by Onajídé Shabaka - 19 Dec., 2006

   NADA & Galerie Perrotin

    by Onajídé Shabaka

Even though I read that the Art Basel organization seems to find the galleries at NADA's (New Art Dealers Association) art fairs more worthy of entry into the "big" fair, I did not get enough of a chance to see more work here. It was too close to closing so, I dashed through as quickly as I could to see everything and stop in a few places: Ingalls & Associates, Momenta Art, Wallspace, White Columns. Carl Pope at Momenta caught my attention, as it has in the past, because I'm so used to having seen these "bills" posted in the black ghettos where I've lived featuring boxing and, music events. He takes those historical artifacts and plays with the words and images in the white cubic gallery context, injecting a humor and irony that I find I can relate to.

NADA Miami 2006

Momenta Art
Carl Pope (background)
Yoko Inoue (foreground)

Ingalls & Associates

Later in the evening of the 8th Galerie Perrotin (below) had an opening and dinner party that gave many of us the opportunity to renew old friendships. Ward Shelley was there, whom I hadn't seen in person is so many years I had forgotten what he looked like. But, as was my theme for the fairs this year, I made some new acquaintances that were very good.

Elmgreen et Dragset "Disgrace" (above), consists of two sculptures, which twist the old theme of “masters & servants.” A white Rolls Royce Corniche has been dipped into tar and rolled in feathers. The Rolls Royce turns in a 360 degree circle from its center on a turntable car display. "Rosa," the trophy maid servant's body is cast in bronze and covered in real gold, stands at the entrance of the gallery space awaiting your requests.

The sculptures of Xavier Veilhan, "Miami Snowflakes," were on the second floor but, it was nice how they came forward and receded into space as the light reflected off of the angled surfaces. They were a bit larger than human scale so, their presence as big black intimidating objects balanced on small spaces on the floor was a bit precarious up close.

Galerie Perrotin had a large booth in Art Basel Miami Beach proper but, this gallery work furthered the offerings of Wim Delvoye (above and below images). These large sculptures of a cruzifix and "crown of thorns" were both distorted by visually twisting and distorting the angles through an optical device then being produced. I suspect that one could actually position oneself in a way that would or could allow one to see these objects in an undistorted way but, it certainly was not possible during an evening where the gallery was filled with people and eating and drinking. At the convention center Delvoye had tattooed pigskin hides. If you like tatts, you'd possibly like them for their designs but, the skin also has the hairs still attached which gave them a strangeness that was a bit twisted.

Galerie Perrotin side property, live music, food and drink.

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