Tag Archives: Art Basel
Day And Night
This gorgeous sculpture (Claudio Ciarvolo) is in front of Temple Emanu-El on Washington Avenue and 17th Street, across from the Miami Convention Center. It’s going to be our go to place to remind us of our dear friend Kent who we lost today. We hope to remain close to husband Brian who is a prince of a man. Kent enlisted me to be on the board of the Fisher Institute for Alzheimer’s Research and the publicist for his recent children’s book.
Today At Art Basel
This sculpture by Dada Khanyisa, Capetown, South Africa, being shown at Art Basel, will hopefully be the big winner for us. The companion piece was purchased by Jorge Perez, for Perez Art Museum of Miami. We loved our choice when we saw it a few weeks ago at the Fountainhead Residency. Now it’s ours. Eliot and I feel one day we will get a call for our sculpture to be shown in the Khanyisa collection at some museum as well. Fingers crossed.
Art Basel Buddies
It’s always wonderful bumping into friends at an art exhibit.Today we were lucky to catch up with the very talented artist, John DeFaro (l) art restorer, Viviana Dominguez, (second from right) and a group of their friends.
I turned the corner in the front hall at Art Basel and saw architect Bruce Danzer of Provincetown.
Art Lovers Are Works Of Art
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Fashion Meets Art At Art Basel
What To Wear At Art Basel
Art Basel Highlights
This sculpture is made entirely out of pill bottles. A perfect DigiDame item.
Gail Williams of Williams McCall Gallery, and her buddy.
Hip Hop Artist Swizz Beatz (married to Alicia Keys)
This large scale installation is from Swoon, a street artist. She specializes in life-size wheatpaste prints and paper cutouts of human figures.
I startled Jerry Powers, founder of Ocean Drive, with my camera.
Ariel Swedroe Weinberg, Art Basel’s Youngest Star
Meet Ariel Swedroe Weinberg. At 11 years old, she is already well on her way to become one of this country’s major fashion designers. She has been designing for three years. I met her at Art Basel in Miami. She was there to debut her new line mermaid dresses. While Art Basel is really all about paintings and photography, Ariel felt it was a great stage for exposure.
Ariel and her entourage of models were walking around the show to garner attention for the brand, Swedroe. Ariel was already featured in the Miami Herald because she designed a collection for a local tech show. Ariel participates in Design Lab Miami, a dedicated sewing center with classes for kids and adults.
If you watch the above video, the five minute clip will explain in detail how she got her start and some of her past work. Ariel’s inspiration comes from her grandfather, Robert Swedroe, a well-known artist and architect in the Miami area. In fact, her grandfather’s art is laser printed on her fabrics. She loves the vibrancy of his colors. Ariel also features LED lights on some of her designs so that she can mix technology with fashion.
The hot topic in tech today is wearables like a digital pedometer that you wear on your wrist or Google glasses. Ariel is right in the middle of this developing trend. Remember her name. She is going to be the next Versace or Vera Wang, or somewhere between.
People Watching At Art Basel
Everyone goes to Art Basel to see the art. I go to Art Basel to look at the people. There is a reason why Art Basel is in Miami. The people who live or visit Miami are very creative. It’s always a show.
I found this couple outside the tents of Art Miami and Red Dot. The two were total showstoppers.
I took Jerry Powers by surprise. He is the founder of Ocean Drive magazine.
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Scenes from Art Basel
I’m a digital freak. I have so many gadgets that I want to introduce you to but I can’t let all of the photos I have taken at Art Basel just sit in my camera roll. So here goes:
My husband Eliot Hess at the opening of PAMM, the Perez Art Museum Miami
Lois Whitman (me) at the opening of PAMM
Jennifer Gowdy (black dress) with Eliot, Ruth and Howard Greenberg at the Jason Henthorne photo exhibit
Thom Collins (left), Director of PAMM
Fernando, John DeFaro, and Lois at Shokudo Restaurant in the Buena Vista area of Miami
We got captured by some performing artists
Special Invitation for Art Basel
I want to invite all DigiDame readers to a very special event during Art Basel at 110 Washington Avenue, CU-3, Miami Beach, Florida, on Saturday night, Dec. 7th, 6pm to 9pm. The exhibit will be open from Dec. 3rd to the 29th.
Our good friends, Gail Williams and Dawn McCall, of the Williams McCall Gallery South of Fifth, along with Gary Marotta Fine Art G-1 Gallery of Provincetown, are presenting the extraordinary late paintings and drawings of New York City artist Manuel Pardo (1952-2012).
Pardo became well known when Marcia Tucker, founder and director of the New Museum in NY, included his work for the groundbreaking exhibition in the 80s, The Other Man: Alternative Representation of Masculinity. Pardo went on to exhibit internationally in solo exhibitions in New York, Paris, Mexico City, Cologne, Havana, and Milan. Corporate commissions and events include The Motherland Series; Murals by Manuel Pardo at the British Airways terminal and JFK International Airport; and Hérmes & Visa for Masaryk: Arte Moda & Visa, curated by Justo Sierra, in México City, México.
Pardo was born on July 4th in Cardenas, Cuba. He died in November 2012 after a short illness while enjoying the success of his show entitled Stardust at California State University Fullerton. The artist’s obituary, written by David Frankel, Senior Editor, Publications Department, Museum Of Modern Art, New York appeared in The Huffington Post on May 16, 2013.
Pardo’s work tells his life story of a ten year old boy emigrating, against his will, to the United States from Cuba on Operaciòn Pedro Pan. In his best known series, Mother And I, the artist pays homage to his mother. Pardo depicts his mother Gladys adorned in couture clothing in lavish surroundings with elaborate patterns, colors, and details often referencing popular culture in the context of the work. Other works like Motherland represent a boy’s last memory of Cuba with a lone palm tree standing in front of a highly stylized mountain range.
Collectors and supporters include Sondra Gilman and Celso Gonzalez-Falla, Henry Luce III, Joan Sonnabend, Mike McGee, and Andrea Harris.
iPhoneography, an Unexpected Treat at Art Basel

The new art form was conceived by Colleen Duffley, an international photographer who directs and produces many different types of creative installations. Duffley wanted “Light Expressions” to level the photo playing field by allowing people from all walks of life to capture an image on their iPhone camera that expressed their imagination, sensitivity and innovation. Each artist was assigned one iPad 2. Every iPad features 13 images continually looped at different intervals.
The metal structure that is used to showcase the 40 iPad 2s actually materials recovered from a wreckage of 1995’s Hurricane Opal. An additional iPad 2 is used to stream the entire show online at http://www.studiobthebeach.com. Studio b. is Duffley’s creative venue that brings together the world of photography, art, literature, fashion, design, music, and the culinary arts.
Duffley said, “iPhone photography is still an emerging art form. We are just discovering its capabilities. People are astounded to see what is being done with iPhone camera work. It doesn’t matter which iPhone is being used. It is all about capturing the image, the processing and publishing. It is a pure art form. It is much more about creativity than the cost of the camera. I feel that all of the artists are unique and important to the overall look of the installation. It is the coming together of a community.”
This is the list of photographers from across the globe who partcipated in the first exhibit. The artists keep changing all of the time.
Gerard Godin, Janine Graff, Nathaniel I.Cordova, T.S. Elliott, George Alexandris, Helen Breznik, Elena Herrero, Amo Passicos, Robert Herold, Aik Beng, Edina Herold, Amy Hughes, Colleen Duffley, Natali Na Prosvet, Laura Peischi, Alan Kastne, Cara Weil, Donna French, Jason Donnelly, Benamon Tame, Paul Moore, Jamie Stewart, Art Meripol, Allessandro Greganti, Jenny Markley, Jen Bianco, Elizabeth Grilli, Hans Borghors, Giuseppe Navone, Jaime Ferreyros, Catherine Restivo, Easton Reynolds, Stephane Mahe, Catriona Donagh, Alain Guerquin, Daniel Berman, Seikou Yamoka, Chris Harland, Roger Guetta, and Dan Piassick.
Here are Duffley’s comments on some of the iPhone photographers:
1. Nacho Cordova. “He was one of the original 40 . He did not use many apps to create his photography. He just had great composition and lighting. Nacho was killed shortly after the installation opened. His work is strong and timeless.”
2. Giuseppe Navone. “His images are painterly and evoke mood and emotion. He does use apps but it’s not overdone or obvious.”
3. Paul Moore. “He almost has a 3D look. Or truly HDR effect. Saturated scenic’s that still have great composition. His people are amazing.”
4. Elizabeth Grilli. “Amazing bird shots. You have to capture the image. Her birds are Cartier Bresson like.”
5. Shikoku Yamasaka. “New to the installation. He used fingerpaints on his iPhone and iPad. These are really paintings but I feel he is creating amazing images. I love them.”
6. Janine Graff. “Her images are playful and fun. And very creative using apps to mix multiple images.”
7. Edina and Robert Herald, husband and wife from Hungry. “When I chose them I didn’t know they were husband and wife. I don’t look at the names, just the images. They are hauntingly beautiful. It’s the only way I can describe them. Timeless, they stir the soul.”
Many folks who saw the exhibit at Red Dot told Duffley, “Steve Jobs would have been proud to see the iPads being used this way. He would have loved your creativity.”