I flew into Miami last night to meet Trevor, who's here with the gallery for Art Miami. This morning, Cathy, Trevor and I were picked up by another gallerist/friend of Cathy's and her assistant and the five of us headed to a very interesting space. Apparently, decades ago, the son of a very wealthy family started collecting art--he was 13 years old--and now he and the family have a massive collection that they have opened up for public viewing. They curate different exhibits from the collection, and this one showcased the work he collected from the start until he was 21. The space was huge, and there was some terrific art there. We marveled at the idea of someone having enough money to just go around to galleries and art fairs and buy what they like. I can't remember the name of the space (I have a query text to Trevor and hopefully he'll get back to me soon), but here are a couple of images:
There were a lot of installation pieces, and one interactive piece. The museum was a big warehouse, and there was a small house beyond a wall in the backyard that is set for demolition. So some artists set up a porridge walk. We started by going through a hole in the wall behind the warehouse (there was ivy dripping from the top and it felt like we were about to enter a magical garden) and up a little walkway into this little house in disrepair. The first room in the house held a big table piled high with little white bowls, which we were told to take. The next room held another table piled with soup spoons. Then, in the next room, the kitchen, was yet another table, this one packed with what must have been fifty crock-pots full of porridge. A girl was ladeling out the porridge, and after we had a little bowl full, we wandered to the next two rooms, where there were two more tables: one piled with packets of raw sugar and another with raisin boxes. We ate up our porridge and wound up in the back yard, next to the path we'd started on. It was just charming and a lovely way to start the day.
Trevor and Cathy went to the fair, and once it opened at 11 I came in and did a bit of looking around. I left them after about thirty minutes (I'll go back tonight and again tomorrow with Rae and Letty) and wandered up to the Miami Design District to see what they had going on and scope out an option for tonight's dinner. And this is what I found.
This awesome sight was organized by a group called Friends With You as part of Art Basel (another big fair going on right now here in Miami). Apparently, it's an interactive display meant to play on the Hindu festival Holi, where people toss brightly colored paint powders at each other (it sounds odd but is so much fun [though I haven't done it, but seen it portrayed in a movie T. and I watched]--it's sort of like a food fight, but more fun because everyone is covered in colors instead of meatloaf).
There were lots of people around, walking through and sitting on the blankets that the Friends With You had put on the ground. After looking at more shops and restaurants in the district, I came back at lunch time, got a grilled cheese from a food-stand-in-a-van (there were three stands: the grilled cheese place, a bbq joint, and a sweets mobile, where I scored some mini-cupcakes for me, T., and Cathy to enjoy later on tonight). My picnic was most enjoyable, as was the scenery.
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| Gruyere and apple grilled cheese, and sweet potato fries |
I also wandered into a studio--Swamp Studio--across from the park. It was an odd little place, but there was a rooster. Not that a rooster makes things more normal, but certainly more interesting...
And now, I'll sign off to get ready for this evening. I'm meeting the working folks at the fair and then it's off to dinner with Lisa and Ashley, and Doug and Wally from another Chicago gallery. I'm sure I'll have more after Rachel and Letter come down, so look for it!
