The Art Basel Miami Beach’s overwhelming scope resists tidy conclusions. This tradition began with Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous Comedian, a duct-taped banana that sold for six figures in 2019, turning Art Basel into a stage for audacious stunts. Two years ago, an ATM with a leaderboard tracked and displayed users’ bank balances, adding to this lineage of absurd provocations.
Restraint and reflection at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024: a changing narrative
The sheer overflow of art, from an array of styles, mediums, and global perspectives, made Art Basel Miami Beach 2024 a big event for art lovers.
Yet, 2024’s edition felt notably restrained—no shocking gimmicks, no headlines about outlandish spectacles. Instead, the usual suspects dominated: Warhol, Picasso, Basquiat, Keith Haring, Ai Weiwei, and Zhu Jinshi. It’s possible this indicates a shift toward a more “serious” tone for the event—or maybe attendees are simply growing weary of the theatrics.
The art world’s shift to meaningful narratives
Even Perrotin, the gallery behind Comedian and the ATM installation, played it safe, showing Danielle Orchard’s vaguely Cubist paintings of women. At Sean Kelley Gallery, Peter Liversidge’s neon sign declaring “Enough is enough” stood out as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the absurdity of it all, accompanied by the artist’s formal proposal for the work, which explicitly stated it was created for Art Basel.
That sentiment—“enough is enough”—seemed to echo in other corners of the fair. At the Anat Ebgi Gallery’s booth, Palestinian-American artist Jordan Nassar presented landscapes embroidered with tatreez, a traditional craft from his cultural heritage. By blending Western minimalism with this endangered art form, Nassar delivered a quietly defiant statement of resilience, offering one of the most poignant moments of the show.
Several distinct themes stood out prominently. Among them were ceramics, with Theaster Gates showcasing his work at Gray Gallery, Chung Hyun presenting at PKM in the Survey section, and Miami-based artist Nina Surel exhibiting at Spinello Projects. Another recurring motif seemed to be automobiles. One striking piece featured a towering monolith constructed entirely from car wreckage in one of the plazas. Additionally, Robert Cottingham’s figurative painting at Waddington Custot captured a parking lot scene, further emphasizing this automotive undercurrent.
Breaking the gimmick cycle
In the Survey section, which highlights overlooked artists in their later years, Piero Atchugarry Gallery presented the work of Linda Kohen, a 100-year-old painter of Jewish-Italian descent. Having fled both the Holocaust and Uruguay’s military dictatorship, Kohen’s paintings—depicting suitcases, household objects, and fragmented body parts—felt deeply meditative. Her art captured a sense of displacement and the quiet resilience of someone who has navigated a lifetime of upheaval.
Even outside the booths, fabric emerged as a recurring theme. In the Collector’s Lounge, amidst installations by brands like Netjets and NordicTrack, Parley for the Oceans showcased a Pierre Paulin-designed sofa crafted from repurposed rope used in Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s L’Arc de Triomphe.
While Art Basel Miami Beach may not have delivered the jaw-dropping stunts of past years, its quieter moments—marked by introspection and cultural resilience—offered a compelling narrative of their own, proving that sometimes, subtlety speaks louder than spectacle.
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