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Jeff Soto: Miami Art Basel Part 1

Written by Jeff Soto   
Wednesday, 10 December 2008 08:52
Art fair here. Art fair there. Miami in December is a nice place to be.

Another Miami Art Basel has come and gone, another month's worth of art viewing rolled up into a few days has passed. It was intense, man. It was absolutely nutz. Yes nuts with a "Z".

Scion flew my pal Jon and I out and put us up at the Royal Palm in Miami Beach. Lot of the same characters from last year but a whole slew of new ones too. Seemed like the artwork I wanted to see was more concentrated on the mainland- Miami's Wynwood district.

Here's a few of the 300+ pictures I took:

Dallas Airport Magic Castle

Mandatory out the airplane window shot

After a whole day of traveling we're finally in Miami

When we got settled we headed out to see friends Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters who had rented a Miami Beach condo for the weekend. Mark Murphy and a sleepy Chris Ryniak were also there.

It wasn't the creepy clown or the mirrored kitchen that got me. It was the custom lamps that looked kinda like a dog skeleton with an internal butt plug. These things were tripping me out, we were afraid that when Brandt plugged it in it'd start vibrating or something. The owners of the condo had some strange things going on, but right on, that's pretty cool. Do it your own way!

Next day got up on California time, nice weather, warm breeze blowing. Let's get some food and go see some art.

Pulled pork sandwich. Good, but the watermelon was a little unripe. This the South Beach diet?

Ran into Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watson on bikes. No helmet for Mark. Then we caught the free shuttle to the mainland...

Fred Stonehouse at Aqua. Philip Slein Gallery.

A giant woodblock print by Tom Huck at Baer Ridgeway Exhibitions at Aqua.

One of my new favorite artists- Jean-Pierre Roy at Alix Sloan Fine Art.

Alix Sloan with a nice Marion Peck canvas.

Gary Baseman with Jonathan Levine Gallery's Laura Pinello and Malena Seldin, and the wicker hat bandit himself.

Mario Martinez (Mars-1) piece on paper. Very cool.

Jonathan "Straw hat" LeVine co-chillin.

A.J. Fosik (center) with Travis and David B. Smith of the newly renamed David B. Smith gallery.

Jon capturing some Shepard Fairey magic with his iPhone.

There was a lot of street art going up in the Wynwood district courtesy of Primary Flight.

Madman Will Barras up on the high ladder.

Sever

Logan Hicks with giant stencil piece.

WK Interact... we heard he was beat pretty seriously by an L.A. graffiti crew who thought he had painted over some of their graf. Heard they had dogs on him too. Crazy. I hate graffiti/gang shit like this. One of the reasons I quit graffiti. I hope what I heard was just rumors and I hope you're doing alright Mr. WK..

Not 100% sure who's work this is but it was dope.

Stopped in at a print show hosted by Theme Magazine. Some nice work in there. Tomokazu Matsuyama print.

Maya Hayuk print.

Kenji Hirata print.

Deanne Cheuk print.

Colin Christian's space lady at Vanguard fair.

A.J. Fosik sculpture.

Then back to Miami Beach for the Scion party. I had painted a car for Scion- a slammed XB Bonneville Salt Flats Racer. It was a little hard to see in the dark though.

Yoskay, a guy who's name is slipping my mind, Nate Frizzel (who's cousins with Mike Scaduto- a kid I grew up with), and Tessar at the Scion thing.

Edwin Ushiro, Souther Salazar and Kelsey Brooks at the party.

David Choe hooked me up and signed me a copy of his new book. Thanks homie.

Scion party pics:

People at the party had a view of a couple putting on a show with the drapes open. You pervs, hehe.

After the party it was time to get some Cuban food. Apologies to any vegetarians out there, but it was damn goood. I think I ate too much pork on this trip..

Then we went to some party that everyone was calling the "Shepard Fairey" party. DJ Z Trip was spinning and there was free drinks, but the best thing was the warm feel good vibe, seemed like lots of friends and artists all around. Had a great time.

Souther "L.A." Salazar and LeVine.

My head is not that huge in real life. Me and LeVine and Shepard.

David "Westside" Choong Lee was in the house.

Dalek is tall and gave me a hug. Baseman and Minnie Driver's little sister.

Miami Beach car porn.

Next entry coming soon...

Words and photos Jeff Soto. jeffsoto.com {moscomment}

Michael Garlington & The Metaphysical Fundraiser at 111 Minna

Although I missed the opening of Northern-California photographer Michael Garlington's newest show, Constructed Realities, I was fortunate enough to see the work still up during the Metaphysical fundraiser a couple weeks back at 111 Minna. Metaphysical fundraiser, an auction to benefit Wayne Ernzer. --- The ghoulish photographs in their heavy, hand-made frames are reminiscent of photos from the old west, and the glass crucifixes, complete with fetuses and guns, emphasize the accumulated time within the works themselves. Whether you're looking at the frames, the photos, or both, this show deserves a visit, and a walk through the golden archway Garlington constructed around the front door.


John Felix Arnold III in Japan (Part 3)

Fecal Face contributor Rachel Ralph (rachel(at)fecalface.com) has been profiling this Oakland based painter as he travels about Japan. In this segment, we feature some photos as he prepared for this show and residency at Spes-LaB in Tokyo which opened last weekend. Arnold will be featured in SFMoMA's Minna Street windows on June 8th.


Alex Lukas & Richard Colman @Guerrero Gallery

Last Saturday, here in SF's Mission district, Guerrero Gallery opened two new shows with Philly based Alex Lukas and SF based Richard Colman respectively. Colman's work occupied the project space while Lukas' work and foliage was presented in the main space. Worth getting to if you haven't already.


High 5s: Mexico-Land

Just got back to SF after a little trip south to Sayulita, Mexico. After 10 years without a vacation, me and the Mrs. headed south for some mental time off sitting in the sun, swimming and enjoying the watery Mexican beer. Here are some photos as we get back into the swing of things again.


High 5s: Puttin' The Pee in the Pod

For 13 years I've been blogging up randomness. Here's more of it.


Dimitris Polychroniadis (+Greece)

Athens, Greece based designer, architect and artist Dimitris Polychroniadis emailed over more of his work which consists of mixed media, pop-humorous diorama sculptures that make a comment on the harsh realities my country and much of the world is facing at the moment.


Skull & Sword at FFDG Featuring: Grime, Henry Lewis, Yutaro, and Lango

FFDG will open a group show with the artists from the famed Skull & Sword Tattoo on Friday, May 17th (6-9pm). Artists: Grime, Henry Lewis, Yutaro, and Lango. Below are a series of videos on Grime for Vice's Tattoo Age produced in 2011. Fascinating look at one of the greatest tattoo artists alive today.


ARYZ at Fifty24SF

ARYZ (Spain) opened his newest gallery show at Fifty24SF last Friday and, if you live in the Bay Area, you need to go. This dude can obviously paint, and he doesn't need an entire building to show his impecable skill. The show has lots of small works on paper which contrast his highly-defined line work to his hard-edged painted objects. The contrast between the hard and soft was the most striking thing to me about his work, since I had never seen it in person before, and the washes blend with the thick paint seamlessly. The show also contains a larger work on canvas, a huge head suspended in the back of the room, and a big wood sculpture of a wolf figure. This diversity in such a small space was impressive, and those of us that went to the opening even got to meet the man in person. If you didn't make it out this weekend, check it out before May 31st when it closes and these works will be off to some very happy new homes.


David Bayus @Water McBeer

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Hard Time Mini Mall @The Shooting Gallery

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"Ayre (of Distances)" by Nathan Cyprys +Toronto

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Alex Ziv & Mario Ayala at FFDG +Opening Pics

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Recent Works by David Lyle

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+London - David Shillinglaw Mural

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In The Streets of Copenhagen (Part 2)

Our buddy Henrik Haven, who brings us some goodies from his native Copenhagen, has been shooting some of his city's graffiti and street art. Last week we brought you part one of his camera's explorations.


Just The Two of Us at Adobe Books

San Francisco based artists Raphael Villet and Sean Vranizan are currently showing Just the Two of Us at Adobe Books through April 21. Here are some photos from the opening and works.


Skewville & Mark Warren Jacques @White Walls (SF)

Two twin brothers from Brooklyn, Skewville brought the fun to their opening at White Walls last Saturday night with their new show, Amusement. After all, you can't take a show that starts with a sign reading "Sucks either Way" too seriously. Besides the simplistic yet detailed paintings, visitors got to ride on a bike-powered merry-go-round and throw bean bags at bottles like a carnival game. Even the works made of found materials, like the Battleship boombox and the suitcase made of tin lunch pails, brought a sense of humor to the night. After seeing the work in the back of the gallery, which was much more crowded, Skewville provided a light-hearted atmosphere in which viewers could drink beer, play games, and see some really great artworks.


The Yok & Sheryo

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Skewville & Mark Warren Jacques @White Walls Saturday

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Julie B. of Pretty in Plastic

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Darth Across America

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In The Streets of Copenhagen

Our buddy Henrik Haven, who brings us some goodies from his native Copenhagen, has been shooting some of his city's graffiti and street art. Much to offer, we've broken the posts into 3 and will be posting more in the coming days.


Nicolas "Odö" Le Borgne @Spacejunk (Lyon, France)

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+SF
:: ODC Theater presents Indulge - Tue
:: Ants: The Invisible Majority - Wed
:: One-on-One Mentorship Final Group Show .. - Thu
:: Out-Of-Order - Thu
:: Ritlab: Create, Nosh, Shavuot - Thu

+NYC

+LA
:: JACK CURTIS DUBOWSKY ENSEMBLE presents .. - Thu

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