PALMER’s Guide to Art Basel Miami Beach 2024

Art Basel Miami Beach is gearing up for an exciting week of world-class exhibitions and events, December 6–8, with VIP Preview Days on December 4 and 5. Directed for the first time by Bridget Finn, this year’s edition will present 283 premier galleries from 38 countries — its largest number of new exhibitors in over a decade.

Finn comes to Art Basel Miami with a deep knowledge of the gallery ecosystem, an intimate understanding of the North and South American art markets, and an extensive network of galleries, collectors, artists, curators, and institutional leaders. Prior to joining the Detroit-based gallery Reyes | Finn, she directed the contemporary art program at Mitchell-Innes & Nash and held several roles at Anton Kern Gallery in New York.

Aktion Art’s Nick Hissom, Bridget Finn, Director, Art Basel Miami Beach, and Ghislain d’Humières, Director and CEO of the Norton Museum of Art, at a reception at the Norton earlier this month.

Yasmil Raymond, will curate the fair’s “Meridians” section for the first time. Raymond is the former director of Portikus and rector of the Hochschule für Bildende Künste-Städelschule, Frankfurt, and was previously a curator at The Museum of Modern Art and Dia Art Foundation in New York. “Meridians” — a platform for large-scale projects — will feature 18 pieces by renowned artists including Alice Aycock, Rachel Feinstein, Roberto Huarcaya, Zhu Jinshi, Portia Munson, José Parlá, Danh Vo, Lee ShinJa, and Franz West. Titled “State of Becoming,” this iteration explores themes ranging from the unexpected contingencies of democracy to the heightened anxiety of global climate change.

Danh Vo, Untitled, 2021. Photo by Ollie Hammick, courtesy of the artist and White Cube.

“Kabinett” will feature over 20 meticulously curated showcases within galleries’ main booths, including the market debut of nearly a dozen paintings and works on paper from the 1940s by the master American Abstract-Expressionist painter Franz Kline (1910–1962) created prior to his affiliation with the New York School artists, offering rare insight into the early process and patronage of one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, presented by Hirschl & Adler Modern (New York).

Meanwhile, “Conversations,” its renowned talks program, curated for the first time by Kimberly Bradley, will kick off with a Premiere Artist Talk highlighting famed American artist Hank Willis Thomas. The Brooklyn-based conceptual artist primarily explores themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture.

Rendering of Seletega, 2024, by Nicholas Galanin. Photo courtesy of the artist and Faena Art.

Outside of the official fair, “Rachel Feinstein: The Miami Years” is on at the Bass Museum of Art, and Calida Rawles‘s first solo US museum show is on at the Pérez Art Museum. Read our reviews, here. Meanwhile, “Invisible Luggage”—featuring over 40 artists drawn from the collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody, as well as select loans from the Rubell Family collection, Bernard Lumpkin, and Joy Simmons—is open at Historic Hampton House.

In the world of fashion, Cartier is marking the 100th anniversary of its iconic Trinity collection with a special pop-up experience in Miami’s design district from December 4–8. The immersive “Trinity100” experience celebrates the history of the collection, taking visitors from present day back to 1924, when Louis Cartier designed the first piece of Trinity jewelry. Admission is complementary, but be sure to reserve a time slot online.

Photo courtesy of Cartier.

And finally, before the week ends, be among the first to dine at Carbone Vino, the new outpost at Coconut Grove. The hotly anticipated restaurant is set to open December 7.