Nothing says “aqua” like mermaids.
After a stint in what felt like rather cramped quarters in Wynwood last year, the Aqua art fair returned to Miami Beach in a more relaxed setting — that even had a water feature — but the whole affair did feel a little underwhelming. I’m not a big fan of looking at art in hotel rooms since their low ceilings make everything feel cramped but that’s not to say there wasn’t a lot of good things to see on both levels of the complex.
While Aqua is normally known to be heavy with West Coast names, there were galleries from all over in the mix, including — from what I could tell — quite a few from Canada.
Here is a selection of what I saw.
A general view of the Aqua courtyard at night.
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A look into the space of Toomey Tourell Fine Art in San Francisco. It was one of the rare booths that used the beds as part of their display.
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Ross Bonfanti hacks stuffed animals so they look worn with a dash of cyberpunk. He was showing at Aqua with Blunt Collective/AWOL Gallery of Toronto.
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I ran into Brooklyn-based Trong Nguyen of that awful reality show, but thankfully Nguyen has moved on and has curated a small show in the ArtSlant booth.
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Vincent Romaniello’s “Pink Slip” (2010) was included in Trong Nguyen’s ArtSlant exhibit.
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Chantel Foretich, “City Opera Cubicle” (2010) was another good find in Nguyen’s display.
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Matt Freedman’s “Bobblehead St. Lazarus” (2002) has a striking resemblance to Larry Gagosian. I’m not sure what that means. It was in the booth of the Bridgett Mayer Gallery of Philadelphia.
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A look at some of the works in the St. Louis-based Philip Slein Gallery’s display.
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Denver’s Robischon Gallery had a strong display, including the wall pieces on the right by Jae Ko.
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INSERT TIGER WOODS JOKE HERE. Lee Goreas’s “Happy Hooker” (2010) at Toronto’s Birch Libralato Gallery.
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Brooklyn’s Eyewash Gallery had a solid showing, which included these luxurious paper sculptures (center and left) by Linda Ganjian.
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Miami’s own Harold Golen Gallery had the best sign of any gallery at the fairs.
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These neon works by Gary Sweeney probably worked better at night than during the day. Robischon Gallery.
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Victor Sheeley brought out his angel wings to the nighttime festivities at Aqua.
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The Aqua Art Fair is located at 1530 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, Florida, and it will continue until Sunday, December 5, 2010. Check the website for times.
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