I just couldn’t resist making one more trip back to the Art Basel Fair, believe it or not, I had to see more! This time with painter friend Bryan Schellinger who is showing at Aqua with both Quality Pictures and Romo Gallery (Atlanta). And will share more (below). But want to mention that it is as as stimulating as it is overwhelming. Cavernous space filled with so many eye-popping goodies. Like an endless variety show, pleasing the most discerning to sleazy of tastes. We spent a solid five hours at the Miami Convention Center and probably walked something nearing three or four miles, probably more.

By far the outstanding work of the day was a split mirror piece by 75-year old Italian Michelangelo Pistoletto. The blackness of the mirror and the gilded frame screamed absorption of excess, and played of the entire ‘beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’ addage since it was cut in half and hung on adjoining walls at an angle. Beauty is only perception. Often momentary, fleeting. The work is genius, and he is my biggest discovery this year. Since he’s been making art since the year of my birth I should consider myself lucky for finding him now rather than later, yes?

One highlight of my day was finally meeting AA Bronson after many years of writing to each other. Despite our twenty odd years of different generations, we are of similar cloth, and sharing a cuban coffee and other local treats alongside the Fillmore will be a memorable moment. We talked about our connections to Canada, the lay of the land in Miami and art fairs in general, he’s a lovely and somewhat softspoken man. Our conversation was so easy and gently open. I will hope to again see him before I leave Florida. I will certainly pop back to see his Printed Matter shop at the Basel fair.

The pieces of resonance today were video work by Bill Viola and Doug Aitken, some amazingly beautiful Picasso cut paper works, more stunning work by Gerhard Richter, large paintings by Carsten Nicolai, multiple cloak pieces by Ann Hamilton, Damien Hirst’s distgustingly beautiful crushed black fly piece at White Cube, beautiful sold record cover collages by Christian Marclay, some pricey and awe inspiring boxes by Joseph Cornell, an amazing Man Ray photo with fabric collage (above), Francis Bacon, seeing both Mary Boone and Charles Cowles live in person, being checked out by a famous bespeckaled dealer (!), people watching, work filled with sex and death and color and memory and dissonance. I also was pleased to see Richard Speer and meet his mom who was very nice, about at Aqua in the evening. Again, I am going to leave you with a series of images for you to read and weep, or do what you will with…

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