Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Chelsea Hotel





My friend RPM is doing his part to keep the art spirit of the Chelsea Hotel alive. I won't go into specifics here but all the shenanigans of past years with past artsy tenants are still a part of the establishment, thank God, and thanks to people like my friend. Here are some pics from the other night.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Deitch did the most amazing concert at the Raleigh with Santigold

You've gotta love Jeffrey Deitch when he steals the entire Art Basel Miami Beach spotlight with a drop dead good concert of Santigold at the Raleigh on Wednesday night. Forget about a one song appearance by Lady Gaga in LA at MOCA which is already the past. This concert was a real treat for anyone who loves music and performance. There was still a full moon in the sky from the night before, and if you don't get sick from watching my shaky video which I made while dancing, well, enjoy ;)

Vito Schnabel and Matthew Malie mounted an exhibition in the W






Here are some pics from the exhibition The Bruce High Quality Foundation. By the time I got there the opening was almost over, but there were still a few people like Jean Pigozzi, Nicole from Deitch Gallery and Francesco Clemente there.

Le Baron at Florida Room: The other unofficial ABMB after party




Le Baron Miami is always a fun place to dance and enjoy yourself after the ennui of buying and selling. With the original in Paris and outposts in Tokyo and sometimes Miami, everyone understands that the Kolkoz guys who made the WELCOME sign outside of Perrotin, know how to get a party right. Everybody goes there, from the Director of the fair to the most obscure of Miami Beach characters, and this random mix makes it fun.

Whatever Whenever: W South Beach


One of the owners of this hotel is Mr Rosen of the Lever House and Core Club, NY, so this hotel somehow became the unofficial hot spot of Art Basel Miami Beach. There's art everywhere in the lobby and connecting rooms downstairs, and I mean not just a lot of art but BIG art, big in name, size and price tag. Everyone who could squeeze themselves onto a table had dinner at Mr. Chow there, and everyone who could book a party did so too.

Patti Smith performed at Robert Miller Gallery's warehouse space then I went to the party after the dinner at the W on Thursday night that included some people from the concert, like Calvin Klein. I'll do some name dropping as I decided to take a break from the paparazzi role and abstained from picture taking. Of course Mr. Rosen was there, talking to the other big NYC developer, Andre Balazs. Then there was Naomi Campbell with her Russian boyfriend, LG and Steve Cohen, and thanks to Tico M who helped wrangle my friends into the party with me. Tico's always so sweet and I wonder how he's still not married. Val Kilmer was there too and some other random collectors from NYC and abroad.

Everyone went to the Wall, the club in the W, after, but I couldn't do another night out.

I took this picture of an artist's installation on the water right next to the beach behind the W. It's a Cuban artist, I forget the name, but it was on the cover of the Art Basel Miami Beach magazine too.

Perrotin's Party







It's sort of an institution during Art Basel Miami now. Here are some pics...

Monday, December 7, 2009

As Above | So Below: The Work of Ivan Gaete



As Above|So Below: The Work of Ivan Gaete

December 3, 2009 - December 13, 2009

3451 Midtown Blvd (NE 1st Ave corner of 35th Street), Miami, FL 33137

MAP (right next to Art Miami)

On the occasion of Art Basel Miami Beach 2009, Midtown Miami, Angelina’s and Beez And Honey are pleased to present a pop up installation by Ivan Gaete.

Using The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus as a departure point from which the title of this exhibition originates - that which is above is like that which is below - the exhibition As Above | So Below seeks to invoke a sense of magic. The alchemist, the magician, the laws of the universe, writing, mystical teachings, sacred books, transformation and healing as associated with the thrice-named Hermes Trismegistus are all strongly represented in the works on view.

Systems, alchemy, and the macro cosmos reflected in the micro cosmos are all concerns of this self-taught artist. The artist creating something from nothing, drawing from infinite potential to create art, whether it be permanent or ephemeral, reflects the God-like faculties that are credited with the creation of everything. Working in a holographic universe within the confines of a physical dimension and a 3D world, the artist creates objects that can be perceived with the 5 physical senses, the 6th sense, and the countless others that perhaps have yet to be named.

Spanning the years 2004 to 2008, these works comprise a retrospective view on the artist’s process of creating a glimpse into the inner workings of various systems including nature, the universe, quantum physics and technology. As if exploring the fundamental laws, whether in mathematics or in the larger world around us, in recent years Gaete’s work has used both numerical and alphabetical imagery to convey a cryptic language that at once challenges and pleases the eye. In other works an adherence to the integrity of the line reflects the forms and shapes of bursting stars, cosmic collisions and pre-historic fossils. The simplicity of Gaete’s imagery explores the depths of universal creation and harkens back to the dawn of art history.

"Through drawing, nothingness translates into moments of order. I associate chaos with optimal equilibrium." - Ivan Gaete


Ivan Gaete lives and works between Miami and New York City. http://www.ivangaete.com