Pulse - Miami Art Week 2019
Highlights, installations, and works from the 2019 edition of the Pulse Art Fair hosted in Miami's India Beach Park during Art Week.
Every year, thousands of people descend on Miami's iconic South Beach for the city's vibrant art week. Everybody from serious art collectors to passionate design lovers attend hundreds of events and, some eighteen art fairs across the city participated by over a thousand art galleries from around the globe. These fairs exhibit the very best of contemporary art from some of the world's most celebrated artists. Launching its 15th edition, the Pulse Art Fair had lots to celebrate as it showcased standout works, projects and talks at its India Beach Park location. See below select highlights from the fair's 15th edition.
Nadia Arnold
Online-based art gallery and agency Nadia Arnold attracted the crowds with a strong curation of portrait works. Stefan Gunnesch's 'Keeping you Occupied from my Heart' along with several other of his works created an air of curiosity and intrigue with original abstract collages that explore the theme of the human body. Schalk Van Der Merwe's 'Jumper' provokes a strong reaction with the viewer, the blurred subjects often shifting between beauty, worry, sorrow and despair as the beholder gazes deep into the works. Finally, Felix Dolah's ghostly charcoal drawings bring Alberto Giacometti's sculptures to mind with their striking elongated presence. Dolah uses real models for his work; their conversations helping create the context of the drawing.
Left to right - Stefan Gunnesch: 'Keeping you Occupied from my Heart' Felix Dolah: 'Prevention', 'Me and Myselves', 'Fliegen züchten' Schalk Van Der Merwe: 'Jumper'.
Voloshyn Gallery
Ukrainian artist Igor Gusev brought smiles to many faces during the fair with his ‘Mister Nobody’ installation on display at the Voloshyn Gallery stand. The piece consists of a collection of wall-mounted figures, stretched and blurred in appearance, caught in motion. Taking inspiration from his past work life, Oleksiy Sai showcases Miami-themed pieces from his 'Excel Art Series'. As the name states, each work comes to fruition through the unlikely Microsoft Office programme. Three of the pieces on display depict the iconic lifeguard stations on the beach just outside the show.
Left to right - Igor Gusev: 'Mister Nobody' Oleksiy Sai: 'Excel Art Series'.
Reference Contemporary
Merging the worlds of sculpture and art, Natale Adgnot creates three-dimensional canvases that alternate between organic shapes and geometric forms. Beautiful shapes appear to pierce the paintings, creating designs that look different when viewed from multiple angles. Working with vibrant paint and hand-cast acrylic glass, Court Swartz' sculptures capture brushstrokes from within, continually evolving in the changing lights of the day. Kal Mansur's 'Shelter 2' also uses acrylic to transform its appearance. Mansur encases colourful fluorescent pigments within translucent acrylic panels that visually change as light strikes the internal elements.
Left to right - Natale Adgnot: 'Dispersion Square', Court Swartz 'A-Field #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6, Kal Mansur: 'Shelter 2'.
Art Bond New York
Israeli conceptual photographer Shai Kremer's works were on display at the Art Bond New York stand, forming part of the 'Concrete Abstract' series. The collection explores the reconstruction of the World Trade Center in New York, overlaying photographs from the project's construction between 2001 and 2012. From afar, the works appear to be abstract paintings; it is only until closer inspection that the viewer can decipher the steel girders, rivets, and construction workers within.
Top to bottom - Shai Kremer 'WTC: Concrete Abstract #13', 'WTC: Concrete Abstract #15', 'Verticle 1+2'.
Pulse is just one of a collection of fairs hosting exhibitions during Miami Art Week. With its idyllic location on the beachfront of India Beach Park, the fair embraces the very best of the city, from its impressive sea views to its wonderful curation of contemporary artists and sculptors. If you are looking for works that challenge perceptions and providing something fresh to the art industry, Pulse is definitely the show for you.
