Art Basel 2019: Pulse Miami Beach

Art Basel returns to Miami Beach (December 5-8, 2019) once again serving as a centerpiece for the biggest week of art in the USA. If you haven’t been before (or haven’t heard of it before), don’t worry, you’re not alone. Last year I quickly covered the basic gist of Art Basel — regardless, it is an experience. And with social media bringing to light so many things this country has to offer, Art Basel should definitely be a bucket list item to experience! So I suggest you arm yourself with a strong Cuban cafecito before starting Art Basel, it is quite the art journey.

There are so many questions around Art Basel, especially with the infamous $120,000 banana (that I felt was all people could talk about) quickly became viral. Although Vogue does a great job at explaining the banana piece, titled Comedian, by Maurizio Cattelan. True”old-school” Art Baselers question if Art Basel Miami is still fun — meanwhile I am here to say that I personally still enjoy attending. Its an accumulation of public art and installations, events, parties, and of course, the fairs — big fairs like Art Basel, small fairs, satellite fairs like PULSE and Scope, and everything else that could be even loosely described as art. This year I had the pleasure of touring through the different art fairs as press — which may seem small, but it was a first time achievement on my end!

Pulse Miami Beach

Moving on to PULSE Art Fair, which is more up north on Miami Beach (a bit similar to Scope). Pulse is also right on the beach and boardwalk, near the Foutainbleau Hotel. It was a jam-packed day running from Scope to PULSE, but I was on a time crunch having missed most of Art Basel (full-time Architect over here lol).  Art Basel has come to encompass art events all over Miami. Technically, Basel is what happens in the convention center, but I love PULSE, especially this year. It truly was an escape from the mania of Art Basel. For its 15th year anniversary, PULSE theme was “calms in the palms” as they described it to be “an oasis of calm in the rough seas of Miami Art Week.” — which I must say it truly was. First thing you see is the tank parked right outside the entrance, but inside it was (not as crowded as Scope) all beachy “vybes” of CBD-infused cocktails and relaxing hammocks among the art and waterfront setting. Each art fair has its own vibe, with a different experience — that is the beauty of Miami art week.

Of course the first highlight at PULSE was Ralph Ziman’s SPOEK 1 sitting right by the entrance. It’s a restored 11-ton decommissioned, apartheid-era Casspir vehicle. The Casspir has been transformed into a work of art, its surfaces covered in 70 million elaborate and brightly-colored glass beads, arrayed in panels of traditional patterns. Aside from the giant 1970s tank, my absolute favorite pieces were the Le Travail est Un Art Series by @PrinceJyesi. Which I actually came across his “Projection” piece on Instagram before, I remember taking a screenshot, it was absolutely beautiful. So it was quite the pleasant surprise to see it in person, along with the rest of Le Travail est Un Art series of vibrant colors and African beauty.

“Love by The Yard” series (by Vicky Barranguet) featured long paintings, almost tapestry-like scrolls, of acrylic on canvas, where you become a part of Vicky’s world. Becoming a part of the artistic process is exactly what this artist hoped for. Which I think she succeeded because even one of my followers DM’d me saying it was satisfying to watch. Whether you look at it up, down, or sideways, Barranguet’s paintings drew me in, in a very lyrical and spirited manner.

“ Art is about love and emotions… we certainly cannot buy or sell love, patience, kindness, solidarity, compassion. [Art] contains essential values, contrast, darkness and light, dreams, reality and life.” — Vicky Barranguet

That was all Day 1 of Art Basel 2019 (at least for me, because I was late!!). It was a crazy hell of a day, but I loved it all. PULSE 2019 did not disappoint. Aside from the art, of course, Miami Beach can do no wrong — we lunched, we danced, we went out for dinner. Art Basel as a whole is an experience. (Which bears far better fruit than a banana…)