Daily Front Row

2009 December 7

Dear Daily!

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(NEW YORK) Dear Daily!

Art Basel Miami Beach is where the art and the parties are even hotter than the Miami heat! This year, the sun was back shining inside the Fair. The mega-collectors arrived early for the VIP opening and by looking at the huge crowd waiting for the doors to open, one might think that dealers were giving away art for free.

The VIP crowd storming the Fair in pursuit of their first purchase was an eclectic mix of art, fashion and surprisingly, sports. Sylvester Stallone, known everywhere to filmgoers as “Rocky,” is now known to the art world as painter. His paintings were showcased for the first time at Gmurzynska’s booth where Steve Wynn, having just purchased a James Rosenquist, added a Stallone to his collection. Princess of Michael of Kent, a consultant to the gallery, congratulated Stallone on the sale as he held court in front of Alessandro Mendini’s installation at the VIP lounge’s Cartier saloon. Stallone confessed that he was “intimidated to exhibit in the same space as his artist heroes,” which included Fernando Botero. The Stallone buzz was a fantastic reversal of fortune for the gallery and quieted some of the gossip surrounding the fact that the US Marshals Service had seized $6 million in works from the booth that same morning.

The ever-gorgeous Elle Macpherson stopped by Tony Shafrazi’s booth to say hello and to look at Dennis Hopper’s body of photographs. Nearby, John McEnroe and Patti Smith peeked in on the Jorge Pardo installation. Val Kilmer was mesmerized by Kehinde Wiley’s commissioned portrait of Michael Jackson while Lance Armstrong learned about the new public art initiative Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND). LAND was founded by superstar curators Shamim Momin and Christine Kim and described by Shamim as a “museum without walls.” Other notables seen at the Fair included: LA mega-collector Eli Broad, T Magazine’s Stefano Tonchi, Mexico’s biggest contemporary art collector Eugenio Lopez, Phillip’s Simone de Pury, N.Y.’s grande dame patron Aggie Gund, and Art Production Fund divas, Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen.

The feverish pitch at the Fair was matched by Miami madness and all of the parties. Aby Rosen’s new W Hotel was this year’s party palace with Larry Gagosian hosting the opening night dinner. Sante D’Orazio hosted a cocktail party to celebrate the launch of his newest book, Barely Private, while the Sex Pistols treated the guests with a poolside concert. Everyone could be seen, from fashion favorite Marilyn Minter to PS1’s Tim Goosens to Michael and Eva Chow, whose new restaurant at the W was standing room only.

As I made my way through the W Hotel’s velvet ropes with the ultimate art bag, Richard Phillips' Jimmy Choo clutch, I was greeted by Richard, smiling to see me once again with his sac. I had the pleasure to meet Richard this summer at the Venice Biennale when he approached me to tell me that I was “carrying his bag.” Richard’s bag was the perfect accessory amongst the art glamour crowd that was in full force at the Rosen, Peter Brant and Alberto Mugrabi dinner. The luminaries included Naomi Cambell, Samantha Boardman Rosen, Tory Burch, Lyor Cohen, Marjorie Gubelman, Paul Wilmot, Becca Cason Thrash, Jane Holzer and Aaron Young. The party continued after dinner at W’s club, The Wall, where Vito Schnabel, Stavros Niarchos and Alex Dellal hosted a soiree into the early hours of the morning.

Andre Balazs’ Standard Hotel was also the scene of a number of fabulous events, including the cocktail party celebrating the eagerly anticipated 2010 Whitney Biennial. Beth de Woody, Brooke Gerber Neidich and Whitney Director Adam Weinberg hosted the lovely affair on the water. Gary Carrion Murayari, one of the curators of the 2010 Whitney Biennial, was there, holding the key to the future of many up-and-comers: the list of artists to be included. Along with UBS, Anne Pasternak also hosted a dinner at the Standard, this one to celebrate LA artist Pae White’s “glowing” oceanfront installation, presented by Creative Time and inspired by shantytowns in Shanghai, Mumbai and Rio.

One of this year’s highlights was Patti Smith’s spectacular private performance of her music and poetry. The intimate evening was held at a warehouse in Wynwood District, the Chelsea of Miami, and the lucky few in attendance included Calvin Klein, Bruce Weber, Kai Kuhne and the Warhol Museum’s Eric Shiner. 

Although Balazs no longer owns it, The Raleigh still remains the art world watering hole and the rendezvous destination for insiders.  Kalup Linzy and Terence Koh gave surprise performances for those lucky enough to be in-the-know and Terence’s performance led everyone to the beach, including Bob Colacello and Vanity Fair’s Wendy Stark. Santigold performed at Jeffrey Deitch’s annual party by the pool while Peter Som was fêted by gallerist David Zwirner. By the bar, drinks flowed as artists mingled:  Kehinde Wiley, Eduardo Sarabia and Todd Eberle all soaked up the scene. Given rumors that the Dutch Secret Service considers her a “person of interest,” I was half-hoping to see rising art star Jill Magid tailed by men in white earpieces and wooden clogs, but she laughed off any controversy. Magid is, however, being closely followed by the art world, with a current show at the Tate Modern and and a cocktail party for Creative Time at J. Mendel on Thursday night, which she will be co-hosting with art world beauty Amy Phelan and myself.

The last night, after all the indoor sunshine and with the sand cooling as I looked up at the huge waning moon, I was grateful for having once again been a part of one of the most special gatherings of the year: Art Basel Miami Beach. See you there next year!

Lisa xoxo