Hasta La Ideas

(Photos: UnBeige))

Sunny and downright steamy Miami is awash in black ensembles and chunky eyewear as Art Basel Miami Beach, Design Miami, and the growing list of parallel fairs—we counted 14—are in full swing. Hotels are hopping, from the budget-priced Days Inn (we liked its low-fi marquee, pictured above) to the slick Setai and the freshly renovated Fontainebleau, where the rooms are decorated with John Baldessari prints and the legacy of Morris Lapidus endures. Over at the convention center, where a mind-boggling 265 galleries are exhibiting their wares, Wednesday’s seizure of $6 million worth of paintings from Gmurzynska gallery made the front page of yesterday’s special edition of The Art Newspaper, but all was calm when we stopped by the booth, which is dominated by a giant Yves Klein canvas. Among the celebrities spotted prowling the aisles so far: Steve Wynn (who snapped up a 2007 James Rosenquist canvas from Acquavella), John McEnroe, Calvin Klein, and Sylvester Stallone, who has taken up painting himself. We also spied fashion designer Peter Som and oodles of art folks, including Ai Weiwei, Richard Prince, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Eli Broad, and Glenn Lowry. The mood is upbeat, a marked improvement over last year but nothing near the frenetic vibe of 2007. With so much to see and do in Miami in just a few days, we’re taking the advice of artist Santiago Sierra, whose monumental sculpture is among the 13 works displayed in the public spaces of Miami Beach as part of the fair’s Art Projects division. His truck-bound 2009 work (pictured below) offers a concise answer to the eternal question: Can I manage to see it all?

Santiago Sierra, “NO,” 2009

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While Stephanie is down in Florida this week to take in all that is Art Basel Miami, we feel the need to remind you that she is not there to do anything illegal or against court order. Absolutely not. We don’t want her to get into trouble with any U.S. Marshals who apparently were all over the place right before the art fair opened on Wednesday. They were there to confiscate a series of paintings by the likes of Degas and Miro that were caught in the middle of “an insurance dispute between two dealers,” reports Bloomberg. Fortunately, it sounds as though everything has since been resolved and if you want to buy said Degas and Miros, they’re now available.

The works had hung in the booth of Zurich-based Galerie Gmurzynska among paintings and sculptures by Pablo Picasso, Robert Indiana and actor Sylvester Stallone.

Artworks have never been seized by authorities in Art Basel Miami Beach’s 8-year history, said Sara Fitzmaurice, a fair spokeswoman.

Also, in another weird bit from Miami, the car company Audi has used the art fair to unveil one of its latest models. The company is one of the prime sponsors behind Art Basel, so we can understand having cars there to show off, but it seems a little odd to do a complete announcement at an art buying show, even if you hire tabloid-heavies Chris Noth and Lucy Liu to pose next to it. Automobile says Liu “should not quit her day job” and the Miami Herald tries to explain why the company would to the unveil here and spend “upwards of $10 million” in the process.

At Design Miami, the 2011 Audi A8 is full size—it’s the lamp, furniture, and coffee table books that are gargantuan. (Photos: UnBeige)

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