Featured Art Miami galleries will include the following:

CONNERSMITH., a Washington-based gallery that maintains long-term representation of internationally influential artists, will feature the works of Leo Villareal, who has introduced temporal actions of light into traditional abstract imaging using LEDs, custom software and sequencing.

BARRY FRIEDMAN, a New York-based gallery, will showcase the most recent collection of self-portraits by contemporary artist Ian Ingram, whose pieces portray a wide range of techniques with realistic yet dreamlike canvases.

ALAN CRISTEA GALLERY, a London-based gallery presenting Michael Craig-Martin’s Art & Design, 2012, a set of 10 screen prints on paper, and Howard Hodgkin’s Stormy Weather, 2012, a hand-painted carborundum relief from two aluminum plates, printed with a vivid spectrum of blue and green washes on two sheets of paper.

GALERIE FORSBLOM, a Helsinki-based gallery, will showcase the works of artists Ola Kholehmainen, Joel Shapiro and Jacob Hashimoto. One of the most eye-catching pieces presented will be Hashimoto’s Antihero, 2012, in paper, wood and acrylics.

GALERIE TERMINUS, a Munich-based gallery, will showcase a combination of painting and sculptures. The sculpture portion of the exhibition will be led by Tony Cragg and Roy Lichtenstein. Cragg will present Portrait, 2008, a red marble sculpture, and Wild Relatives, 2005, a bronze sculpture. Lichtenstein will present Metallic Brushstroke Head, 1994, a painted and nickel-plated bronze sculpture, in addition to his oil on canvas, Reflections Red Frame, 1990.

HOLLIS TAGGART GALLERY, a New York-based gallery, will present the works of Willem de Kooning and David Smith among its exhibiting artists. The gallery will present Kooning’s Woman in Motion, 1962, a charcoal and oil on vellum mounted on canvas, and Smith’s Untitled, 1958.

SIMON CAPSTICK-DALE FINE ART, based in New York, will present Jean Dubuffet’s Donnée (H52), 1984, an acrylic on paper laid down on canvas, as well as Kenneth Noland’s Gravimetric, 1981, an acrylic on canvas.

WILLIAM SHEARBURN GALLERY, based in St. Louis, will display the work of Mel Bochner, including Head Honcho, 2012, a monoprint engraved and embossed on hand-dyed and handmade paper.

SOUL OF SEOUL, Curated by Bernice Steinbaum, is an exhibition which explores the essence of Korean artistic sensibility – the commingling of daily life and nature. The exhibition features an extraordinary range of works that include contemporary art, ceramics, traditional silver services, hand carved chests and informal modeling of the traditional Korean dress, the “Hanbok”. An intuitive and innate wisdom and serenity flows from the natural world to the Korean people and this relationship prominently translates into the work of Korea’s most accomplished artists.

For the inaugural edition of CONTEXT Art Miami, notable galleries will include:

LYONS WIER GALLERY will feature the Auto Erotic solo presentation by artist James Rieck, whose newest painting series creates black-and-white compositions that evoke vintage 1960s advertisements and old movie stills. Drive 2012, a grayscale oil on canvas, recalls a sense of nostalgia, and will be among his showcased pieces. Lyons Wier Gallery will also be participating in Art Miami.

CURATOR’S OFFICE, a Washington-based gallery, will present some of the most relevant paintings, photography, video installations, sculptures and works on paper the market has to offer. The gallery’s most prominent pieces include: Kathryn Cornelius’s No. 179 (action painting), a playful match between the history of performance art and abstract expressionism; Korean artist Jiha Moon’s new works on Hanji paper, which explode with visual turbulence, color and density; and Nicolas & Sheila Pye, who performs in front of the camera to create tableaux reflecting transitions from union to separation.

GERING & LOPEZ, one of the most anticipated galleries, will present the collections of artists Michael Bevilacqua, Todd James, Ryan McGuinness and Steve Powers. Bevilacqua’s Dark Side of the Spoon, 2010, an acrylic and spray paint on linen, and James’s Feel The Magic, 2012, an acrylic on canvas, will be featured as two of the strongest artworks.

Swiss Licht Feld Gallery will feature the works of artists such as MARCK, Daniel Karrer, Maurice Calanca and Tiffany Trenda.  MARCK’s unique video sculpture titled NeueFreiheit, 2011 will be part of body of work presented by the artist. Also featured will be Maurice Calanca’s100-USD bill Slave of Debts, a characteristic piece of the artist’s politically charged works. Tiffany Trenda will present her live performance named BODY CODE, where she will stand still, raising the question as to whether she is a sculpture or human being.

NINA MENOCAL, a prominent Mexican gallery, will be presenting the works of Latin American artists Carlos Aguirre, Carlos Ranc, Omar Torres, Sandra Ramos and Eric Perez.

THE PROPOSITION, a New York-based gallery, will be showcasing Lee Vanderpool’s Everyone in One Direction, 2012, an acrylic on canvas, along with the works from artists BalintZsako and Dane Patterson.

The following are among the most anticipated exhibitions for the 23rd edition of Art Miami and debut edition of CONTEXT Art Miami:

“BANKSY OUT OF CONTEXT”

Art Miami, in conjunction with new-photo sharing platform I PXL U (www.ipxlu.com), have come together to present one of the most anticipated exhibitions of the year. BANKSY OUT of CONTEXT, which consists of five wall reliefs equaling six-and-a-half tons in weight, each one showcasing one of the most iconic stencils by the most relevant street artist in the world, encourages the debate about ‘site-specific’ street art outside of its original context; a very divisive issue within the art community. At the same time, it presents an arena for the public to enter the debate and participate in the discussion. Although the five walls are privately owned and not for sale, I PXL U, and BANKROBBER who will be exhibiting in CONTEXT Art Miami, have come together to offer collectors, artists, connoisseurs and VIP fair guests the rare opportunity to acquire works from a limited showing of a selection of the artists most iconic editioned works, including a rare ‘Kate Moss AP’ and a unique hand-decorated example of the artist’s first ever ‘Rude Copper’ print. BANKROBBER also specializes in salvaging, sourcing and restoring original works by the artist known as BANKSY. The wall reliefs will be kept secret until the grand VIP Preview taking place on December 4 from 5:30 to 10 p.m. when they will be unveiled.

ART VIDEO| NEW MEDIA LOUNGE

“Girls or Boys? Who Cares?!”

The Art Video | New Media Lounge, located in the CONTEXT Art Miami Pavilion, will present a hand-picked selection of video art sourced from museums, private collections and art institutions around the globe, specially curated by Julia Draganovic, and Claudia Loffelholz, founders of LaRete Art Projects. The video art works will address the polemic gender issues in modern society, and question the ongoing debate about the current roles of men and women. Highlighted art works include: Said Atabekov’s Battle for the Square, courtesy of Video insight, Turin; Gerald Byrne’s Homme à Femmes (Michel Debrane), courtesy of Mudam Musèe d’Art Moderne du Grand-Duc Jean, Luxemburg; Eli Cortiñas’s Dial M for Mother, courtesy of Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf; Oded Hirsch’s 50 Blue, courtesy of Collection Robert Bielecki, New York; Janet Biggs’ Brightness All Around, Courtesy of Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa (FL), and Carlson/Strom’s Sloss, Kerr, Rosenberg & Moore, courtesy of Contemporary Collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA

“Sugar & Gomorrah”

Peter Anton’s “Sugar & Gomorrah” is the world’s first art installation where the viewer can ride from beginning to end of the exhibition in a carnival ride car while viewing a Sodom and Gomorrah-like world created entirely by the artist. “Sugar & Gomorrah” is a traditional carnival ride reworked into an art experience, showcasing the juxtaposition between a sense of doom and the magical world of giant treats.  The one-minute ride will be a visually stimulating experience, challenging the viewer to fall into temptations of food and the flesh.

“ART FROM BERLIN”

Art from Berlin will be Miami’s first showcase of some of the most celebrated Berlin galleries, which will showcase the best of contemporary, international and innovative works specific to the state of Berlin. The exhibition is sponsored by the European Union and supported by BERLIN LOUNGE, in cooperation with Haus am Waldsee, and will be located in the CONTEXT Art Miami Pavilion. Highlight pieces include Christine Rusche’s Snatch, 2012 PVAC wall paint as well as works by Gosbert Adler, Matteo Bergamasco, Eva Bertram, John Breed, Eb Broner, Dawid, Pia Dehne, Inka and Niclas, Gal-la Uriol Jané, Christiane Klatt, Franziska Klotz, Levke Leiss, Wiebke Loeper, Knut Wolfgang Maron, Rex Ray, Susanne Ring, Susanne Roewer, Christine Rusche, Eric Schmidt and Björn Wallbaum.

SPECIAL SHOWING OF WORKS BY MA DESHENG

Art Miami, CONTEXT Art Miami and The Buoniconti Fund will present internationally acclaimed Chinese artist Ma Desheng in a VIP Reception to benefit The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Already afflicted by polio, Ma tragically lost his wife and both his legs in a car accident in Miami in 1992. After a long and arduous process of rehabilitation, he began painting again, depicting stones in his paintings as part of his recovery and renewed artistic awakening. Art Miami LLC partners will make a generous donation to the Fund in Ma Desheng’s name.  A generous portion of the proceeds from the sale of Desheng’s artwork will be donated to the fund.

Born in Beijing in 1952, Ma worked as a draughtsman during the Cultural Revolution. He was a leading proponent of the Stars (Xingxing) group of artists who first exhibited in Beijing in 1979, the year China started its open-door policy. This art group pioneered individualistic and expressionist art forms leading to China’s modernist art movement. As the leader of The Stars, Ma organized two exhibitions that broke the stranglehold of Communist Party orthodoxy and set the stage for future freedom of artistic expression in China.

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