12/06/2015

Art Basel celeb watch: yawn

Image007

As much as some are loath to admit the truth, the proposal by Dancing With the Stars' Maks Chmerkovskiy to his costar Peta Murgatroyd last night at the Olympia Theater performance of SWAY really stole Art Basel's thunder. But alas, some of that activity still went on last night. 

The artist known as RETNA debuted some works last night at the home of Loren Ridinger, who co-hosted a party at her home with the Hoerle-Guggenheim Gallery and Aston Martin. Among those there: Eva Longoria, Russell Simmons, Maxwell, Amar'e Stoudemire, Fat Joe, Tommy Hilfiger and Omarion and Rohan Marley.

At Rockwell for the 1Oak x Up & Down pop up, LeBron James was seen checking out a DJ set by Wiz Khalifa.

 

 

12/05/2015

Art Basel celeb watch: Leo's gone, but his philanthropy (& art) will go on

12301577_925619497475377_3721451167427192456_n
And because it's not an official #ArtBasel day without a mention of Leonardo DiCaprio even though he fled town two days ago, the Titanic star actually did a bit more than party when he was here. While at Art Miami, he stopped by and made an undisclosed donation to The Perry J. Cohen Foundation started by Art Miami founder Nick Korniloff and wife Pamela Telvi Cohen, whose son Perry was lost at sea 19 weeks ago off the inlet of Jupiter.  That totally makes up for his picking and choosing of women like they were Deadliest Catch crab at his nightly bowling parties. 

Hublot and Haute Living came together with Hublot Brand Ambassador Dwyane Wade and wifey Gabrielle Union to host a dinner Friday chez Wade in honor of Art Basel and Hublot Loves Art. At the dinner: Adrien Brody, Miami Heat’s Justice Winslow, A-Rod, recording artist Omarion, actors Terrence Jenkins and Damon Wayans Jr., and Million Dollar Listing’s Josh Altman. Following the dinner, the crowd headed to the home of coal heir Wayne Boich for the after party at which Owen Wilson, Chris and Adrienne Bosh and director Michael Bay were spotted.

Image008 Image013

The 6th Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series celebration at the Nautilus hosted by Russell and Danny Simmons and actress Rosario Dawson featured appearances by Solange Knowles and her sister's stylist Ty Hunter, musicians Miguel and Teyana Taylor, models Shaun Ross, Garrett Neff,  and Lady Victoria Hervey, BK The Artist, TK Wonder and Cipriana QuannDJ Cassidy, and Instagram star Patrick Janelle (Instagram Star and Founder of The Liquor Cabinet). Congrats to New Orleans’ Aron Belka whom Dawson crowned as the Grand Finale Winner of the 6th Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series competition. 

Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes went out in the nasty weather Friday night to celebrate her Ocean Drive magazine cover at the magazine's annual Art of The Party at the home (and former home of A-Rod's) of Petra and Stephen Levin. Petra Levin took Holmes on a tour of her home's extensive art collection of sculpture, painting, photography and video art, while the ex-Mrs. Tom Cruise snapped several photos and selfies with her cracked iPhone.
 
500038396

1205-kylie-asap-snapchat-4

IMG_7214

IMG_7215

IMG_7259

A$AP Rocky
and Brooklyn-based artist Mark Anthony Green hosted a party Friday at the Dream South Beach debuting Barefoot, a collection of intimate unpublished photographs of the hip-hop star. The night began with a private dinner party at the hotel’s restaurant Naked Taco and continued with an after party held at HIGHBAR. Among the guests: Model Lily Collins pictured above (Photo/Aaron Davidson for Getty), and Kylie Jenner, who did not arrive in a wheelchair, but was seen supping with alleged boyfriend (this minute), the party's honoree, A$AP Rockstar--er, Rocky. Says one witness, "Who does she think she is?" Our question exactly.

Image003

Photo/Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Dell

Dell’s Social Good Advocate Adrian Grenier announced the launch of his new initiative, The Lonely Whale Foundation  at a party last night at Maps Backlot where guests were also given the chance to try an interactive oceanic virtual reality experience – “Cry Out: The Lonely Whale Experience.”

12/04/2015

Art Basel celeb watch: Bella, Solange . . .so lame? Plus: Katie Holmes, The Game, Lenny & more

Preview_BFA_14474_1793767

December 3/4

Despite weather of Biblical proportions last night, it didn't stop real estate tycoon Aby Rosen and wife Samantha Boardman from throwing their annual, private, chichi dinner at The Dutch for all the real A-listers and heavy hitters in town. Only there were very few A-listers, the biggest one being Katie Holmes, there without rumored paramour Jamie Foxx, but seemingly happy to be there nonetheless. Julian Lennon was there too. There were also the usual art world honchos, heiresses and models, including an appearance from one of the OG's of the supermodel days, Kristen McMenamy! Without further ado, here are photos from the dinner and from the Dom Perignon From Earth to Heart (?!) after party at Wall, where which Basel's newly anointed most ubiquitous, Lenny Kravitz, appeared and Solange, Beyonce's sister, DJ'ed.

499871934

499891646

Preview_BFA_14474_1795536

Preview_BFA_14474_1793783

2xUdTl0XOH5I9GOTSyIPxSe6aYm9Smqsuv9F2rxE35Q

Preview_BFA_14474_1793740

Speaking of models, Alec's daughter Hailey Baldwin has been spotted around town as has Bella Hadid, the sister of millennial supermodel slash Taylor Swift squad-member Gigi, who was seen late last night at LIV where, wait for it, Lenny Kravitz was also spotted catching DJ Tiesto following a dinner that Kravitz and Tiesto attended earlier, plus about 20, at Scarpetta. Meanwhile over at sister club Story, Jamie Foxx, artist Alec Monopoly and Miami Heat’s Luol Deng were seen celebrating The Game’s 36th birthday.

Image1
Last night, E!'s co-anchor Terence Jenkins and co-star of ABC's Shark Tank, Kevin O'Leary, were spotted at Private Key in Wynwood at the Art of Opulence event hosted by O'Leary's Shark Tank co-star Daymond John and organized by The People’s Influence, along with STK Rebel and ME by Meliá. The event showcased photographer Alberto Van Stokkum and artists HAVI SchanzJu Reams and Delano Brown

Meanwhile, downtown at everybody's favorite 24/7 NSFW spot E11EVEN, hit machine DJ Mustard was spinning for a crowd that included Solange and Miguel, who walked in together and partied at a VIP table. No word on whether Solange's hubby Alan Ferguson or Miguel's model girlfriend Nazanin Mandi were there.
 
At Rec Room at the Gale South Beach last night, Adrien Brody, sporting a beanie and a ponytail (hey, it's not a man bun) was low-key and enjoying a few drinks with friends.
 
Image002
At the Thursday night opening of their new US flagship store in the Design District, Maison Montaigne Paris celebrated Art Basel 2015 with friends and clients including actress Hilary Swank, whose new Paris apartment will be designed by the swanky French lifestyle boutique.

Image021
On Tuesday, the Estefans were seen at Gary Nader’s grand opening of the interim Latin American Art Museum. 

Katie Holmes
On Thursday night, Art Basel Miami Beach, NOWNESS and The Miami Beach EDITION screened the world premiere of Future Relic 04, a film by visual artist Daniel Arsham.  The evening, hosted by Jefferson Hack, Arsham, Rose McGowan, Emmanuel Perrotin and Arturo Castro brought together guests including  Holmes, Chelsea Leyland, Kate Foley, Andre Saraiva, and A TRAK. According to our witness, McGowan, sporting a shaved head that she has described as liberating, stole the spotlight from a "beaming" Holmes.

Kate McGowan

Butter Group’s New York nightclub Up & Down made its return to Miami Thursday by kicking off an exclusive three night pop-up series at Rockwell presented by Galore Magazine and the Delmar Basel Bombshells. The room was filled with models, A-listers and party people who were treated to a special performance by music artist Miguel. Attendees included host and model Shanina Shaik, Miguel’s girlfriend Nazanin Mandi, along with model Nina Agdal, producer Jermaine Dupri, DJ Mia Moretti, and DJ Chelsea Leyland. 

Russell Simmons got into a friendly bidding war Thursday night with David Martin of Terra Group over a Wangechi Mutu piece at the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation art auction at One Park Grove, where Martin eventually won.  Joining in the fun were Rush co-founder Danny Simmons, auctioneer Simon de Pury, Lisa Austin, Allison and Chip Brady, Michel Cox Witmer, Schwanda Rountree, and Jorge M. Perez, whose Related Group purchased a photograph by Isaac Julien.  The event raised over $200,000 for the foundation.

12/03/2015

Art Basel celeb watch: Leo out, Lenny still in

333326567,90913046E055122CA22

Getty Images for Bacardi

December 2/3

After a cameo after midnight in the Nautilus Beach Tent following the Interview Magazine Party, Leonardo DiCaprio, this year's Most Ubiquitous Basel celeb so far, is said to have high tailed it out of town today, leaving the second most ubiquitous, Lenny Kravitz (tied with Sylvester Stallone) still around to make appearances and pose for photo ops. Among them, last night's VIP preview of the No Commission Art Fair by The Dean Collection and Bacardi where Dean Collection founder Swizz Beatz (Mr. Alicia Keys) gave Kravitz andactor/singer/record producer Mack Wilds a personal tour of the gallery which included introductions and hugs to the artists on site showcasing their work. 

Luis Gonzales of Cantina and Owen Wilson

In other news, actor Owen Wilson, a familiar Basel presence, stumbled upon Cantina La Veinte Miami to use the bathroom (!) in the midst of his Art Basel festivities. But Wilson didn't crash the bathroom. Turns out he loved the restaurant and he and his brother Andrew decided to have a little Mexican fiesta. Ole!

Over at the aforementioned Nautilus, some heiresses and socialites were spotted as was actress Rose McGowan.

Then there was another familiar Miami presence, Entourage actor Adrian Grenier,who was spotted at Regent Cocktail Club at the Gale South Beach where he and pals enjoyed cocktails by Head Bartender Julio Cabrera. Grenier and his friends were dressed in long haired wigs (pic TK). That's so Art Basel.  Separately, HBO Ballers actor Omar Miller was spotted supping at Dolce Italian.  

Not all celebrities are behaving civilly, however. According to our witness, movie dude and Miami native Brett Ratner was spotted throwing a "total tantrum" Thursday afternoon at the valet stand at Soho House. "He was acting like a total douchebag," says our source, "looking like a slob with his pants hanging off him and freaking out over how long it was taking to get his car." Petulance as performance art, perhaps? Nah. Calm down, peeps. It's crazy out there.

Unknown-3

Photo/Romain Maurice/Getty


Just before he was slated to leave town, Dicaprio came out on Thursday afternoon to support friend Adrien Brody as he celebrated his cover release party for Haute Living magazine and new art show, Hot Dogs, Hamburgers and Handguns, at the Lulu Laboratorium. DiCaprio spent over two hours at the INLIST (nightlife app) sponsored event where Brody gave him a tour of his new art collection. The Oscar-winner took DiCaprio through the collection piece by piece for about 30 minutes before walking  Lapo Elkann, Andre Berto, and others through the collection. The group then brunched (!) together.

12/02/2015

Art Basel Big Fair -- Small Work - Big Appeal

image from http://miamiherald.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b26169e201bb08988000970d-pi

Irish artist Claire Morgan creates delicate installations, that although small, have the ability to awe. Her "This is Breaking My Heart" is one such example. The work features a tiny taxidermied hare within a cocoon of dandelion seeds painstakingly glued to filament to form an egg-shaped enclosure. Galerie Karsten Greve (B3) is offering the work for $42,000.

 

A Mermaid in Miami -- Art Basel Big Fair

image from http://miamiherald.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b26169e201b8d17e1b37970c-pi

Galerie W. Baudach (E5) brought the perfect sculpture to Art Basel for the beach crowd -- "Mermaid" -- a nearly 7-foot-long aluminum sculpture of a mermaid reclining in the sand. She has the face of Emma Watson, famously of the Harry Potter films.

Swiss artist Yves Scherer created the sculpture this year. Last June, during Art Basel in Switzerland, another of his sculptures graced a fountain in downtown Basel.

"She's bigger than life," says gallerist Guido W. Baudach. "She has the face of Emma Watson. Like in ancient times, the Greek statues were made of famous women of their time. It's like the Marianne (the historic symbol of France) was represented by Brigitte Bardot."

 

Art Basel: Still starry eyed for art


Despite the frustrations of traffic and anxiety over sales or getting the right invitations, for many the week's seemingly limitless opportunities to see great art far outweighed the negatives. On Wednesday Miami artist Carlos Betancourt, who has been an enthusiastic participant since Art Basel Miami Beach was launched, was charging enthusiastically through the main fair at the Convention Center. He has had a banner year, with a major show at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Puerto Rico and a book, "Imperfect Utopia," published by Rizzoli. Yet he remained as enthusiastic as at his first art fair 14 years ago.

"Art always needs new audiences, and that's what Basel does, brings us that new audience," said Bettancourt. "It rejuvenates us and brings new blood to the community."

Over the years, Betancourt said he'd made friends with people around the world that he saw each year at the fair, connecting with others as passionate as he is about art. "This is what we love," he said. "This is like having 20 of the best museums in the world here." On Sundays, Betancourt said he always comes to the main fair by himself. "I come to say good bye to this work I'm never going to see again, because it's going into private hands. At the end, it's all about the art."


- Jordan Levin / [email protected]

Art Basel: Mayor Levine lost his voice from "too much Baseling"

IMG_1411.JPG

Mayor Philip Levine, fresh off a successful re-election campaign, was on hand Wednesday morning to open up the Art Basel VIP preview at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

The mayor spoke in a strained voice, which he confessed was a little hoarse "from too much Baseling last night."

Levine attended a party for the opening of the Faena Hotel in mid-Beach, where he gave the key to the city to Argentine developer Alan Faena, and also dropped by the Delano.

Tonight he's headed to the Design District to party with college roommate Craig Robins.

Although some art-goers have expressed party fatigue, Levine said he's ready to go.

"We have 51 weeks to get ready for this," he said.

At Basel, the mayor said he's most interested in checking out Latin art. 

"It's so expressive and colorful and symbolic of the Latin American spirit, which has helped give Miami Beach so much energy," he enthused.

Levine will be keeping a special eye out for works by Cuban exile artists Julio Larraz, Tomás Sánchez and Cundo Bermúdez, all of whom he collects.

Would he be looking to buy?

"Always," the mayor replied.

-- Nicholas Nehamas

 

Categories


Archives


Powered by TypePad