ART BASEL Miami Beach 2018 Captivates Crowds
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer
The city of Miami was recently ignited by a flame of creativity and a strong celebrity presence. Art Basel Miami Beach 2018 was celebrating its 17th season which began on Thursday, December 6th and stretched through Sunday, December 9th, 2018. This annual event currently ranks as the premier art show of the Americas, offering an exceptional platform for renowned artists and galleries. New and fresh talent has also been known to take over the spotlight and break out into the art world. They are enjoyed by cultural enthusiasts of diverse art from around the world.
This year, Art Basel Miami Beach 2018 called the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center, located in the heart of the art deco district of South Beach, their home. This venue allowed for a more spacious exhibition area and more visitors to come and admire all the impressive artwork on display. At last tally, the event garnered 83,000 visitors.
Many breakthrough artists gained recognition over the course of the event. Art Basel Miami Beach 2018 kicked off with a very accomplished artist, Louis Carreon who shared his vision of the American Dream through his creations. Carreon came on to the art scene, most widely known for his storytelling street art. This year’s ‘Ballerina Collection’ represented a host of feelings and familiar recollections of Carreon’s path that led up to his success. The ballerinas symbolize thespians, actors, poets, models and dancers moving to the heart of the action in California (Hollywood) to pursue their dreams and find their ultimate measurement of success. The paintings give off an impression of the lust and addiction that beat them up along the way. Each is in pursuit of that famous American Dream. According to Louis, those in search of their dreams often get caught up in their egos and addiction and fall victim to the dangers of their craft. The message is “Love Yourself More”. His iconic accomplishment that received the most social media acclaim was the graffiti mural that was spray painted on a jet, his canvas of choice. It was the culmination of his narrative. As true to form for some of those that take part in Art Basel each year, Louis Carreon took a stab at designing streetwear in the early 2000’s. While it was certainly a worthwhile effort, he prefers creating art in a way he is most comfortable with, on various surfaces of canvases. The artist was truly in his element this year, always enjoying being a participant at the event for the last few years.
Another provocative artist competing for attention at Art Basel Miami Beach 2018 was Billie Zangewa, a Malawian artist who uses silk fabrics to convey her creative side. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Billie takes her art to new heights. Zangewa’s artwork called “In My Solitude” was highlighted at the event. She shares her “most intimate self” through her pieces. This latest collection that made its debut was a mixture of strength and a tender but fierce touch of feminism. In addition to her display of artwork, Billie was one of the active participants of a stimulating panel discussion, “Feminism – The Global View” held on Saturday, December 8th at the Miami Convention Center Auditorium, West Lobby. It was then streamed live on Facebook the very next day for viewers that were interested but unable to attend the discussion.
It was evident that art took on many forms in 2018 as it does every year at this cultural gathering. Artists are internationally famous for their work, making an even larger image on the public. Spanish artist, Belén Uriel presented a new and interesting series of sculptured works, created from brass and glass casts. His inspiration was the relationship between human anatomy and objects in relation to looks, well and visceral. Paris-based Canadian artist, Kapwani Kiwanga has won awards for her intriguing artwork. She was inspired by Haitian voodoo and her collection “Nations” uses beads and sequin fabric flags to engage her audience. American artist Joyce J. Scott is another artist that mesmerized her fans with figurative sculptures of free form bead weaving. Her art is on a more spiritual level as she explores issues of race, gender and violence. With the thousands of artists taking part in the art event this year, it certainly was not easy to hone in on only one or two favorites. Every type of medium used, every genre covered, every country represented was a masterpiece of talent at its finest.
As plentiful as the cultural aspect of Art Basel Miami Beach 2018, the parties were in abundance as well, drawing a most stylish crowd of followers. Each day there were multiple gatherings held across Miami Beach honoring artists debuting their work and thanking gallery owners for putting their trust in the creativity of the specific artists. Custom cocktails, elegantly laid out buffets, energetic D.J.’s and more were all part of these fancy festivities. Photographed enjoying themselves immensely were Paris Hilton, Serena Williams, some of the Victoria’s Secret Angels straight from the runway of the brand’s annual show that took place in New York City this year, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kanye West, Chloe Sevigny, Emma Roberts, Cardi B, Marc Anthony, Pharrell Williams and Princess Eugenie of York who remained very low key. There was even a Bombay Sapphire event held at the old Versace Mansion on Ocean Drive overlooking the gorgeous Atlantic Ocean. Partygoers enjoyed themselves into the wee hours of the morning.
With another Art Basel Miami Beach behind us, this one will go down in the history books as an event to be remembered. This just goes to show that fashion and art are fantastic collaborators, always contributing to the overwhelming success of this cultural and social event of the year.
