December 08, 2016, 10:26am

Art Basel Miami Beach Recap with NAP Publisher, Steven Zevitas

For art lovers, art fairs are a blessing and a curse. There is a lot to look at, but, unfortunately, it is almost impossible to really look at anything. Distractions are everywhere. Art Basel Miami is perhaps the most difficult environment to focus on art that I have ever encountered. Navigating the crowds that aimlessly meander from one side of a congested aisle to another is challenging enough. Pair that with the siren call of hundreds of large scale works in every media simultaneously screaming for your attention and you will find art fair malaise setting in rapidly.

The 2016 iteration of Miami Basel was as overwhelming as ever, even if, as the press has widely noted, there were fewer people in attendance. It was hard to ignore some of the “major” works there – Lee Krasner’s 6 million dollar painting at Paul Kasmin, Sam Durant’s call to arms at Blum & Poe, and Yayoi Kusama’s infinity room at Victoria Miro, to name a few – but I tried my best not to get distracted. I found that the greatest visual pleasures came in small packages this year. The fair’s Survey Sector, which is dedicated to one-person exhibitions, was the highlight of the fair for me with Howardena Pindell, Margaret Kilgallen, Betye Saar, Giogio Morandi and Romare Bearden all looking stellar. Many other great works could be found in the Miami Convention Center if you gave it time.

Here are some favorites from Miami Basel 2016. - Steven Zevitas, Editor/Publisher

Sam Durant. Photo by Andrew Katz

December 07, 2016, 8:25am

Scenes from Art Miami 2016

Lots of shiny things at Art Miami as usual. But also plenty of great paintings. Enjoy scenes from Art Miami 2016. - Andrew Katz, Associate Publisher

All photographs by Andrew Katz.

December 04, 2016, 4:35pm

Scenes from Art Basel Miami Beach 2016

It's that time of year, again...Back to Miami to get our annual fix of great art and beautiful weather (we live in Boston, after all). Let's start things off right with scenes from Art Basel. It was noticeably quiet during the Vernissage, but there were reports of big crowds during public hours. Expect more highlights throughout the week from Scope, NADA, Pulse, and Untitled. Enjoy! - Andrew Katz, Associate Publisher

All photographs by Andrew Katz

November 25, 2016, 10:17am

Considering Painting’s Shelf Life with Boris Osterov

Since painting began to migrate from church walls to stretched linen, a painter’s niche within the art market had been carved. Not only was canvas friendlier to 16^th century Venice’s damp boulevards, it also fit snugly on the walls of those with a few florins to spare, as it still does today. While contemporary speculators of our global art market are often praised for the integral role they play in driving new ideas and experimentation, the fact remains that painting makes up nearly three quarters of art sales today. And so those looking to make a florin for themselves often find extra incentive to take up the brush and canvas. - Brad Fiore, Chicago Contributor

Boris Osterov | Untitled, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 18 x 17.5 x 4.5