Press Release
Reinforcing its position as the premier art fair of the Americas, Art Basel returns for a full-scale, in-person show in Miami Beach this December, with a lineup of over 250 leading galleries from across the globe
- 253 leading galleries from 36 countries and territories will exhibit, with 44 galleries joining the fair for the first time
- With more than half of its participating exhibitors having spaces in the Americas, the fair will present a unique overview of artists, galleries, and key trends from the region, with premier works across all media
- Art Basel Live, the fair’s multichannel digital initiative, will amplify gallery presentations to broader audiences worldwide
- Art Basel, whose Lead Partner is UBS, will take place from December 2 to December 4, 2021 at the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC)
The 2021 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach – Art Basel’s first in-person fair in Miami Beach since 2019 – will bring together 253 leading international galleries to present the highest quality of artworks across all media, from painting and sculpture to photography and digital art. As the leading global art fair in the Americas, the list of exhibitors includes galleries from 36 countries and territories spanning five continents, with more than half of exhibitors having spaces in North and South America.
The show welcomes 43 first-time exhibitors, including, First Floor Gallery Harare from Harare and Victoria Falls, Galerie Knoell from Basel, Rele Gallery from Lagos, Paul Coulon, Olivier Malingue and Southard Reid from London. New entries to the fair from the Americas include Mignoni from New York in the Galleries sector; Proyectos Ultravioleta from Guatemala City, Broadway and Nicola Vassell both from New York in Nova; Pequod Co. from Mexico City, Helena Anrather and Housing both from New York in Positions; and Daniel Faria Gallery from Toronto, Fridman Gallery from New York, and Piero Atchugarry Gallery with exhibition spaces in Garzón and Miami in Survey.
Art Basel continues to support its exhibitors by offering alternative models for participation in the Miami Beach edition. Seven joint booths will feature at the fair: A Gentil Carioca and Goodman Gallery, Galeria Estação and Luciana Brito Galeria, Franklin Parrasch Gallery and Parrasch Heijnen Gallery, Galeria Jaqueline Martins and Labor, and Olivier Malingue and Paul Coulon in Galleries; Galerie Knoell and Larkin Erdmann Gallery in Survey; and Proyectos Ultravioleta and von Bartha in Nova.
After a successful debut at the fair in 2019, the Meridians sector will return to the MBCC with a dynamic lineup of large-scale projects that challenge the boundaries of the traditional art fair layout. The sector will once again be curated by Museo Tamayo Director Magalí Arriola.
Additionally, the City of Miami Beach will acquire through its Legacy Purchase Program up to two artworks from the Nova or Positions sectors to enter the City’s public art collection via a public vote. The new acquisitions will be on view at a dedicated publicly accessible area of the MBCC.
Bringing together Art Basel’s physical and digital platforms in full scale, the Miami Beach edition will embrace a hybrid format. Following success at Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Basel in Basel earlier this year, Art Basel Live will amplify the onsite presentations in Miami Beach, transmitting the vibrancy and excitement from the show floor to the broadest possible global audience with a digital program comprising Online Viewing Rooms, virtual walkthroughs of the show floor and OVRs, livestreamed conversations and social media broadcasts.
Galleries
The main sector of the fair features 185 of the world's leading galleries presenting the highest quality of painting, sculpture, drawings, installation, photography, video, and digital works. Six galleries previously exhibiting in Nova will graduate into Galleries: Patron, Galerie Crèvecœur, Galerie Jérôme Poggi, Mariane Ibrahim, and Barro. For the full gallery list for Galleries, please visit artbasel.com/miami-beach/galleries.
Positions
This year, the Positions sector brings together 19 solo presentations by emerging talents from across the globe. Sector highlights include: First-time participant Afriart Gallery’s presentation of a series of four paintings by Sungi Mlengeya, on the lives of four Black women from East Africa and their views on womanhood; Claudia Peña Salinas’ project, which continues her ongoing research into Aztec mythology, exploring indigenous notions of verticality and symbolism of water, presented by Curro; ‘The New Americans’ by Vincent Valdez, a series of 21 portraits of subjects that inspire viewers to challenge the notions of the American perspective, presented by Matthew Brown Los Angeles; and Rele Gallery’s booth with Marcellina Akpojotor, featuring a series of works that honor the life and legacy of the artist’s great-grandmother, exploring ideas of memory, history, and remembrance. For the full gallery list for Positions, please visit artbasel.com/miami-beach/positions.
Nova
Nova provides a platform for galleries to present new work by up to three artists, this year featuring 25 presentations. Highlights include: a solo exhibition of recent works by 2021 BMW Art Journey winner Julien Creuzet at Document; a group presentation of works by Patricia Belli, Mónica Bengoa, and Catalina Swinburn, inspired by the artists’ local stories of gender inequality, geopolitical diasporas, and the daily Latin American use of the textiles, at Galería Isabel Aninat; centered around the common theme of ‘troubled waters,’ new works by Diedrick Brackens and Jessie Homer French exploring themes ranging from climate justice to racial violence and historical memory, at Various Small Fires; a selection of never-before-seen works by Felipe Mujica, jointly presented by Proyectos Ultravioleta and von Bartha; and an immersive installation by Ambera Wellmann on the politics of queer space and futurity at Company Gallery. For the full gallery list for Nova, please visit artbasel.com/miami-beach/nova.
Survey
Featuring 17 focused presentations of work created before 2000, Survey introduces five new galleries to the Miami Beach edition, among them Welancora Gallery from New York and galerie lange + pult from Zürich. Further highlights include: the room-sized installation ‘Harlem Quilt’ (1997) by June Clark at Daniel Faria Gallery; a presentation of rare 20th-century works by Dindga McCannon at Fridman Gallery; paintings and sculptures spanning nearly three decades by María Freire at Piero Atchugarry Gallery; and a selection of works by Tina Girouard from her early years in New York at Anat Ebgi. For the full gallery list for Survey, please visit artbasel.com/miami-beach/survey.
Edition
Five global leaders in the field of prints and editioned works feature in the sector: Carolina Nitsch, Cristea Roberts Gallery, Polígrafa Obra Gràfica, Susan Sheehan Gallery, and Two Palms. For further information, please visit artbasel.com/miami-beach/edition.
Details on Meridians as well as Kabinett, the sector for curated selections displayed by galleries in a separate section of their booth; and the Conversations program, featuring dialogues with prominent members of the international artworld, will be released in the coming weeks.
Museums Shows and Private Collections
Visitors to Art Basel Miami Beach will have the opportunity to experience South Florida’s leading museums and private collections, including:
- The Bass
‘Naama Tsabar: Perimeters’
‘Alex Israel x Snapchat’
‘Abraham Cruzvillegas: Agua dulce’
‘Najja Moon: Your Mommas Voice in the Back of Your Head’
‘Open Storage: Selections from the Collection & Works on Loan’
‘The Willfulness of Objects’
‘Art Outside’
- de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space
‘There Is Always One Direction'
- Espacio 23 / Jorge Pérez Collection
‘Witness: Afro Perspectives from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection’
- Frost Art Museum – Florida International University
‘Bob Dylan: Retrospectrum’
- The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami)
‘Hugh Hayden and Jade Fadojutimi (3rd floor)’
‘Betye Saar: Serious Moonlight - a survey of monumental immersive work from the 1980s by the legendary artist (2nd floor)’
- Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (MOCA)
‘My Name is Maryan: a monographic presentation encompassing four decades of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and film by the iconoclastic Polish-born artist Maryan, curated by Alison Gingeras’
- Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
‘Allied with Power: African and African Diaspora Art from the Jorge M. Perez Collection’
‘Meleko Makgosi: Your Trip to Africa’
‘Zhivago Duncan: Pretentious Crap’
‘The Artist as Poet: Selections from PAMM’s Collection’
‘Jedd Novatt: Monotypes and More’
‘Marco Brambilla: Heaven’s Gate’
‘Felipe Mujica: The Swaying Motion on the Bank of the River Falls’
‘George Segal: Abraham’s Farewell to Ishmael’
- Wolfsonian – Florida International University
‘Shameless: an eye-popping exhibition of pattern and design, featuring works from Dutch artist Bas Van Beek’
- Margulies Collection at the Warehouse
'Arte Povera’
- Rubell Museum
‘5 single artist exhibitions: Hernan Bas, Yayoi Kusama, Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, Genesis Tramaine and Kennedy Yanko’
Design Miami
Taking place concurrently to the Art Basel fairs in Miami Beach and Basel, Design Miami is the premier venue for collecting, exhibiting, discussing, and creating collectible design. In its 17th edition this year, Design Miami will take place from December 1 to December 5, adjacent to the MBCC (at Meridian Avenue and 19th Street). For more information, please visit designmiami.com.
Art Basel’s highest priority remains the health and safety of its staff, exhibitors, and visitors, and the show's design and logistics will be adapted to ensure a safe fair environment. Further details on the health and safety measurements for the fair are available at artbasel.com/covid-19.