Fair Enough: Art Miami

The posts so far:
Fair Enough: And I'm Off
Fair Enough: Traveling Incognita?
Fair Enough: All Over But the Posting
Fair Enough: Art or Trash?
Fair Enough: Prologue to the Report
Fair Enough: ABMB, Part 1
Fair Enough: ABMB, Part 2
Fair Enough: Aqua Art
Fair Enough: Pulse
Fair Enough: Seven
Fair Enough: Scope
Fiar Enough: NADA
Fair Enough: Ink
Fair Enough: A Peek at Art Miami
Fair Enough: Doubletake at Art Miami

Art Miami's big-ass tent

I saw a lot of art at Art Miami. From the previous post you know that the venue had over 100 galleries. Fortunately it had a less maze-like layout than ABMB so although I had just one long afternoon there, I believe I saw everything. Let me emphasize that I am just one set of eyes. Another person would have given you an entirely different report, and 10 people would surely have given you that many times more. For instance, I photographed a lot of red and red-orange at this fair. Was there really more at this end of the spectrum, or were my tired eyes just focusing on these retinally vibrational hues--like Four Loko for the optic nerve? I don't know. In fact, I didn't realize I'd shot so much of it until I got back to my hotel room that night and started downloading.

Tangerine realities: at the information desk above, with a painting by Gene Davis

Steve Tobin installation at Bridgette Meyer, Philadelphia

Detail below

Shen Chen at Cynthia-Reeves Projects, New York

The most perfect installation anywhere: Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe

Segmented views below:

William Metcalf arc, left; Jeremy Thomas forged forms on floor; Ronald Davis painting

Charles Arnoldi fiery grid in distance; Anne Truitt painting on paper, right

(I tried to photograph the Truitt up close, but the glazing reflected the installation--a nice shot, but not what I was after)

With the Truitt to my shoulder, a final shot looking out of the booth, with Black Pair by Elliot Norquist, right

View into the booth of Galerie Renate Bender, Berlin

See what I mean about orange? Two sculptures by Bill Thompson, two paintings by Matt McClune, an Alan Ebnother, two by Lars Strandn

I'm singling out the work of Alan Ebnother, first because I like it and second, because it's the best of a trendlet of texture, which you'll see in successive images

Above: Ebnother's November 9th, 2010, oil and pigments on wooden panel

Below: a generous detail of a surface that's as restrained as it is sensuous

John Zinsser oil on canvas at Graham Gallery, New York

Detail below

James Hayward oil on three panels at Modernism, San Francisco

Detail below

Judith Murray at Sundaram Tagore, New York City

(Sorry, no detail)

Since we're knee deep in texture, let's continue in that vein. Normally I'm not a fan of glop art; I like a little more restraint with my paint. But allow me to eat some oil here. I love these paintings by Trudy Benson. I'm not sure why, because she's of the slather-and-caulk school of painting, but they work for me. In fact, I liked them so much I'm showing you two, each with a detail.

Trudy Benson, Dark Matter, at Mike Weiss Gallery, New York

Detail below:

Benson's Red Dwarf

Detail below:

In addition to the seeming preponderance of orange and the tangible surfaces of many paintings, there were some other things I noticed:

. Good and diverse painting (I'm mostly not showing you secondary-market stuff; Matisses were in evidence, though I don't think I saw any Picassos)

. Many good prints and works on paper. I wonder if Ink was so small this year because exhibitors ventured from their safe little enclave into the larger wilds of the big fairs?

. The whole made from the sum of its parts--piecing, assembling, repeated compositional elements

. And plenty of the bigger trends: books, money, textiles, all of which will get their own posts

Let's continue.

Carlos Silva's little optical gem at Aldo de Sousa Gallery, Buenos Aires

Closeup below:

Omar Barquet small geometries at Dot Fiftyone, Miami

John Brown at Wilde Gallery, Berlin

Each painting is about 16 inches square, framed.

Closeups of three below:

Grace Hartigan at C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore. This gallery is the late artist's hometown dealer

Above: Greta, oil on linen

Below, another Hartigan for which I have no information

Collector viewing a Rana Rochat encaustic painting at David Lusk Gallery, Memphis

Lisa Nankivil oil on canvas at McCormick Gallery, Chicago

The painting was installed in a narrow space. The oblique view is the best I could do, so I'm at least showing it to you as large as I can

Nankivil's surfaces are richly textured with a textile sensibility

Detail below:

Speaking of textiles: Sam Gilliam's unstretched painting at Mark Borghi Fine Art, New York City

Detail below:

Black-light art is a little too Haight-Ashbury-on-a-double-hit-of-Owsley for me, but this hanging knitted from plastic wire--and its folded counterpart on the floor--gave me a double jolt

Regine Schumann, Black Box Glowing, an installation by Galerie Renate Bender, Berlin

Closeup below

As I mentioned, there was a lot of work on paper

Pat Steir and a glimpse of Robert Mangold at Pace Prints, New York City

Dan Walsh folio below

James Siena drawings and gouaches at James Barron Art, South Kent, Conn., and Rome

I saw a lot of lunar photographs and drawings at the fairs. I thought I might do a dedicated post, but I want to wrap up this project by the end of the year, so this grid will have to do: Loewy & Puisex lunar photographs at Contemporary Works/Vintage Works, Chalfont, California