Miami International Art Fair (Saturday Report)

Good crowds again today. The organizers have done a really good job of advertising (there are street banners everywhere) and there is significant volume all day.

Frustrating day for MFA though; one of those fair days of close calls, "I'll be backs" and the unexplainable inability to close clear sales.

Francis Acea, the tall, good-looking publisher of Miami Art Guide comes by and we have a very long chat about my Che Guevara video drawing and he plants an interesting dilemma in my mind (more on that later).

As the fair closes at 7PM, then I take my cousin and his family to dinner in Coral Gables at a Japanese restaurant. Afterwards we drop by a roof party in a gorgeous artists studio building in Wynwood. The 360 degree view is spectacular and there's also a heated pool on the roof. The bartender is a genius and his mojito making is good, but his gin and tonic with a drop of elderflower liqueur and key limes is magical.

I hear that there's a flat soon opening and perhaps going on the auction block... more on that later too.

The Dynamics of the DC Art Scene

The Art Dealers Association of Greater Washington, in partnership with The Kreeger Museum, are putting together a panel discussion on how Art Dealers, Collectors, Curators and Museum Directors interact to support the visual arts in the DC area.

The Kreeger Museum,
2401 Foxhall Road NW
Washington, DC 20007

Thursday, February 24, 2011
6:30pm - 9 pm

Tickets: $20 / The Kreeger Museum Members: $15
Includes a cheese and wine reception.

Preceding the panel discussion, guests will have an opportunity to view In Unison: 20 Washington, DC Artists, the culmination of a project initiated by artist Sam Gilliam, consisting of monoprints by 20 artists from the DC community, who typically work in different styles and mediums.

For reservations, call 202-338-3552.

Panelists include:
- Juliette Bethea, Collector
- Dr. Johnnetta Cole, Director, National Museum of African Art
- Judy A. Greenberg, Director, The Kreeger Museum
- Gisela Huberman, Collector (and proud owner of my work)
- Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
- and moderator Bill Dunlap, Artist and Art Critic and TV talking head, and one of the 100 in my book about DC artists.

Considering the focus of the panel, am I the only one who finds it odd that missing from the panel are any art dealers?