It's a cool 70 degrees and Miami Beach is burning with Art Basel fever. This year marks the 10th edition of the America's largest art exhibition. For the mightiest fan, it's six days and sleepless nights of communal art gazing, drinking and fashion revelry, with the occasional purchase.

While the Convention Center draws tens of thousands with its highbrow exhibitors, the concurrent satellite fairs in Wynwood and Midtown (areas in mainland Miami, north of downtown) are increasingly stealing the show. Labeled "funky" or "outrageous", these aren't your grandmother's days of art galleries strolling through deafening silent corridors moving at a snail's pace to admire oil on canvas or a sculpture or two.

 "Modern art" has evolutionized into moving art, or art that is constructed temporarily for the moment and dismantled, never to be created again. Art Miami, Pulse (in Overtown's Ice Palace Studio), Red Dot, Scope Miami & Volta are leading names and have an established tradition of cultivating art buyers and curators.

At Scope Miami’s 100,000-square-foot tent in Midtown, about 100 galleries focus on emerging talent set up shop with works that ran the gamut from idyllic landscapes to blow-up sex dolls to portraits that served as satiric odes to George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Miley Cyrus and Michael Jackson.

At Pulse, South Korean artist Hong Sean Jung, with Denver’s David Smith Gallery, had spent a whole day constructing Blank Mirage, a towering, ethereal waterfall of spider web thin black threads — made with a hot glue gun — cascading over another transparent, ladder-like web of fishing line stapled to the wall. At the end of the fair, it will come down, too delicate to move.

"An idea doesn’t exist. Then you make it tangible form, then you take it down and it doesn’t exist any more,” Jang said. “Like magic."

Which ones to attend? Here are a few I'm considering:



Meet the Artists at Gallery 212 Wednesday, November 30 8-11pm

It's not often the artists are gathered at the same time. This first annual event is an opportunity to meet Pop Artist Michael Perez, John Pate, Sean Murdock, Jose Yossi, Matt Stock, Francis Mesaros, Raull,
Resident Artists Charlotte Oedekoven, Frank Pizzurro, Jonathan Dvoretz, and Sculptor Henry Souto.

This event shares 10% of proceeds with Miami Arts Charter School. Tickets $50 in advance $75 at the door. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/208478. Presented by Catch Grill & Bar Marriott Miami Biscayne Bay

Gallery212

2407 NW 2nd Ave
in Wynwood
Miami, FL 33127
786-431-1957


Complimentary Breakfast, Guided Studio Tours, Exhibition Tours and Live Music at the Bakehouse Art Complex (BAC)



Every good day starts out with a delicious and nutritious morning meal!

Before you head off to the fairs, stop by the Bakehouse Art Complex (BAC) for a complimentary breakfast spread and breakfast cocktails compliments of Domaine de Canton. Take a guided tour of BAC's 33,000 square foot facility, over 65 artist studios, our two exhibition spaces and enjoy live musical performances each day.

INSIDE THE COMPLEX
Audrey Love Gallery: Woman to Woman Exhibit
An exciting exhibition of collaborative explorations within a group of Miami's most well known female artists.

Swensen Gallery: Small Works Exhibition
Take a piece of Art Basel Miami 2011 home! View the small works created by BAC resident artists. Each piece is under 200 square inches and priced under $1,000. Their creations are hung salon style and span a wide range of content and media.

Bakehouse Art Complex (BAC)

561 NW 32nd Street
Miami, FL 33127
305.576.2828
http://www.bacfl.org/

SEVEN is the pioneering collective project organized by the galleries BravinLee programs, Hales Gallery, Pierogi Gallery, Postmasters, P.P.O.W., Ronald Feldman Fine Arts and Winkleman Gallery. They are returning to Miami for the second year, at a new location, from November 29th through December 4th, 2011. With a focus on a collaborative, exhibition-like presentation commingling galleries and artists, SEVEN looks beyond the art fair model to create a new platform for viewing and acquiring works of art.

Inspired by the prevailing need for a more intimate, personal way to engage visitors during the Miami fair week, the members of SEVEN come together to create an environment where artworks may be experienced in a curated context and interested parties can have a substantial, quality interaction with the dealers. The emphasis on cooperation rather than competition relates to the founding days of these established, long-running galleries, which despite over 120 years of combined experience, remain true to the non-conformist, adventurous nature of their beginnings in the New York and London art worlds.

SEVEN's new location, a 15,000 square foot warehouse at 2637 North Miami Ave at NE 27th Street in the Wynwood district, situates the project in the heart of other major art fairs as well as walking distance to the Rubell Collection.

Entry to SEVEN is free, and the opening reception will be on Tuesday, November 29, 1-8pm.  The fair will be open from 11am to 7pm, November 30 through December 4. Updates and other information can be found at http://www.seven-miami... and http://www.twitter.com

With plenty of free parking, and elements to satisfy all of your senses, the BAC Breakfast events are a great way to begin your Art-filled Basel afternoons!



If crowds and finding parking is your biggest phobia, consider the new backyard of Art Basel. The art fair expands its boundaries and this year downtown Miami offers art exhibits without the stress and hype but still high end art.



For this animal lover, a must is Art Zoo. Along the tranquil Miami River, enjoy animal themed art installations including sculptures, paintings, and performance artists while learning about animal rescue and adoptions. With over 20 artists, treats and libations, attendees are encouraged to come dressed in animal print. Pets welcome to compete for "Best Artsy Costume".  Tickets: $50 donation benefitting Paws4You Rescue. RSVP required. Purchase tickets at http://www.paws4you.org/






Most events require ticket purchases ranging from $25 to $100. So be sure to take your time studying the events and choose one or two. Remember parking is almost mission impossible so unless you go early, expect to pay big bucks for valet parking.

Enjoy Art Basel!