New Art in Containers
Art Basel Miami
www.ArtBasel.com
«Art Positions» a «Pioneers Village» for cutting edge galleries created by Art Basel Miami Beach
Art Basel Miami Beach, the International Art Show, is taking place for the first time from December 13 to 16, 2001, in Miami Beach, Florida, and offers the participating galleries innovative platforms to promote and present art. In South Beach, only a few minutes walk from the heart of this new art event, the Miami Beach Convention Center, 20 cutting edge galleries will be provided with shipping containers refurbished as exhibition spaces. Grouped together in a container village, this platform by the name of «Art Positions» offers an interesting and costeffective presentation forum for new art. This pioneers village developed together with innovative architects sets a spectacular accent in the Art Deco District of Miami Beach. «Art Positions» is sponsored by the logistics company Danzas.
The promotion of cutting edge galleries and consequently also of emerging art is a longstanding tradition of Art Basel and will be intensified further in Miami Beach. But there is not just «Art Positions»: the «Art Statements» sector, which was highly successful in Basel, will be staged as an integral part of the new event in the actual heart of the new art show, the Miami Beach Convention Center. In 19 sponsored booths, galleries can present young artists to an international public for the first time in one-person shows at highly attractive rates. Furthermore, numerous galleries are presenting a broad spectrum of international contemporary art in the «Art Galleries» sector. The «Art Video Lounge» a further off-site facility of the new art show is presenting an extensive program of new video work.
On the delightful beach by Collins Park only a few minutes’ walk from the Art Show in the Miami Beach Convention Center, Art Basel Miami Beach is providing 20 young galleries with shipping containers that have been refurbished as exhibition spaces. «Art Positions» provides galleries for which participation in international art shows would still be too expensive with an attractive alternative for presenting their avantgarde program.
The following 20 galleries have been admitted to «Art Positions»:
Air de Paris, Paris
Catherine Bastide, Brussels
Carlier Gebauer, Berlin
China Art Objects, Los Angeles
Cohan Leslie and Browne, New York
Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco
Galerie Martin Janda Raum aktueller Kunst, Vienna
Galleria Francesca Kaufmann, Milan
Andrew Kreps, New York
Kuckei Kuckei, Berlin
Lombard-Freid Fine Arts, New York
Meyer Riegger Galerie, Karlsruhe
Galería Espacio Mínimo, Madrid
Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo
Rare, New York
Sandroni.Rey, Venice LA
Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Vedanta Gallery, Chicago
Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam
The Selection Committee of Art Basel Miami Beach, consisting of the renowned art dealers Jane Corkin (Jane Corkin Gallery,Toronto), David Juda (Annely Juda Fine Art, London), Dr. Ursula Krinzinger (Galerie Krinzinger, Wien), Lawrence Luhring (Luhring Augustine, New York), Mary-Anne Martin (Mary-Anne Fine Art, New York), Lucy Mitchell-Innes (Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York), Tim Neuger (neugerriemschneider, Berlin), Shaun Caley Regen (Regen Projects, Los Angeles), Angel Samblancat (Prats/Polígrafa, Barcelona), Frederic Snitzer (Frederic Snitzer Gallery, Miami), Luisa Strina (Galería Luisa Strina, Sao Paulo) chose the most innovative and promising young galleries from around 60 applications from 10 countries. They are showing a broad spectrum of international contemporary art and invite visitors to discover new artists.
The conversion of standardized shipping containers to mobile exhibition spaces was planned by the Basel architecture firm Steinmann & Schmid, which made a name for itself over the past years with intelligent and beautifully designed buildings.
The following conditions placed the two architects before considerable challenges: the shipping containers could not be altered in any way, and the refurbished containers had to comply with the strict safety regulations of the Building Department and the Fire Marshal of the City of Miami Beach. The presented solution succeeded optimally with regard to function, form and esthetics. The containers are lined with white wooden walls that turn them into white cubes. The lighting is provided both by daylight as well as by roof lighting, which can be supplemented individually by special lighting as needed. At night, the containers can be locked to protect from burglary. Electrical connections, an emergency light and a fire extinguisher are also part of the standard equipment, as well as a railing for the small ramp by which visitors access the containers. Every container has a plastic front with a door. The outside of this element can be inscribed with the gallery name and the inside is suitable for shelving. Air conditioning in the containers create pleasant temperatures for the gallery owners and their visitors. As a further measure to protect from climatic influences, a silver-colored plastic sheet is put up over each container, which also gives the container village an esthetically pleasing and unified appeal.
Danzas, the worlds leading logistics company was successfully enlisted as the sponsor of «Art Positions». The company has been the regular logistics provider for numerous trade shows by exhibition companies in Europe and the rest of the world for forty years. The company is responsible for transporting the entire stand construction material of Art Basel Miami Beach.
A particular architectural gem for visitors is the «Setai Bar», which LO/TEK, the avant-garde New York group of architects is constructing right on the marvellous waterfront of South Beach. The building created from a standardized shipping container is based on the concept of an American Diner and serves as an information stand and bar, where the exhibitors of «Art Positions» can get their refreshments. Every evening from 6 to 8 oclock, the art public will meet for the Happy Hours with Music and Cocktails. The crew of the «Crobar» brings the hottest DJs. The «Setai Bar» is operated by «Joiya».
The VIP guests of Art Basel Miami Beach will be looked after in the pavilion of the Setai Group, which will be the off-site facility of the legendary «Art Collectors Lounge». Heres where the internationally active Setai Group will erect a 40-storey five-star hotel with apartments over the next 2 years in the immediate vicinity of «Art Positions».
PM4/Art Positions, October 2001
Information on Art Basel Miami Beach can be obtained from:
Art Basel Miami Beach, P.O. Box, CH-4021 Basel, tel. 41 61 686 20 20, fax 41 61 686 31 30, e-mail: MiamiBeach@ArtBasel.com, www.ArtBasel.com
For the USA:
US Office Art Basel Miami Beach: FITZ & CO, Sara Fitzmaurice, 526 West 26 Street #916, USA-New York, NY 10001, tel. 1 212 627 1531, fax 1 212 627 0654,
e-mail: usoffice@ArtBasel.com
For Florida:
Florida Office Art Basel Miami Beach, Garber & Goodman Inc. 301 41st Street Miami Beach, FL 33140, tel. 1 305 674 1292, fax 1 305 673 1242, e-mail: floridaoffice@ArtBasel.com
Media information on the internet:
Media information, photos and logos can be downloaded directly from www.ArtBasel.com. Media representatives can also subscribe to the media mailing list in order to receive information and invitations to Art Basel Miami Beach automatically in future.
