hotel’s one-year anniversary by welcoming back Bill Powers, judge on Bravo’s Work of Art and owner of New York’s Half Gallery, which promotes such talent as photographer Terry Richardson and graffiti artist André Saraiva. Powers is teaming up with Harper’s Books to take over one of the hotel’s Oceanfront Bungalow Suites to showcase a cadre of creative artists (the hotel is remaining tight-lipped about the names) who will be popping up all week to do book signings. Dec. 3–6.
Mandarin Oriental, Miami is partnering with Peruvian gallery MORBO to launch Pure Abstraction, a special Art Basel exhibition featuring colorful works from popular street artist and painter Alex Brewer, known as HENSE. Hosted in the hotel’s waterfront Peruvian restaurant, La Mar by Gastón Acurio, Peruvian musician Pauchi Sasaki will kickoff the exhibition wearing a dress of speakers that allows her to mix a live violin performance with electronic music through sensors on her hands. During the evening, guests can personally meet HENSE and sample executive chef Diego Oka’s menu. which is inspired by the evening’s fusion of art, music, and technology. Musical performance and artist meet and greet, Dec. 3, 7 p.m.– 9 p.m.; Pure Abstraction on display Dec. 3–6.
Become the canvas during Basel at Thompson Miami Beach. Vanity Project, a Miami-based gallery that invites international artists to become nail-polish artists-in-residence, will host a poolside pop-up nail studio to give guests the ultimate high-style mani-pedi treatment. The creative nail designs are inspired by the property’s glam Art Deco décor styled by renowned interior designer Martin Brudnizki. From $30. By appointment only, Dec. 2–6, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. 786-292-3442, contact@vanityprojectsmia.com.
One of the most recent Art Deco jewels on Collins Avenue to get a facelift is Jason Pomeranc’s new Nautilus, a SIXTY Hotel. The 1950s oceanfront property has been refurbished in the style of an upscale beach house. For Art Basel, Pomeranc has partnered with Depart Foundation to debut Wonderwheel, a yearlong, site-specific exhibition curated by the Italian publishing house CURA. Neo-pop imagery, playful visual texts, pop-cultural impressions will dominate the perimeter wall of the hotel’s lobby through a variety of media including videos, paintings, sculptures, and installations. Dec. 3–6.
The Mondrian South Beach brings a taste of Brooklyn to Art Basel. Williamsburg-based Pies-n-Thighs will collaborate with the hotel’s existing pop-up restaurant, Momo Sushi Shack, to serve its pork sandwiches, fried chicken, and other Southern classics. Artists from Dawn of Man, known for their large-scale digital installations in New York City, will project on a various surfaces throughout property. Guests can literally dive into the hotel’s main installation, a projection onto hundreds of floating ping-pong balls covering the entire surface of the pool. Dec. 3–6.
Four Seasons Hotel Miami has transformed a portion of the 7th floor into a pop-up gallery featuring 17 works by the prolific Spanish artist Antonio Dominguez de Haro. The 87-year old oil painter, who has an avenue and museum named after him in Granada, is widely known for his submarine landscapes. For more than 50 years, Dominguez de Haro went scuba diving around the world to study the beauty and mystery of the deep. In his art, he seeks to inspire ocean conservation. Exhibition on display Nov. 30–Dec. 6.
Soho House members will start celebrating Art Basel a couple days early at the club’s annual White Cube Gallery Party on December 1, hosted by Nick Jones and Jay Jopling. That evening in the Penthouse, sound artist Samson Young, the first recipient of the BMW Art Journey, will discuss the art of movement in travel, with a focus on his recent worldwide tour during which he researched iconic bells. During Art Basel, members can mingle in the Late Night Lounge or hop into a private BMW shuttle and be whisked to off-site events. Members can shop for boho chic beachwear at the Calypso St. Barth pop-up bungalow. Dec. 3–6.
The hotel’s 14th Annual Art Basel Brunch will feature an Electronic Arts Intermix video installation and a site-specific environmental work by New York–based sculptor Alan Sonfist, a pioneer of the Land Art movement. Open to Art Basel Miami Beach VIP Cardholders, the brunch will serve its traditional Crepes and Champagne menu, and private tours will be available to see the latest acquisitions to the renowned in-house Cricket Taplin Collection. Dec. 5, 8:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
