Your Guide to Miami Art Week: What to See and Do While You’re in Town
Miami Art Week kicks off Dec. 4 and beyond viewing — and perhaps buying — contemporary artworks worth tens of thousands of dollars, there’s always plenty of other action — especially for those thousands of people who aren’t collectors but are in town anyway. Here, a guide to what’s new.
What to See and Do on Miami Beach
Audemars Piguet returns to the beach with its latest artist commission. Brazilian artist Sallisa Rosa will unveil “Topography of Memory,” a large-scale installation of ceramic pieces, at the Collins Park Rotunda on Dec. 5. The installation features more than 100 clay pieces, highlighting land-based materials as a conduit for memory. Next spring the artwork will be exhibited at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo, marking Audemars Piguet’s first commission in Brazil.
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Faena Art is presenting a large-scale installation by Sebastian Errazuriz on Faena Beach. Using AI, the artist designed “Maze: Journey Through the Algorithmic Self,” a sandy labyrinth. A book, accessible by a QR code within the installation, explores the impact of AI on everyday life. Faena Art is also presenting a sculpture by digital artist Beeple in the Faena Cathedral, in partnership with The Reefline. The mixed-media sculpture is a commentary on rising sea levels and climate change — particularly applicable to Miami.
Also on the ocean front, Eden Roc Miami Beach will unveil “The Art in Earth” on Dec. 6, an augmented reality installation that transports viewers to oceans around the world. The installation will benefit the PangeaSeed Foundation through prints available for purchase.
Further south on Miami Beach, environmental organization Parley for the Oceans is launching a fundraising initiative with Art Basel, Art for the Oceans. To help kick off the collaboration, Parley is bringing Julian Schnabel’s series “Oceans.Climate.Life” to Collins Park from Dec. 6 to 10, following its earlier debut at United Nations headquarters in New York.
And while you’re there, stop by The Bass Museum of Art, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The museum is unveiling several exhibitions during the fair, as well as a collaboration with Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle. The museum shop will feature a selection of fragrances along with new scent release Heaven Can Wait. A little bit further south, Creed is toasting its collaboration with artist Shawn Kolodny, who created the holiday window installations for Creed’s global boutiques. Kolodny will debut a large-scale public sculpture, scented by The House of Creed, on Española Way in Miami Beach.
Need a break from the beach? Miami-based designer Silvia Tcherassi is taking over the rooftop pool at Mr. C Miami in Coconut Grove. The designer lent her touch to custom pool towels and lounge cushions, featuring motifs from her recent resort collection.
The Tribeca Festival is making its Art Basel Miami Beach debut with The Music Lounge, a four-night series of musical performances and conversations at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden starting Dec. 6.
The Kimpton Surfcomber is hosting The Art of Wellness, a weeklong wellness and culture program that will feature fitness classes by Barry’s, recovery IV drips and ice plunge baths, as well as sunset cocktails, music by South Asian collective Indo Warehouse and zero-waste restaurant Slow Burn.
AI — proving a hot topic around the fair this year — has landed at The Standard Spa in the form of AI artist Tilly Talbot, making its U.S. debut at the hotel with House of Tilly. Alongside an installation of design prototypes, Tilly AI will serve as the hotel’s digital concierge for the week. In the café, Swedish designer Gustaf Westman’s colorful Scandinavian decor will be on display starting Dec. 4. The artist’s designs, including his “curvy mirror,” will add whimsy to the café through the start of 2024.
New in the Design District and Beyond
The Design District, synonymous with luxury fashion and art, is welcoming several new stores to the neighborhood. Gucci recently opened its fourth stand-alone men’s boutique in the U.S. around the corner from its main store. PatBo will celebrate its new boutique on Dec. 6 ahead of its public opening on Dec. 7, and Dion Lee will celebrate the opening of its Miami flagship, the brand’s first U.S. store, with a party on Dec. 9.
The Design District has debuted several new public art pieces in time for Miami Art Week. Lara Bohinc has been revealed as the winner of this year’s Design District design commission. Her immersive installation “Utopia” includes several bulbous sculptures, which will include a component on view at the Design Miami fair. Also keep an eye out for Samuel Ross’ three bench designs, newly installed in the district’s pedestrian walkways.
Nearby, French artist JR is debuting his new mural “The Chronicles of Miami” at the Design District’s Jungle Plaza. The artist photographed 1,048 people across ten different Miami neighborhoods, and has included their voices within an accompanying augmented reality app. Twin Cuban American artists Elliot and Erick Jiménez also recently completed a new site-specific mural, “Reclining Mermaid,” which underscores the connection between Miami and Caribbean and Latin America cultures.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is presenting Culture House, a five-day art gallery pop-up in the Design District from Dec. 6 through 10. Work by artists Cruise Bogle, Glenneisha Harris, Amelia Briggs, Harold Caudio and Crystal Paris will be on view, and the space will also host panels with LVMH executives, artists, music leaders and more.
Cartier is bringing its Time Unlimited exhibition Stateside to the Design District Dec. 7 through Dec. 22. The exhibition will present the brand’s watchmaking universe through displays of limited-edition and iconic timepieces including the Santos de Cartier, Baignoire and Tank, along with a film in collaboration with ambassador Jake Gyllenhaal.
Gallery powerhouses Jeffrey Deitch and Gagosian will debut “Forms,” their eighth annual collaborative group exhibition on view in the Design District from Dec. 5 through 10.
The Virgil Abloh-founded creative studio Architecture has organized a retrospective of Atiba Jefferson‘s skate photography, on view from Dec. 6 through 10. Jefferson, who has documented street skateboarding for more than 25 years, will be in town to host several panel discussions during the exhibition.
Rimowa has partnered with local artist Typoe on a custom chandelier, which will be permanently installed in the brand’s Design District boutique. The chandelier features the brand’s signature aluminum grooved design, along with geometric shapes in a bright color palette. To celebrate the release, Typoe created a limited-edition sticker pack that will be given out at the store.
In neighboring Wynwood, skin care brand Babor has linked with artist Cevin Parker, whose work appears on the packaging of a limited-edition “The Art of Beauty Collection” set. The set will include an AR animation that can be activated using a smartphone. The collaboration will be unveiled at an event on Dec. 7, featuring beauty treatments.
In late November, outdoor graffiti museum Wynwood Walls unveiled its newest acquisition: a late 1970s subway car, reclaimed from the Center for National Response in West Virginia. The historic car is now an interactive art exhibit, permanently installed in Wynwood. On Dec. 3, Wynwood Walls will also unveil new sculptures by Dan Lam and Ron English.
Where to Dine
While downtime can be hard to come by during the week, myriad new dining options around Miami make a strong case for prioritizing some R&R — or suggesting a dinnertime catch-up.
On Miami Beach, the 1 Hotel recently unveiled Tala Beach, its revamped outdoor lounge and cocktail bar with a Mediterranean-inspired menu. New York Italian restaurant Rao’s, notoriously difficult to get into, opened a South Beach outpost inside of the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in October. Pastis, another New York mainstay, also headed south, opening a location in Wynwood this past spring. In the nearby Upper Buena Vista neighborhood, next to the Design District, MasterChef Israel winner Tom Aviv opened his Israeli Mediterranean restaurant Branja earlier this year. And 11-seat Kappo-style omakase restaurant Ogawa recently made its debut in Little River.
In downtown Miami, cocktail bar The Roystone is highlighting the “World’s 50 Best Bars List” with a pop-up. From Dec. 7 to 9, the bar will feature cocktails from the likes of Locale Firenze, an Italian bar that ranks at number 46 on the list. Miami artist Lucy Glaser has teamed with Brickell restaurant LPM Miami and Ketel One to create custom glassware inspired by French artist and LPM muse Jean Cocteau. During Miami Art Week, the restaurant will serve its La Sucette cocktail in the glassware, which guests can take home.
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