Howdy friends! As the icy winter weather temps drop lower and lower here in NYC, we find ourselves thinking back to last month, when we were enjoying the warm Miami sunshine during Art Basel week. Just thought we’d share a little re-cap of our December 2008 exhibitions in the Miami art fairs. Take a look!…
Every year, pretty much the entire International art world descends upon the city of Miami during Art Basel week. So, you never really know who you might run into. Here’s a pic of Jonathan and Takashi Murakami.
Jonathan LeVine Gallery had booths in two art fairs this year, Aqua Wynwood and Scope. Aqua Wynwood opened it’s doors on December 2nd. Here’s a shot of the exterior of with a great installation by the artist collective Antistrot, painted on the front entry facade.
In booth number 7, we were exhibiting Adam Wallacavage, Ray Caesar, and Xiaoqing Ding.
We also had a new watercolor piece by Mars-1, who will be exhibiting at the gallery this Spring.
In booth number 8, we displayed new works by WK Interact, who will have a solo exhibition at the gallery this Summer.
Pedro Alonzo (curator of Shepard Fairey’s upcoming museum exhibition at the Boston ICA) dropped by Aqua to visit WK and Jonathan.
Other visitors to the booth, artists Gary Baseman and Jeff Soto, are seen above with LeVine Gallery’s own Laura Pinello and Maléna Seldin.
WK took Gary around the corner to show him one of his new street pieces.
On Wednesday, December 3rd, things got started over at Scope, with our solo exhibition of works by Shepard Fairey. Above, Lori Zimmer, Kendal Johnson, and Maléna Seldin strike a pose in front of a large wall piece entitled: Commanda.
There were over 30 pieces which sold out almost immediately, once doors opened to the public.
Three wall murals were placed on the outer walls of the booth, while a variety of smaller sized works were displayed inside.
Jonathan and Phil Penberthy take a turn sitting at the desk.
Amanda Fairey chats with Maléna Seldin and Kendal Johnson.
Z and Dan Flores, of team OBEY.
Mars-1 (aka Mario Martinez) with son, Atlas, stops by to say hello to Shepard and Jonathan.
Friends With You, the artistsic duo, was also exhibiting at Scope this year. Above we find Arturo (Tury) Sandoval, all smiles, with Jonathan.
Samuel (Sam) Borkson, the other half of Friends With You, with Jonathan and Lori Zimmer.
Friends With You created an installation which we thoroughly enjoyed, a giant inflatable rainbow bounce-house.
As Malena, Jonathan, and Lori quickly found out… once you start bouncing, it’s hard to stop!
Meanwhile, Shepard and his street team had been working outdoors on some public mural pieces.
Jonathan stopped by to check out the progress, and fend off the paparazzi.
The crew worked well into the night.
The next day, we were pleased to find the finished piece, just one of several gifts to the city left by Shepard.
The street pieces nicely complimented the work at Scope, but could been seen by any passers by, not just visitors to the fair.
Later on there was a huge OBEY party, where LeVine Gallery’s Kendal Johnson got to catch up with her pal Nic Bowers of OBEY.
A crowd of friends and artists packed in to the bar & lounge such as David Choong Lee, seen above hanging back while watching the kids go crazy on the dancefloor to the tunes of Shepard "DJ Diabetic" Fairey and Z-Trip.
Another night was spent at the Kill Your Idols event, watching a set by one of Jonathan LeVine Gallery’s favorite bands, Matt & Kim.
Jonathan enjoyed the show from a bit of a distance.
The kids in the pit had a blast, crowd-surfing and climbing the rafters.
Another musical performance in Miami this year, was a beach show by French pop artist, Yelle.
And that just about wraps it up. Good times, Miami! Maybe we’ll see ya again next year.
