LIFE AQUATIC

Aqua facade and furnishings suggest there is plenty of poolside glam to be had at the eponymous hotel in South Beach, Florida. To prove the point are towering courtyard palms, outdoor hot tub and sundeck: the perfect accoutrements for sunning and posing before onlookers and “onliners” alike, effortlessly. Once a year however, the resort living gets a lift from local, national and international gallery exhibitors transforming rooms into their own model retreats. Welcome to Aqua Art Miami.

Andrew Ooi, Chair 2, 2016 | 9 x 12 x 6.5 inches, 22.9 x 30.5 x 16.5 cm | 261 Acrylic-and-ink-painted, folded Gampi paper pieces

DJ sets, book signings and special exhibits keep the fair buzzing as the game and admiring discover objects of desire to take home. A must-stop is Suite 211, where a variety of my work will be on view for a second year with BoxHeart Gallery, Pittsburgh PA. Also returning, and in person, are Aqua-Art-Miami-2017 artist alums Joshua Hogan and Daria Sandburg–with paintings and assemblages from their “Wild is the Wind” and “The Seekers Book of Knowledge” collections respectively. Meet them, and illusory landscape painter Nicole Renee Ryan, who with other wunderkinds Hannah Pierce and Sara Catapano make their Art Basel Miami Beach debut. (For Pierce, ceramic sculptures that seem to leap off the pages of a graphic novel; Catapano, the depths of the ocean biome.)

Aqua Art Miami 2018 edition runs from December 5 – 9, 2018 at Aqua Hotel, 1530 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL. VIP and general admission tickets are available through www.aquaartmiami.com; Fair preview and BoxHeart Gallery listing, on Artsy at https://www.artsy.net/aqua-art-miami-2018 and https://www.artsy.net/show/boxheart-boxheart-at-aqua-art-miami-2018. Get ready to wear your sunglasses at night! After all, anyone who is anyone knows, true glamour always requires a little sacrifice. (The Clarendon filter doesn’t hurt either.)