The Ritz-Carlton, Bal Harbour Presents Christopher Martin’s “Aqueous”
As Art Basel Miami Beach returns this year (December 3-7), The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, announces its transformation into Miami Art Week’s artistic epicenter. Located within walking distance of the Miami Beach Convention Center and leading art fairs, The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach is an official sponsor of Art Basel Miami 2025, and will present four major installations that collectively explore humanity’s relationship with nature, technology, and possibility. Anchored by the overarching theme The New Current, this year’s program embodies the flow of creative energy shaping the future of coastal resilience and cultural expression.
At the heart of this curatorial movement, Italian contemporary artist Loris Cecchini’s sculptural installation “The New Current” will define the lobby experience; “The Brave New Earth,” a retrofuturistic spectacle founded by Nash Petrovic that envisions a utopian future, will unfold across the beach; additional beachfront activations exploring the intersection of art and science will be presented by Leandro Erlich’s REEFLINE; and “Marcel van Luit: Immersive Worlds,” a luminous digital sanctuary celebrating human imagination and our connection to the natural world, will complete the experience. Together, these works flow within The New Current, a living current of creativity that transforms The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach into an immersive landscape where water, earth, and light converge to inspire reflection, connection, and change.
“This convergence of visionary artists, installations, and experiences positions The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach as Art Basel Miami Beach’s true creative epicenter—a place where guests don’t simply view art, but become part of a transformative cultural moment,” says Stephen Power, Area General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach. “By becoming the new official hotel partner for REEFLINE, we embody a new vision of luxury hospitality where artistic excellence and environmental stewardship are inseparable, and where a week of immersive art catalyzes lasting commitment to our oceans.”
Complementing this ecosystem, The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami presents American artist Christopher Martin’s ethereal “Aqueous” paintings. Throughout Miami Art Week, both hotels invite guests and art enthusiasts to experience exceptional contemporary art within environments where creative expression and refined hospitality intertwine seamlessly.
The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach: A Curatorial Ecosystem for Art Basel
The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach serves as an Official Hotel Partner of Art Basel Miami Beach and will present four major installations that bridge art, imagination, and the future of coastal resilience, including:
“The New Current” by Loris Cecchini | Lobby Installation
Opening to the public on Tuesday, December 2, The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach’s lobby will debut with an invite-only signature unveiling, transformed by Italian contemporary artist Loris Cecchini’s sculptural exhibition featuring his “Waterbones” series. This suspended installation creates a living dialogue between structure and flow, with modular steel forms that paradoxically merge solidity and fluidity. Curated by Miami arts veteran Diana Lowenstein and her granddaughter Ilana Ohana, the installation also carries a familial connection, adding a personal dimension to the artistic experience. The presentation is supported by Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts Gallery and Galería Continua, both recognized for championing contemporary artists who redefine the boundaries of form and space.
“The title poetically merges contrasting ideas – solidity (‘bones’) and fluidity (‘water’) – reflecting the sculpture’s paradoxical nature,” explains Loris Cecchini, contemporary artist for this year’s Art Basel installation at the hotel. “Just as bones provide structure to a body yet are submerged in the fluidity of life, the artwork’s rigid modules coalesce into something flowing and adaptable.”
Based in Milan, Cecchini is one of Italy’s leading contemporary artists, known for blurring boundaries between nature, architecture, and technology. His work has been featured in solo exhibitions at prestigious institutions including Palais de Tokyo (Paris), MoMA PS1 (New York), and Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro (Milan).
The installation invites guests to engage from multiple vantage points, creating an immersive, ever-shifting experience that echoes the hotel’s ongoing transformation and Miami Beach’s resilient future. Guests can savor the artistry while enjoying curated cocktails at Lapidus Bar.
“The Brave New Earth” by PARTNYC | Unmissable, Utopian South Beach Installation
Commanding The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach’s exclusive beachfront, “The Brave New Earth” emerges as Miami Art Week’s most ambitious beachside spectacle. This unmissable installation transports attendees into an immersive, large-scale vision of a utopian future.
“We’re not trying to predict the future, we’re trying to inspire it,” says the creative team at PARTNYC, the award-winning experiential studio behind the installation. “‘The Brave New Earth’ is about getting people to use their imagination, to dream about what our brightest future could look like—a bridge connecting the present to 2525, where anything becomes possible.”
Opening to the public on December 3, this interactive environment transforms the beach into a living laboratory of possibility. Behind luminous portals pulsing with music and light, visitors discover a retrofuturistic utopia where art, innovation, and human connection unite:
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Immersive Future Lab with illuminated entry portals and music-driven atmosphere
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Retrofuturistic bars and VIP lounges set against an oceanfront backdrop, featuring Golden Hour Partner Happy Hours and VIP Gala Dinners
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The Innovators Stage — daily cultural programming with panels featuring artists, technologists, and industry innovators
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Nightly Performances blending sound, theatre, and light in celebration and reflection
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Cutting-edge technology demonstrations powered by Adrian Driscoll from Collimation TV, including facial recognition entry payment systems powered by Billfold
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Stunning costume design by BATAKOVIC, the visionary fashion designers bringing the utopian aesthetic to life
In partnership with Forge Labs and forward-thinking brand collaborators, “The Brave New Earth” proves that sustainability, luxury, and storytelling can exist in harmony—transforming Miami Art Week from a viewing experience into a collective act of creation.
Guests of The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach will receive priority access and exclusive viewing opportunities throughout Art Basel Miami Beach. Visit here for additional details and access to tickets.
REEFLINE Beachfront Activations | The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach Oceanfront
As the new official hotel partner for REEFLINE, an innovative underwater sculpture park and hybrid reef off Miami Beach, The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach will collaborate with REEFLINE to present beachfront activations at the intersection of art and science during Miami Art Week.
Throughout the week, visitors will be invited to join a curated program: from sunrise yoga, guided oceanic meditations, and beach clean-ups to electric paddleboard outings to REEFLINE’s first underwater site, located off 4th–5th Street in Miami Beach. There, they can dive or snorkel to experience “Concrete Coral,” the monumental underwater installation by Leandro Erlich: twenty-two full-scale ‘cars’ crafted in South Florida using marine-grade concrete and CoralLok™️ technology, seeded with over 2,200 live corals to symbolically transform urban congestion into marine life. A porcelain replica of Erlich’s Concrete Coral car, produced by Lladró, will be exhibited inside The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach.
“REEFLINE opened this fall in response to the urgent need for creative climate resilience and marine conservation in Miami Beach,” said Ximena Caminos, REEFLINE Founder, “Through our collaboration with The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, we’re expanding access to environmental education and eco-tourism by bringing REEFLINE’s ‘Concrete Coral’ activations to the shoreline. Guests can connect firsthand with the living artwork beneath the waves, where art and science come together to inspire awareness, participation, and lasting care for our oceans.”
Daily poetry activations with O, Miami and afternoon dialogues will bring together local and international partners to explore themes of climate, art, and ecology. The week will culminate in a collective ocean ceremony; a shared gesture of gratitude and renewal honoring Miami’s coastal ecosystem and the growing REEFLINE beneath its waters.
“When the Earth Breathes” by Marcel van Luit | Salon III (Mezzanine)
This December, The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach will unveil “When the Earth Breathes,” an immersive digital art installation by internationally acclaimed Dutch artist Marcel van Luit. Presented during Miami Art Week 2025, this unique exhibition transforms the hotel’s iconic ballroom into a living ecosystem of light, movement, and sound inviting guests to experience the harmony between nature and human connection.
Known for his dreamlike visual worlds that blend realism and imagination, Marcel van Luit creates a poetic dialogue between technology and emotion. In When the Earth Breathes, he takes this vision further by merging interactive digital art with organic elements. As visitors move through the installation, the artwork responds in real time: flowers bloom, colors shift and life unfolds.
“This is more than installation. It is a moment of calm and reflection,” explains Marcel van Luit, whose work has been collected by global icons from Drake and Post Malone to Paris Hilton. “My art seeks to deepen our connection to nature and imagination in a world moving too fast. It’s a sanctuary where guests can pause, breathe, and be transported.”
Van Luit’s practice has been showcased at Art Basel Miami, Art Basel Hong Kong, and in exhibitions across Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. The exhibition embodies a universal message of renewal and balance, reminding us that even in a digital world, nature remains the ultimate source of inspiration and peace.
“When the Earth Breathes” will be open daily throughout Art Basel, December 2–7, offering a serene, transformative experience for guests and visitors of The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach. This exhibition marks the first collaboration between Marcel van Luit and The Ritz-Carlton, celebrating creativity, innovation, and the power of art to move the human spirit.
The Ritz-Carlton, Bal Harbour, Miami: “Aqueous” by Christopher Martin
Tucked along Miami’s most exclusive stretch of coastline, The Ritz-Carlton, Bal Harbour, Miami presents “Aqueous,” a captivating exhibition by American artist Christopher Martin featuring his distinctive transparent acrylic paintings. This exhibit is owner-sponsored and led by Ronit Ben-Josef Neuman.
Martin’s innovative reverse layering process transforms non-porous acrylic sheets into stages where pigment and water choreograph ethereal compositions. Using quartz heating lamps to gently evaporate water, the artist allows pigments to emulsify and settle into glassy glazes, creating layered transparencies that capture the fluid dynamics of currents, eddies, and diffusion. Much like the ebb and flow of the nearby intracoastal waters, Martin’s process embodies a quiet dialogue with nature—reflecting the same sense of calm, rhythm, and connection to the coastal landscape that defines the resort’s serene atmosphere.
“The process allows for an organic painterly expression, where spontaneity and chance still guide deliberate composition,” explains Christopher Martin, whose work balances what he calls “Organic Expressionism.” “Viewed through the glass, the works present an optical inversion: the most recent transformations appear at the surface while deeper textures reveal themselves upon closer inspection.”
Guests can experience “Aqueous” before or after dining at the oceanfront Artisan Beach House restaurant, where a new menu of coastal-inspired cuisine complements the hotel’s artistic atmosphere.
The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach is located at 1 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL 33139. For reservations or more information, please call 800-241-3333 or visit ritzcarlton.com/miasb.
The Ritz-Carlton, Bal Harbour, Miami is located at 10295 Collins Avenue, Bal Harbour, FL 33154. For reservations or more information, please call 800-241-3333 or visit ritzcarlton.com/