Art Basel celeb watch: Leo leads the pack #ABMB

by Lesley Abravanel | [email protected] | @LesleyAbravanel

November 30/December 1

Rockwell, the new Washington Avenue night spot, debuted Monday with major star power as Leonardo DiCaprio and Lenny Kravitz were seen mingling as 8 bottles of Dom Perignon were delivered to their table. To top off the night, hip-hop legend Lupe Fiasco grabbed the mic to bring fellow party-goers a show-stopping performance including his famous hit, The Show Goes On. The best-in-show party guests also included Miami HEAT champion Dwyane Wade, Michael Bay, Lukas Hass and actor Ethan Suplee.

And now we know why DiCaprio's really in town. Not for the "art" (aka the models), but, rather for The Casper Quiet Rooms. Huh? Casper is a "sleep startup that launched in 2014 with one perfect mattress sold directly to consumers." Leo's an investor. Casper has set up shop at the Loews Hotel Miami Beach, St. Moritz Lawn, where from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. December 1 through 5, four open to the public "quiet rooms" will offer 30 minutes of a "multi-sensory installation featuring a suspended Casper mattress along with video art by NY-based artist Colin Snapp. To reserve your space in the quiet room and for a possible, albeit doubtful, Leo before midnight sighting, click here.

Lionel Richie was seen having drinks with friends Monday night at The Tides.
Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis kicked off Art Basel Miami Beach Monday at the cocktail reception for Hublot’s collaboration with artist Carlos Cruz-Diez. The celebration held at the Espace Expression Gallery in the Design District was hosted by Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe, who unveiled the limited edition Classic Fusion Cruz-Diez watches for the first time in the US. 

Actress Rosario Dawson is among the celebs expected (and hosting) Friday at the by invitation only 6th Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Finale Party Friday co-hosted by Russell and Danny Simmons in the beach tents at the Nautilus Hotel. The actress is the series' first ever Creative Mentor. Besides the hosts, Solange Knowles, Swizz Beats, Alicia Keys, Miguel, models Karlie Kloss, Garrett Neff, Jasmine Tokes, Nina Agdal and Shanina Shaik, Ciara, Urban Bush Babes co-founder and musician TK Wonder and her twin Cipriana Quann and Instagram celeb Patrick Janelle will be there as will a surprise DJ. We asked Dawson about her involvement and she told us, “It’s an honor to be able to work with Bombay Sapphire, Russell Simmons and his RUSH Philanthropic Arts Foundation -- as the first Creative Mentor -- on their annual Artisan Series program. I look forward to standing among some of the nation’s top artists, curators and industry influencers to offer my personal perspective and fresh eye on the 12 finalists’ works for the renowned Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series judging panel.”

Street Creed: On Tuesday, Sylvester Stallone was spotted at Wynwood Walls with artist Logan Hicks.

In other Basel-related celeb news, we're hearing that several boldfaced and beautiful were bold enough to actually ask for appearance fees to show up at certain arty events. Among them, allegedly, a former Desperate Housewives star, who wanted $25K to grace one event with her presence--the event planners declined. Not so brazen, but seemingly blacklisted have been the cast members of Bravo's Shahs of Sunset reality show, whose attempts to get on party lists have been nothing short of what the kids call an epic fail.

December 1-2

Photo/CBS4

After hazily hopping around Art Miami, the ubiquitous DiCaprio emerged later in the evening in the bowels, or bowling alley, rather of The Edition where earlier, a Paper Magazine and Dobel Tequila dinner for 40 was hosted by Paris Hilton. DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx & once scorned LA socialite and oil heir Brandon Davis bowled and bowled over a star stalky crowd. Earlier that night, the equally ubiquitous Kravitz was seen at Wall with Richie. Easy like Sunday morning. Or at least Tuesday night. Art watchers should keep an eye out for DiCaprio on Wednesday at Art Basel--the actual art fair at the Convention Center.

 

Meanwhile, Stallone was on an art walk of his own Tuesday night when he drove by the Bass Museum and popped his head out asking museum staff if he could take a quick peek since "They have me in the convention center all day the rest of the week." Stallone's fave was the new neon site-specific sculpture on the facade of the Bass Museum by Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury - Eternity Now.  

Getty for Soho House

Over at Soho House, the Don Corleone of Disco, the legendary Giorgio Moroder, took over the DJ booth at the White Cube & Vinyl Factory Art Basel kickoff party at which artist Chuck Close and hotelier Andre Balazs boogied to the beats. Well, not really, but it would have been cool. We got to talk to Moroder, who told us that, obviously disco is not dead and that, "74 is the new 24," a reference to his age(lessness) and a title of a song on his neo-disco album Deja Vu.

And although Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood was a main attraction at the DJ booth where he spun with Zach Cowie, the other half of his musical duo Wooden Wisdom, the real showstopper was the Brickell City Centre, whose awe inspiring and frankly fabulous raw construction site wowed guests who witnessed the first-time illumination of the newly completed Brickell City Centre CLIMATE RIBBON™, "imagined" by famed designer, Hugh Dutton. Wood spent his time playing tunes, posting for pix with star stalkers and smoking cigs. 

R&B artist Miguel was seen at the after party for Flaunt Magazine's Annual Art Issue Preview Party at Nautilus where he was seen dancing and talking with friends. 

Another ABMB regular, Owen Wilson, was seen Tuesday night at the Dom Perignon/Hublot Toys for Boys Lapo Elkan Cover Release Party where he checked out watches and mingled with pals. Earlier that night, Wilson was seen supping at La Mar by Gaston Acurio at the Mandarin Oriental, Miami with brother Andrew.

Following her event last night at the Sagamore at which she was honored as the cover girl of upscale culture pub, VENÜ, Pamela Anderson and her best gal pal, drag diva Elaine Lancaster were invited to the former Versace manse by Sylvester Stallone, who was there for a party for Galerie Gmurzynska, where DiCaprio also made a cameo, "Pamela and I chitchatted for a moment before turning around and there was Sylvester asking us to pose for a photo. Me being so shy, I politely obliged [insert sarcasm font here], and then we were out the door and into an Uber to catch Giorgio Moroder at the Soho House."

Anderson made the rounds last night, stopping by a dinner at the newly opened Hall hotel hosted by Snarkitecture's Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen along with The Surf Lodge's Jayma Cardoso. There, Anderson and bestie Lancaster held court with Out of Order magazine editor Dorian Grinspan and filmmaker Luke Gilford. Public School's Dao-Yi Chow and DJ Ibe Soliman spun fun music until the wee hours. Also seen there was singer Dev Hynes.

So where do Miami Heat owner/Carnival tycoon Micky Arison and Heat president Pat Riley do dinner during Basel? Not at the many dinners to which they were invited as Arison was overheard telling someone, but rather, Dolce Italian, where he seems to be a big fan of the pizza. Following the dinner, Arison and Riley crossed the street to make appearances at a party for DuJour magazine at the Delano.

VH1's The Breaks Lounge at 801 Ocean Drive saw appearances by, among others, Amar'e Stoudemire and visual artist Jeremy Penn. There, actor/singer/songwriter Mack Wilds performed and spun, because that's what actors do at Art Basel sometimes.

Straight off their tremendous trip to the White House, Gloria and Emilio Estefan were spotted last night at The Bazaar by Jose Andres for an intimate soiree in celebration of Spanish artist Africa Aycart, known for her portraits of celebrities including, ahem, Andrés, Gloria Estefan, and Steve Jobs to name a few. During the event, Andres surprised Gloria with her very own Aycart portrait which he bought her as a gift for "an undisclosed price." We tried.

But back to Stallone. Seems that Rocky can't defend himself anymore as he traveled Wednesday afternoon from The Edition to the Convention Center with ten, count 10, security guards. A few hours later, DiCaprio was seen--sort of--hidden underneath a canopy of umbrellas heading back into The Edition. 

Photo by Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for Palmeiras Beach Club

The Gypsy Kings gave a surprise performance last night at the opening of the Palmeiras Beach Club at Grove Isle where a crowd of 700  checked out exhibitions from Venezuelan artists Flor Troconis and Rafael Barrios.

 

Virtual Reality makes appearance at Avant Gallery Exhibit during Art Basel Week

The Epic Show mega-exhibition brings works from 16 artists
 
Avant Gallery’s “The Epic Show” – its mega-exhibition taking place during Art Basel week in Miami, featuring expanded programming, activations, nightlife collaborations, and this year, an exclusive glimpse into the not-so-distant future of art commerce in the realm of virtual reality, the world’s first immersive VR shopping experience.

This exhibit will run from Tuesday, Dec. 1 – Sunday, Dec. 6 with extended hours from 11 a.m. to midnight all week long at Avant’s flagship location at the Epic hotel in Downtown Miami (Avant Gallery, 270 Biscayne Blvd. Way at The Epic Hotel, Miami, FL 33131 / Phone: 786-220-8600 . Web: http://www.avantgallery.com).

New works will be unveiled from artists, DAIN, Metis Atash, Alec Monopoly, Becky Rosa, Skyler Grey, Guy Le Baube, Sam Hon, STMTS, Manfred Kielnhofer, BNS (above), Gold Man (Joey Goldman), Niclas Castello, Keith Paciello, Cripta Djan, Camilo Matiz, and Angelo Accardi.

Metis Atash’s highly anticipated Swarovski encrusted Hermes and NBA inspired Punk Baby Buddha sculptures (above) with be on view along with the debut of her skull series. Additionally guests will view the award-winning neo pop Birkream series by resident artist, Becky Rosa (below).

 

Joey Goldman (above), aka Gold Man (son of Wynwood’s visionary founder, the late Tony Goldman) will be featured in his first solo exhibition unveiling his newest Galaxy-themed glitter paintings, at Avant Gallery’s Wynwood pop up.

First-time U.S. exhibitions include international artists, Cripta Djan (Brazil) who is spearheading the prolific and revolutionary Pixo movement; Angelo Accardi (Italy) who will be showing his “Misplaced” series, depicting ostriches on the loose in a post-apocalyptic society, sprinting through seemingly empty city streets while visiting abandoned contemporary galleries and modern art museums; Camilo Matiz (Colombia /below) exhibiting his neon mirror sculpture series.

Forging a strategic partnership with the Van Dutch yacht company (which counts the likes of Beyonce, Hublot and Hermes as clients), Avant Gallery’s response to the frenzy of Art Basel accessibility is to provide VIP Yacht shuttle service between Miami Beach and Downtown for its exhibition at the Epic Hotel location.

As part of its exhibition at the flagship gallery and the adjacent lobby of the Epic Hotel, Avant will unveil its virtual reality gallery in collaboration with Avenue Planet. Dubbed Arteleport 2.0 (following Avant’s original launch two years ago), guests will be able to experience the gallery via virtual reality goggles while being immersed into Avant’s 3D retail space. This activation will provide a sneak preview of the highly anticipated official launch in January 2016. Avant is proud to continue in its pioneering spirit as the first retailer in the world to unveil a virtual reality showroom.

Avant will also be curating the brand new nightlife concept Rockwell on South Beach, where collectors will be able to celebrate the exhibition and the art of nightlife within the context of afterhours events.

Alec Monopoly (above)

Manfred Kielnhofer "Guardians of Time"

Niclas Castello

Miami Art Week traffic alert

Traffic is always interesting in Miami-Dade, but thanks to the closure of the Venetian Causeway for repairs, getting from the Beach to the mainland threatens to be even more painful than usual. 

The good news: Several local governments have collaborated on free shuttles. And the Related Group has worked with Uber to bring Uberboat for the length of the fair. Plus, the water taxis promise to be running on a schedule. Find the lowdown here. 

PULSE: Free on Saturday

For those who find art fair prices a bit hefty for the wallet, PULSE is offering free entry on Saturday, Dec. 5, the fair's final day, says director Helen Toomer. The fair is located at Indian Beach Park, 4601 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach.

Make it a Beach day. Also free are Satellite, a new fair at and near the North Beach Bandshell at 74th and Collins, and Art Public, in Collins Park at 21st street and Collins Avenue.

 

The must-see exhibits this weekend during Miami Art Week and Art Basel

With so much art around South Florida this week, seeing it all would be impossible even for the most fervent art lover. The veteran Miami Art Week team of Siobhan Morrissey, Jordan Levin, Ricardo Mor, Ina Cordle, Anne Tschida and Jane Wooldridge suggest you start with these. Good news: A few of our favorites last beyond the week.

For more must-see art, click here

▪ Mana Miami: Mana Contemporary, the giant hybrid artist space and community in New Jersey, has opened its Miami space with a literally Monumental show of giant-sized artworks in the colossal former warehouse they own in the heart of Wynwood. Heavy on ’80s generation artists such as Julian Schnabel, Francesco Clemente and David Salle, Mana Monumental also includes Mana executive director Eugene Lemay’s Nights in Beirut, with a small army of miniature soldiers in yellow sand evoking his experience in the Israeli army during the 1982 war with Lebanon. Even the giant paintings and sculptures on view looked small in the sweeping space, which is exhilarating in itself.
10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Sunday. 318 NW 23rd St., Wynwood. Tickets: $20 adults; $15 seniors and students; free under 10.

▪ Shen Wei performance: Shen Wei’s paintings in Black, White & Grey seem full of movement, an effect that is magnified in the hypnotic dance he has created for his troupe Shen Wei Dance Arts. The 12 dancers swirl slowly through the Freedom Tower exhibit like a gracefully morphing organism, their movements echoing the paintings to draw their energy right off the wall. This weekend is the last and only chance to see dance and paintings together.
1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday; MDC Museum of Art + Design, The Freedom Tower at MDC, 600 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; limited admission on a stand-by/first come basis. Free.

▪ Galerie Gmurzynska, Art Basel Miami Beach: To celebrate its 50th year in business, this highly regarded Zurich-based gallery created “A Kid Could Do That,” echoing an oft-heard comment at art events, to help fairgoers appreciate the breakthroughs in modern art that now look so familiar but in their respective times presented radical departures. The booth brings together 20th century masterworks by Joan Miro, Kazimir Malevich, Wifredo Lam, Cy Twombly, Francis Bacon and others in a “school room.” A specially made film by Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin incorporates an original video of the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo in which a Miro painting is used in the set.
Booth B2, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach Convention Center, 1901 Convention Center Dr., Miami Beach. noon-8 p.m. Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday. One-day ticket $45 adults, $30 students and seniors.

▪ Damien Hirst’s Love Remembered: Difficult to photograph, but spectacular to see, Damien Hirst’s massive mirrored medical “cabinet” of painstakingly placed pills adds another verse to the artist’s running commentary on the dark side of life’s meaning — or lack thereof. White Cube, booth L9, at Art Basel Miami Beach.

▪ Strandbeest: In their initial U.S. showing, Dutch artist Theo Jansen’s dinosaur-sized mechanical sculptures are drawing crowds on the sand behind Miami Beach’s W Hotel. The ungainly exoskeletal sculptures of PCV pipe and twist ties reveal a hidden grace as the wind propels them in a determined march along sugar sand. Demonstrations are offered twice daily, courtesy of Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet and the Peabody Essex Museum.
 On the beach off Collins Avenue at 21st and 22nd streets, daily at 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Free.

▪ Art Public: In its fourth year, Public has become one of the highlights of Art Basel, as well it should. These outdoor and often interactive sculptures are free and open to the public, with artworks from some of the best sculptors the world over placed around the revamped Collins Park between the ocean and the Bass Museum. This year’s highlights include a playful giant yellow lamplight from Barthélémy Togo, a reflective glass walk-about installation from Jeppe Hein and a bronze from Georg Baselitz. Twenty-six artists in all make this a great place to hang and feel comfortable with art — both day and night, when the sun goes down and the lights come up, it’s maybe more magical.
Through March at Collins Park, 2100 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. Free.

▪ “One Way: Peter Marino”: With the help of curator Jerome Sans, style-setting architect and artist Peter Marino — perhaps best know for his edgy luxury retail concepts for brands including Chanel and Louis Vuitton — has brought together works from his personal art collection (including Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol and Richard Serra), commissioned specifically for the show from artists including Gregor Hildebrandt and Farhad Moshiri, and his own creations. The result is a truly unique confluence of art, pop culture and fashion, including sometimes arresting images of the leather-clad Marino and a recreation of Christophe Willibald Gluck’s opera Orfeo ed Euridice. Don’t miss the chance to check out Renaissance bronzes next to Robert Mapplethorpe photos in a room clad with black eel. Parental discretion advised.
Through March 29 at the Bass Museum of Art, 2100 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, $8 adults, $6 seniors and students with I.D.; free under 6.

For more must-see art, click here

Art Basel: Baz Luhrmann channels his inner child at ABMB

 

Credit: Shayne Benowitz

Swiss-based Galerie Gmurzynska is at Art Basel Miami Beach showcasing “A Kid Could Do That!” in collaboration with famed film director and producer Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin. The great works curated by Nelle Hooper include artists Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Cy Twombly, Joan Miro, Wifredo Lam, and others.

Miro’s “Jeux d’infants” painting is paired with an exclusive reinterpretation of a film featuring the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo for which Miro designed the set in the 1930s. 

We caught up with the visual genius who brought us Romeo + Juliet, which he wrote here in Miami Beach nearly two decades ago, Moulin Rouge!, and The Great Gatsby at booth B02 inside the Miami Beach Convention Center to chat about his creative input, and of course, Shakespeare.

Joan Miro, "Painting for the ballet 'Jeux d'Enfants'", 1932, Oil on cardboard. Galerie Gmurzynska at Art Basel Miami Beach, www.gmurzynska.com.

 
Tell me about the making of this exhibition.

BL: All children are innately artists so I helped contextualize this by setting it in a schoolroom. I also made this movie inspired by Balanchine.

How do you nurture your inner child?

BL: I could easily lose the inner joy that it takes to be creative. As a kid, you express because you’re angry or sad, but after receiving recognition, you lose confidence. That’s why it’s important to walk away and take risks. But always keep doing what you love.

List a few of your maxims for success.

BL: Well, all work and no play makes Baz a boring boy.

1. I have to enjoy the people I work with much like kids seek out kids they want to play with.

2. I always find adventure in the journey, meaning I need to do it, whatever it is, for myself.

3. Nothing I’ve ever made is what I imagined in the beginning. There’s a line to go from “not working” to “working” and you must always believe that the line is right around the corner.

What's next?

BL: I've always wanted to affect culture, but this gets harder as you get older. I hope to do the canon on Shakespeare. These primary texts influenced me so much as child and every decision I make for a film is based on them. Maybe Henry IV or King Lear...

-- Galena Mosovich

Photo credits: Shayne Benowitz; Galerie Gmurzynska- Joan Miro, "Painting for the ballet 'Jeux d'Enfants'", 1932, Oil on cardboard. Galerie Gmurzynska at Art Basel Miami Beach, www.gmurzynska.com.
 

Art Basel: Marguiles

Fabric hallway installation by Do-Ho Suh. @miamiherald #artbasel -- Kendall Hamersly

Art Basel: Shen Wei dance casts a spell

Shen Wei Dance Arts members performing at The Freedom Tower Thursday

By Jordan Levin | [email protected]

I knew that Shen Wei, the choreographer and dancer, used his body and his movement instincts to create the paintings in his debut museum exhibit, Black, White & Grey – painting with hands and arms, sweeping brush across canvas. But it was still startling to see how his 11 paintings at the MDC Museum of Art + Design seemed to surge across the canvas, how the splashes and flows of paint pulled your eye forward and back, how the energy of their making seemed to leap from the surface.

Shen has drawn from that energy with the performance he created for his troupe Shen Wei Dance Arts, which had a VIP opening preview Thursday night. The dance extends his paintings into three dimensions, into movement that swirled through the galleries at the Freedom Tower. The effect was hypnotic, quietly magical.

The exhibit marks a new creative and career milestone for the MacArthur Genuis Award-winning choreographer, and is one of the biggest artistic projects that MDC has ever done. Thursday’s opening drew 400 people, including dozens of friends and supporters of Shen’s from China and New York. The galleries were filled with elegantly gowned and suited Chinese, and echoed with the sound of a language almost never heard in Miami. They besieged the quiet, patiently smiling Shen with congratulations, greetings,
requests to pose for photos in front of his paintings. Even his parents and brother were there, come all the way from China.

Choreographer and artist Shen Wei watching his company perform Thursday
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Shen’s reputation and cross-genre appeal also drew Miami dance and visual artists, as well as Zimbabwean choreographer Nora Chipaumire (who’s doing an “under the radar” performance at the Little Haiti Cultural Center at 7 p.m. Friday.) Also on hand was MDC president Eduardo Padron, who said he’d admired Shen Wei’s work since the college presented his company back in 2003.

The 12 dancers, wearing softly draped, Shen-designed pants and tops in – yes – black, white and grey, performed in the middle of the crowd, which formed a deep circle around them. The formation increased the feeling that the dancers were drawing energy from the paintings around them. They started in trios, slowly and continuously curving, arching, reaching out or up, curling to the floor, to a liquid ticking rhythm suspended between a clock’s ticktock and dripping water. The irregular, random-seeming shapes of their spiraling, twisting bodies echoed the surging, splashing images on the walls, as if the paintings were flowing off the walls and coming to life. Rotating around a central pillar, the dancers came together in groups of six, then twelve, so that they seemed like a single shifting, multi-part organism - or a softly but precisely morphing machine.

Despite the stress of dancing in a tight space surrounded by a crowd, many filming or snapping photos, the seven men (many with monk-like, close-cropped hair) and five women stayed serenely, but utterly focused – their quiet gaze helping to draw you in.

Shen Wei Dance Arts surrounded by a crowd Thursday evening​

The audience followed them into a second, larger gallery, where the dancers energy rose, legs or hips suddenly snapping out, one or the other dancer briefly whirling into faster motion, even as their group moved in a tighter circle, like an irregular, slow motion whirlpool. And then they subsided quietly into the floow, as if the metaphoric wind and water they’d summoned from the canvas was also pooling, coming to a natural end.

As will the performance – which takes place five times Friday through Sunday, never to be repeated – or at least not in this space or these circumstances. Although reservations for the free performances are maxed
out, MDC organizers expect some spaces to open up as people change their minds or are otherwise derailed by Art Basel chaos – which they’ll open up on a first come basis. It’s worth lining up for the chance.

Shows are at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday, at the Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Free parking at MDC Lot 7, between NE 5th and 6th Streets and NE 2nd and 1st Avenues.

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Art Basel: Artwork damaged at Perez Art Museum Miami event

While the city of Miami was abuzz Thursday evening with events related to Art Basel Miami Beach, the Perez Art Museum Miami, also known as PAMM, hit a snag as an artwork on display was damaged during its banner event for this year's Miami Art Week. 
 
Sometime late Thursday evening, Gean Moreno and Ernesto Oroza's work "Drywood" -- 12 concrete spheres nestled on the floor, each with a beach towel meshed into them -- was damaged by accident, according to the museum. Attendees were free to roam amongst the orbs and no restrictive signage or railings were present around the work before the incident.

The piece was damaged during an event the museum was presenting with DJ collective Future Brown and billed as a Dis Magazine and THV Entertainment production. The private soirée was open to PAMM Sustaining level members and above, and Art Basel Miami Beach, DesignMiami/ and Art Miami VIP cardholders. 

Based on observations, it was readily apparent that one of the concrete spheres broke in half while some spheres appeared to have tumbled out of place. At time of reporting, it was unclear of the exact circumstances that led to the work's damage or the total extent of the damage. Moreno, one of the collaborators on the work, was in attendance at the event and was aware the work was damaged. 
 
The museum released the following statement to the Miami Herald: "The damage to the work of art by Gean Moreno was an accident. The artist was present at the event and PAMM has responded to remove the work for safety. We will continue to collaborate with Gean to have it repaired." 
 
This is not the first time that PAMM has had issues concerning guests damaging works on display at the museum. Earlier this year, Miami artist Maximo Caminero smashed a vase, created by prolific Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, in an act of protest.

-- Ricardo Mor

Art Basel: Trayvon Martin-inspired hoodie piece wins national art competition

"The Entanglement of Black Men In America" by Kristine Mays

San Francisco artist Kristine Mays was named grand prize winner of the 5th annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Contest, a collaboration with Russell and Danny Simmons' Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. Titled "The Entanglement of Black Men In America," Mays' wire sculpture is a symbol of racial profiling in the aftermath of the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin.

-- Audra D.S. Burch