Dec. 1, 2006 

With the entire contemporary art world on its way to Miami during the first week in December, there’s plenty to do. Artnet Magazine has already compiled a list of the 14 art fairs in the Florida city, complete with map [see "Miami Heat Wave"]. But all kinds of special events and openings are also crowding onto the already impossibly crowded calendar.

A selective sampling:

ALL WEEK, Dec. 6-10, 2004
Readings in Classic American Schlock, presented by the New Museum in collaboration with Altoids, features selections from works by Jacqueline Susann, Bret Easton Ellis, Andy Warhol, Diana Vreeland and Dominick Dunne, read by Hernan Bas, Katherine Bernhardt, Clarissa Dalrymple, Manuel Gonzalez, Becky Howland and others, at the NADA Art Fair 2006, Dec. 6-9, 2006, 11 am-7 pm, and Dec. 10, 11 am-4 pm.

Blood for Art, organized by Michele Pred and Quorum San Francisco in conjunction with the Community Blood Centers of South Florida, solicits the donation of a pint of blood in exchange for a print by one of 15 artists, at the Scope Art Fair at Roberto Clemente Park, 101 NW 34th Street in the Wynwood Arts District in Miami.

TUES., DEC. 5, 2006
The Young Mandarins 2006, a show of Chinese contemporary art organized by art dealer Michael Goedhuis, in the atrium of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at 500 Brickell Key Drive on Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami, opens for a preview, 10 am-2 pm.

Pierogi and Ronald Feldman Fine Arts team up to present Bahamas-born artist Tavares Strachan’s "The Distance Between What We Have and What We Want (Arctic Ice Project)" -- a giant block of arctic river ice preserved in a solar-powered cooler -- as well as works by gallery artists, at 2010 North Miami Avenue in Miami’s Wynwood Art District, opening 5-8 pm.

Swarovski Crystal Palace, an exhibition of "fantastical chandelier creations" by Fabian Baron, Tord Boontje, Hussein Chalayan, Zaha Hadid, Hariri & Hariri and several other designers, opens at the Art Deco Paris Theater at 550 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach, 7-10 pm.

Yvon Lambert Temporary Exhibition Space, featuring works by gallery artists at the Calderon Building at 75 NW 12th Street in Miami, previews to the public, 7-9 pm.

MoCA Miami/Art in America Party presents a special viewing of the museum’s current exhibition, "Elusive Signs: Bruce Nauman Works with Light," for MoCA members, Art Basel VIPs and North Miami residents ($25 for others), at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 770 Northeast 125th Street in North Miami, 7-9 pm.

WED., DEC. 6, 2006
New Art, New Collectors, a breakfast forum presented by the Fine Art Fund, Christie’s, Hiscox plc and Banco Santander at the Ritz Carlton South Beach, kicks off with presentations by Amy Cappellazzo, Philip Hoffman, Judd Tully and others, at 10 am. Reservations are required; contact info@thefineartfund.com

Grendel Miami, an exhibition of "ambitious works of art that would be impossible to display in the confines of an art fair," opens at the Big Green Supermarket, 2834 North Miami Avenue at NW 29th Street in Miami, with a reception, 6-11 pm.

Between the Lines, a 112-page coloring book featuring drawings by more than 50 artists that is distributed for free to children in hospitals by RxArt, is being introduced at a special reception at Polo Ralph Lauren at 740 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, 7-9 pm. A limited number of copies of the book as well as some of the original artworks will be available for purchase.

Aquarelle, Argentine painter Guillermo Kuitca’s public art project, is unveiled at developer Craig Robins’ Aqua Allusion Island at 202 Aqua Avenue in Miami Beach, 8-10 pm. RSVP to yuls@dacra.com

Lexis 460 Degrees Gallery, sponsored by the luxury car brand and featuring works by Miranda Lichtenstein, Pascual Sisto and Arne Quinze, opens with music by model/DJ Sky Nellor and valet parking provided at 2228 Park Avenue on Miami Beach, 8-11 pm.

THURS., DEC. 7, 2006
Artificial Light, a group show of light works by Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla, Spencer Finch, Ceal Floyer, Ivan Navarro, Nathaniel Rackowe and Douglas Ross, opens at MOCA at Goldman Warehouse at 404 NW 26th Street in Miami, with a special preview for MoCA members and Art Basel VIPs, 9 am-noon.

Skywalker Art Parade, a "giant blimp parade" of 18 artist-designed art balloons organized by the artist co-op FriendsWithYou, parades along the beach in Miami Beach from 17th Street down to 5th Street, kicking off at 2 pm.

The 10 Dos and Don’ts for Art Collectors, a talk by Josh Baer at the Art Salon at Art Basel Miami Beach, 6-6:30 pm.

Kunst Motel, an exhibition of paintings, photography, sculpture, performance, murals, music and more, presented by Blair D. Russell Consulting at the Kunst Motel, a six-unit apartment building at 510 NE 62nd Street in Miami, has its opening reception, 6:30-11 pm.

The Samming Ceremony, a guerrilla performance project by the Organizers, a team of Brooklyn-based artists, in which volunteers are fitted out to as "imperfect clones" of Art Basel director Sam Keller, kicks off at Fountain Miami at 2825 NW 2nd Avenue (at 29th Street) in Miami, 7-8 pm. For more details, see www.wearethesams.com

Jaime Hayón, Mediterranean Digital Baroque, an installation and benefit silent auction for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, takes place at the Ritz Carlton South Beach at One Lincoln Road, 7-10 pm. RSVP to info@eclm-art.com

Art Loves Design, the vast open house featuring exhibitions and evens at the dozens of stores and exhibition spaces in the Miami Design District, has its special opening for Art Basel VIPs, 8:30 pm-midnight. For a complete list of Art Loves Design events, click here.

Out of True, organized by Micaela Giovannotti and Joyce Korotkin, presents works by 14 artists in a 4,800-square-foot space in the Chatham Building at 155 NE 40th Street in the Miami Design District, opening 8 pm-midnight (a second reception takes place on Saturday).

Deitch Paper Art Store, featuring art products priced from 99 cents to $999,999.99, at the Buick Building at 3841 NE 2nd Avenue in the Miami Design District, 8 pm-12 midnight.

Zero Hero, a performance by German artist John Bock (featuring rolling raw eggs, a vibrating portable mixer and stuffing pulled from under shirts), inaugurates the new Moore Space loft at 3627 NE 1st Court in the Miami Design District, 9 pm-midnight.

M.A.C. Viva Glam Lipstick Dance, a performance by burlesque dancer Dita von Teese with music by Paul Sevigny (of A.R.E. Weapons), produced by Narciso Rodriquez and M.A.C. Cosmetics at 1685 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach at 10 pm. Invitations are required. 

FRI., DEC. 8, 2006
A Principality of Its Own: 40 Years of Visual Arts at the Americas Society, a new 300-page paperback book of 15 scholarly and critical essays, is debuting at the Art Guest Lounge at Art Basel Miami Beach, 1-1:30 pm.

The 2nd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Mar. 1-Apr. 1, 2007, introduces itself with a cocktail party at the Art Café in the Botanical Gardens at 2000 Convention Center Drive in Miami Beach, 4-4:30 pm.

Jack Pierson Desire/Despair, a reception and book signing by the artist of his new monograph, written by Ricard D. Marshall, presented by André Balasz, Cheim & Read and Rizzoli at Oasis at the Raleigh, 1775 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, 6-8 pm. RSVP@cheimread.com

(Lo & Behold)(Mira & Ve), a new work by Lawrence Weiner on both the exterior and interior spaces of the Wolfsonian Museum at 1001 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach, is unveiled in a ceremony open to Art Basel VIPs and Wolfsonian members, 8 pm.

Parthenogenesis, a performance by Angelo Musco presented by Agro / Glickman Step 1 (Ombretta Agro Andruff and Rena Glickman), takes place at Nikki Beach at One Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, 9:30 pm-12:30 am.

SAT., DEC. 9, 2006
Pause, curated by Christopher Culver and Rebecca Miller and featuring Bay Area and Miami artists who use "cut-and-paste architecture, collage strategies, reconfiguration and unspecific dates of completion," opens at Factory Model Miami in the Buena Vista Building, 180 NE 39th Street, Miami, 6-11 pm.

Daniel Joseph, Drunken Letters to Stray Balloons, an installation at the new Fairfax hotel at 1776 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach kicks off with drinks and hors d’oeuvres by Enoteca Spiaggia, 6-8 pm.

Sharjah Biennial 8, Apr. 4-June 4, 2007, in the United Arab Emirates, launches with "Art, Ecology and the Politics of Change," a panel discussion featuring artist Joe Scanlan and biennial curator Jonathan Watkins and biennial director Jack Persekian, at the Art Guest Lounge at Art Basel Miami Beach, 7:30-8 pm, and a reception at the Art Café in the Botanical Gardens opposite the Miami Beach Convention Center, 8-9 pm.

Mocasonic: E-Merce: In Fashion, Runway Battle, a "runway battle" between several young designers inspired by choreographer Merce Cunningham’s innovative use of costumes, takes place at MoCA at Goldman Warehouse at 404 NW 26th Street in Miami, 8 pm.

Matthew Barney: No Restraint, Alison Chernick’s documentary on the making of Matthew Barney’s Drawing Restraint 9, is being presented at the Colony Theater at 1040 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach at 9 pm (seating begins at 8:30). Sponsored by the new Independent Curatorial Access Society of Miami, the screening is by invite only; contact icasmiami@gmail.com

Art Loves Design, the vast open house featuring exhibitions and evens at the dozens of stores and exhibition spaces in the Miami Design District, has its public open party, 8:30 pm-midnight.

French Modern Sources, a show of 45 works by pioneering French designers like Le Corbu, Jean Prouvé and Eileen Gray from the Georges Pompidou Art & Culture Foundation, opens at the Collins Building at 139 NE 39th Street in the Miami Design District, 8:30 pm-midnight.

Vitra opens a new showroom at Mobitare Miami, featuring a limited edition Panton Velvet chair along with designs from the Vitra Home Collection, at 4141 NE 2nd Avenue in the Design District, launching at 8:30 pm.

MUSEUM (AND OTHER) EXHIBITIONS
Miami Art Museum
101 West Flagler Street, Miami
"Lorna Simpson," Oct. 5, 2006–Feb. 4, 2007; "Mark Dion: South Florida Wildlife Rescue Unit," Oct. 27, 2006–Jan. 14, 2007; and "Modern Photographs: The Machine, the Body and the City: Gifts from the Charles Cowles Collection," Nov. 16, 2006-Apr. 15, 2007.

Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami
770 NE 125th Street, North Miami
"Elusive Signs: Bruce Nauman Works with Light," Oct. 13, 2006–Jan. 7, 2007, and "Pablo Cano: City beneath the Sea," Oct. 28–Dec. 23, 2006.

Bass Art Museum
2121 Park Avenue, Miami Beach
"Constructing New Berlin," Nov. 5, 2006-Jan. 21, 2007; "Five Fridas," Nov. 8, 2006–Apr. 30, 2007; "Tom Schmitt: Digital Abstractions," Nov. 8, 2006–Feb. 2007, and "Austrian Art: The Golden Age of Emperor Franz Joseph," Nov. 8, 2006-February 2007.

Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation
1018 North Miami Avenue, Miami
"The Sites of Latin American Abstraction" and "Forms of Classification: Alternative Knowledge and Contemporary Art," Dec. 6, 2006-Feb. 18, 2007.

Miami Art Central
5960 SW 57 Avenue, Miami
"Video: An Art, a History, 1965-2005, New Media Collection, Centre Pompidou," Sept. 10-Dec. 10, 2006.

Wolfsonian – Florida International University
1001 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach
"Modernism in American Silver: 20th-Century Design," Nov. 10, 2006-Mar. 25, 2007,  Dec. 9, 2006–Mar. 1, 2007.

Freedom Tower
600 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami
"Carlos Alfonzo: Extreme Expression, 1980-1991," Dec. 7, 2006-Jan. 28, 2007.

Frost Art Museum, Florida International University
11200 SW 89th Street, PC 110, Miami
"A Room of One’s Own: Teresita Fernández, María Elena González, Quisqueya Henríquez and María Martínez-Cañas," Sept. 15-Dec. 10, 2006.  

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