Each December, galleries from around the globe make a pilgrimage to Miami Beach to present the work of contemporary masters at Art Basel, which runs from Dec. 7–10. Of the 250-plus galleries showing this year, there’s the playful and brightly colored work typical of the Miami fair, such as Alex Israel’s “Wave” (2017) at the Gagosian booth and Katharina Grosse’s “o.T.” (2015/2016) at König Galerie. But we found the abstract, gestural paintings of Dawn Kasper at David Lewis Gallery, along with Georg Baselitz, who showed with both White Cube and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, to be among the strongest. We made sure to pay a visit to Galerie Gmurzynska for Jean Pigozzi’s arresting black-and-white canine photographs.
Finally, inspired by our December issue cover subject, chef Daniel Humm, we’ve been thinking a lot about food—its intersection with art, in particular. So it was a delight to stop by the Almine Rech Gallery booth and see Chloe Wise’s “A Poem For Pilates” (2017), where faux fruit and antique silverware create a technically impressive still life atop a cowhide-covered plinth. Enough about art, though. Here are our top 11 picks from this year’s fair.
