Part 2, Seven Days, Seven Watches, One Pagani – Art Basel Miami (Day 2 & 3 Recap)

This is Part 2 of my five part, Art Basel Miami series; for Part 1 follow this link. For Art Basel Miami this year, I decided to have a little extra fun. I would mix three of my passions: my love of contemporary art with my love of watches and sports cars

Day 2 – Untitled Art Fair

With so much else going on during Art Basel Miami and with a Pagani to drive for the week, I could have forgotten that the main reason I was here was to see great contemporary art. On my hit list for the second night of Art Basel week was the Untitled Art Fair, which was founded last year.  For such a new art fair, I decided to pair it with a watch from a relatively new brand; the Linde Werdelin SpidoSpeed Rose Gold DLC Titanium.

Its 44mm x 46mm case takes a commanding presence, but still molds nicely to my wrist.  The watch case also has a very contemporary look in rose gold and titanium, not unlike a Big Bang or an AP Offshore.  But on closer inspection, you find that this forged and hand drilled case is one of the most impressive on the market, with little details everywhere.  This being Linde Werdelin’s first chronograph watch, they have made things a little different to distinguish them from other chronographs.  See the unique placement of the chrono pushers, which are indented and protected by the case to avoid accidental triggering or damage. It’s a nice package, and this particular watch series is limited to 100 pieces, insuring its rarity.

The Untitled Art Fair has the enviable position of being the first art fair to open during Art Basel Miami, and one of only two art fairs physically located on the sand of Miami Beach, steps from the water.

Once inside, my first stop was the Michael Jon Gallery, where I was immediately drawn to a fun jeans sculpture from Math Bass.

We next passed by Hales Gallery which was exhibiting several works from Hew Locke, who I spoke about in Part 1 of my Art Basel Miami series.

This being Untitled second year, the fair showed great maturity with a selection of galleries and art that most of the collectors I spoke to agreed were greatly improved from last year.

Day 3 – Design Miami, Marina Abramovic, Ferrari, Vanity Fair, White Cube

The third day of Basel is always one of my favorites.  With the opening of the Design Miami fair being the first truly intense day of Art Basel Week, I was very anxious to get started.  However, my Miami crew all runs on Cuban time, so I started my day waiting, with nothing but a Pagani Huayra and my Girard-Perregaux to keep me company.

Girard-Perregaux’s WW.TC World Time Chronograph in rose gold has been one of my favorite watches for several years. It’s a substantial watch, sitting high on the wrist, with 43mms of rose gold, and it wears even bigger.  I’m a sucker for world time watches. It’s a complication that is easy to explain to non-watch aficionados and it’s a complication I can actually use. 

Maybe it’s the nostalgia of travel, but knowing at a glance the time in cities around the world always brings a smile to my face.  

Design Miami

Design Miami is a fair which focuses on collectible pieces of furniture. Great design, in my opinion, is art, and I make no distinction between an amazing watch, car, painting or piece of furniture. If it a beautifully executed piece, its art. 

For a quick lunch and beverage we headed across from Design Miami to Michy’s, a pop-up garden café by James Beard winning local chef Michelle Bernstein at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden.

As we headed out my crew was approached by a photographer for the Inside Source which photographed Tara and Marcella for their Art Basel Style article. 

We then had a quick break before our next event.

A Portrait of Marina Abramovic

YoungArts and Visionaire presented the world premiere of the 3D film installation, “A Portrait of Marina Abramovic”. The screening was held in the former Bacardi Miami headquarters, where it will soon be transformed by architect Frank Gehry into YoungArts new world headquarters and campus. I was especially excited to see the screening because it was held in the square mosaic building in the center of the plaza, commonly referred to as the “Jewel Box”. Being a Miami native, I’ve driven past the Jewel Box numerous times, but had never previously been inside. 

It really is an architectural masterpiece, and in the hands of Frank Gehry, I am confident this masterpiece will be appropriately preserved and finally get to be enjoyed by the public. 

Piston Head: Powered By Ferrari

Immediately after the screening, I ducked out in the Pagani, ironically to an exhibit of the competing new LaFerrari and several artist commissioned cars at Miami’s famed parking garage, 1111 Lincoln Road (designed by non-other than architect duo Herzog & de Meuron, also responsible for the new Perez Art Museum Miami). My wife gave me a 30 minute deadline before we had to leave for the Vanity Fair party at the MOCA museum, but I still felt that $60 valet at 1111 was the only appropriate place to park my Pagani.

Less than thirty minutes later, I was on my way to…

Vanity Fair – Tracey Emin – MOCA

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) held its annual Vanity Fair party, this year in honor of Tracey Emin’s exhibit, “Angel Without You”. Her works in neon are sexually provocative and juxtapose with Miami’s neon history in a way that resonates on many levels.

Soho House – White Cube

My final VIP event for the night was at the annual White Cube Gallery party at Soho Beach House. This prestigious London gallery represents and enviable roster of artist, including Tracey Emin.

I did a quick lap to say high to friends and headed home.  The following morning I had the Ribbon Cutting ceremony at the new Perez Art Museum and the pre-opening of Art Basel to tend to.

This is Part 2 of my five part Art Basel Series. Part 1 link here.  Stay tuned for Parts 3 – 5 which are still coming up and follow me on instagram @novelawatch or twitter @mrnovela.

Shout-out to my friends at shopbasico.com for their great jackets, espiritutara.com for my bracelets and noble-experiment.com for their pocket squares and accessories.

Photo Credits:  Nicolas Stipcianos, Worldredeye.com, Daniel Novela and Daniel Portnoy who is courtesy of MOCA