by Onajídé Shabaka - 22 Dec., 2006

   Basel Miami the Convention Center

    by Onajídé Shabaka

Previously mentioned a number of times, my own photography could have been better, lots better in fact, but in my hands was a tool that I was not totally familiar with. Therefore, the types of images previously shown online during the ABMB and other fairs was less in quantity. Now that my excuse is out of the way, I'm providing a little selection of things I felt compelled to photograph. Since my primary purpose was to confer and network with a number of people, mostly work that I preferred ended up being photographed.

The reasons for taking a few moments to look at art in the environment of a fair might seem obvious to some but, after noticing the specific images laid out on this page, some questions began to arise about personal taste.

Jean Dubuffet is a favorite after having seen the first paintings in person. They are much more dynamic than the reproductions. The Alice Neel kind of amazes me for the way she used the green giving the skin tone a color that would, under most circumstances, say puke. Of course, having a handsome, interesting face to paint and then look at helps tremendously. The number of abstract works photographed was a bit surprising although, that observation came after the fact.

Jean Dubuffet

Gunther Forg
Galerie Lelong, NY

Terry Winters
Jablonka Galerie, Berlin

Cy Twombly
Galerie Karsten Greve, Koln

Moshekwa Langa

Katarina Fritsch
Alexandra Mollof, London UK

Alice Neel

(sadly, misplaced the artist's name & European gallery)

Mickalene Thomas
at Rhona Hoffman, Chgo

One thing is for sure, if every art event in S. Florida got covered the the press and bloggers the way ABMB did, things would be very different. We could very likely have events throughout the year worthy of somc conversation rather than waiting a whole year for the beginning of December.

Want to see more of the fair? Miami Art Exchange assistant, Pablo GT, took lots of pics!

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