Miami, FL…April 10, 2020…The Miami Home Design and Remodeling Show launched its, “Stay at Home with the Home Show” social media live series on Monday, with TV’s Alena Capra. The series will continue each Monday (or other dates as announced @FLHomeShows) while everyone in South Florida heeds to the stay-at-home order.
In a few short years, @FLHomeShows has grown to over 30,000 followers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter combined and has thousands of email subscribers. Through digital efforts, homeowners and design professionals can learn more about products available to order online.
The demos are designed to help give new life to the living space using what is on hand or on a budget. The DIY “recipes” will then be posted on the Home Show blog www.homeshows.net/blog.
Monday, April 13th, 7:00 pm on Facebook and 7:30 p.m. on Instagram (approximate commencement time.)
Martin Amado, celebrity designer and author of “One-Day Room Makeovers.”
DIY Design with Martin Amado: Rustic Candleholders
Martin Amado, celebrity designer, TV host/design expert on ION Television, and author of “One-Day Room Makeovers,” will present a cute idea for indoor or outdoor spaces that can also be used in multiple ways to display plants, frames and other things. Learn step-by-step how to create your own rustic candleholder.
The Home Show will also do a “One-Day Room Makeovers” book giveaway along with a family-pack of Home Show tickets for a future show.
Ann Ueno, South Florida Interior Designer
Monday, April 20th (same times as above)
Dress Up to Dine In: How to create an epic atmosphere around the dinner table.
South Florida Interior Designer, Ann Ueno will show you how to style your dining room table. She’ll also share tips on hosting, how to prep and some of her go-to wines and recipes.
Future “Stay Home with the Home Show” demos will include: Sara Bendrick of TV’s “I Hate My Yard” and “Lawn & Order”; Julia Alzate, Hispanic TV and lifestyle influencer; and Sandra Diaz-Velasco, Principal Architect of EOLO A&I Design.
To learn more about the Home Design and Remodeling Show, or to attend or showcase a business at future Home Shows in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, visit www.homeshows.net. Follow @FLHomeShows on Instagram and Twitter and FloridaHomeShow on Facebook.
If that isn’t a depressing headline, I don’t know what is. Here in South Florida, we’re into what should be Week 4 of the stay-at-home order, although the state itself didn’t declare a full shutdown until last Friday. From the looks of traffic, I’m not sure if everyone is listening.
For those of us who are heeding the mandate, the unnamed days are feeling longer and restlessness has evolved to anxiety and often, anger. I myself can fully understand why we no longer cage animals. I’m even starting to question the idea of zoo “habitats” — maybe captivity should only apply to animals that can’t survive in the wild.
Pandemic
I was curious to know when was the last time that people couldn’t go to church on Easter Sunday. DYK the year? In 1918, during the Spanish Flu. Read more here. Although dubbed the Spanish Flu, the virus originated in New York.
Feeding Five Under 25 $ — A Fast, Family Meal
Let’s face it. The people who are telling us what to do with our “extra” time, may not be managing a family indoors or feeling a pandemic-related, psychological fatigue. So, today’s meal inspiration and pairing isn’t either labor intensive or expensive. However, it will look and taste great!
Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Fennel Salad and Tomato Orzo paired with Pinot Noir
The bacon wrapped pork tenderloin recipe can be found on BonAppetit.com.
2 heads of garlic
4 garlic cloves
1 rosemary sprig
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
In a small bowl, make a paste from the finely chopped garlic cloves, rosemary, fennel, olive oil and salt and pepper.
Rub the mixture onto the pork tenderloin and wrap the pork with about 6 pieces of applewood smoked bacon to completely cover it.
Add the whole garlic cloves to the baking pan and drizzle with olive oil.
Refrigerate for a few hours.
Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking at 425º. Since I have a double oven and the top oven is not full size, found that 425º was too high for the entire baking time. About halfway through, I reduce the oven to 375º.
Note: I prefer to top the salad with the shaved Parmesan rather than toss it in, especially if making it ahead of time.
The Wine: 2017 Comtes de Saint-Martin Bourgogne
I was looking for a French wine made of 100% Pinot Noir and turned to my favorite, local wine shop for advice: Wine by the Bay. Great value (under $25, yay), but an even greater wine that was a perfect pairing to the Socially Distant Easter Menu. Think of this wine as that first breath of warm, spring air filled with a delicate song of new life.
A little bit of wine info because I can’t resist an opportunity to learn. Comtes de Saint-Martin is located in Beaune where you can enjoy Bourgogne (Burgundy) wines, hike, bike through the vineyards and enjoy fine dining.
It’s impossible to find anything about this winery or the wine. Should you wish to read more about Pinot Noir, native to Bourgogne, and its distinct characteristics visit this link.
I’m never too old for an Easter Egg Hunt, especially when searching for Cadbury Creme Eggs!
A Different Kind of Celebration
Whether or not you celebrate Easter or Passover, at least try to remember that it’s Spring. Although we shall mourn the loss of many, let’s turn to the beauty of bud break and birds chirping and remember that…
“Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush.”
It’s now Week 3 of the South Florida shelter in place order and I’m craving bad carbs, saturated fats, salt and sugar.
I’m crumbling and probably you are too. The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t a hurricane that will blow into the Atlantic in a few days. This is our modern day Hiroshima — a silent and invisible cloud looming over the entire earth. We can’t just change the channel and tune it out because it’s someone else’s war. It’s a world war and we’re in it together.
That being said, I think we deserve some chocolate. If you’re home schooling the kids, the smell of yumminess baking and the reward of cookies after lunch will most certainly get them through the morning classes with ease and give you some well-deserved comfort.
I did not adapt this recipe and it’s the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe found on New York Times Cooking. Although there’s nothing original about a Chocolate Chip Cookie, with this recipe you are biting into some history (pass that DYK on to the kids!)
The History Lesson
In the 1930s, Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie, ran the Toll House Inn, a popular restaurant in eastern Massachusetts, with her husband. Using an ice pick, Wakefield broke a semisweet chocolate bar into little bits, mixed them into brown-sugar dough, and the chocolate chip cookie was born. In 1939, she sold Nestlé the rights to reproduce her recipe on its packages (reportedly for only $1) and was hired to write recipes for the company, which supposedly supplied her with free chocolate for life. This recipe is very close to Mrs. Wakefield’s original (hers called for a teaspoon of hot water and ½-teaspoon-sized cookies), and the one you’ll still find on the back of every yellow bag of Nestlé chocolate chips.
The Recipe
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups/12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if using. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
I’m not sure who came up with the saying, “That’s the way the cookie crumbles” or “C’est la vie.” Whoever did though, probably didn’t live through a pandemic.
It’s impossible to shrug this off and small doses of comfort food or comforting are needed each day. Rather than mask your feelings, I suggest that you confront them. Here’s an article titled, “Grieving the Losses of Coronavirus” that has helped me put this into perspective and if you really need help, reach out to a friend or for professional help, but just remember…
“Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don’t need an appointment.” ― Catherine Aitken
If you need professional help, here are some resources:
It’s a sunny and warm day in South Florida and the
streets are empty. I ran 4.11 miles and I saw about six people and a few cars.
(Please cars, watch out for pedestrians and runners – red light still means
stop.)
Beaches are closed in South Florida.
Many people are struggling to live with the new norm, “working
from home.” Plus, homeschooling the kids too?
Although I’ve worked remotely for years, it’s still
strange to think that I won’t be driving south to Miami for meetings any time
soon. I’m starting to regret all of the times that I complained about traffic. Seriously, who misses traffic? I do.
Work Day Breakfast: One or two oatmeal bars, fresh fruit and a homemade Tumeric Shot.
Everyone needs a fast breakfast even when working from home, because no one wants to start the day with a full inbox and a sink full of dirty dishes. Because we’re experiencing a shortage of certain food items, I’ve created a Feeding Five Under Twenty-Five $blog series designed to give ideas on how to make food on a budget and with what is (hopefully) available in both your pantry and the grocery store.
Today’s recipe is Oatmeal Breakfast Bars. One bar along with fresh fruit and yogurt make a complete and nutritious breakfast. It’s also vegan-friendly. I adapted a chocolate oatmeal cookie recipe as follows:
Use an egg substitute and gluten-free flour if desired.
Preheat oven to 350°
1 c Crisco
½ c brown sugar
½ c cane sugar
2 tbsp of egg substitute dissolved in 3 tbsp of water
1 ½ tsp of vanilla extract
1 ¼ c all-purpose flour; ¼ c whole wheat flour
2 tsp cornstarch
½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
3 c of old fashioned rolled oats
¼ c of Chia seeds
1 ¼ cup of raisins or dried fruit or combo (I used just raisins the first time and then raisins and chopped dates the second time. Craisins would be good too.)
You can mix this by hand if you don’t have an electric mixer.
With a mixer, combine the Crisco and sugars.
Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
Combine the oats and Chia seeds.
Dissolve the egg substitute in the water and
whisk until smooth.
Combine the sugar/Crisco mix with the egg mix
and Vanilla.
Once combined, slowly add the dry ingredients
into the Crisco/sugar/egg/vanilla mix.
Stop the mixer and stir in the oats and dried
fruit until combined.
Lightly grease a 9×13 non-stick pan or line a
pan with parchment paper.
Press the mix into the pan so even on all sides.
Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes or until
golden.
Notes:
Someone asked me on Twitter if this recipe is gluten
free. Since flour is used more like a binder, I think any gluten free flour
would do. I’ll give it a try sometime.
Oatmeal breakfast bar(s) with fresh fruit and a tumeric shot mixed with seltzer.
If your bars crumble, save the crumbs to add to yogurt
as a topping or eat them on the spot!
From someone who works from home, I know that finding free time is just as hard as when you work from an office. I put in more hours per day than I should and take the laptop from room to room thinking that I’ll just use it to read or watch videos at night. However, I end up answering emails. If you’re like me, try to leave the laptop “at the office” and spend time reading an actual book, rather than the tablet.
Find time for this recipe knowing that you’ll have a
quick and nutritious breakfast for at least the next few days. Good luck and
stay strong!
“Hope makes a good breakfast. Eat plenty of it.” ~ Ian Fleming
I live in South Florida and as the numbers of confirmed cases of COVID_19 continue to rise, everyone is running around trying to find the basic food and household necessities fearing that everything except essential businesses will shut down. Wait! Everything has shut down, but things are moving faster than the Florida Everglades wildfires, so I temporarily forgot.
With parents struggling to work at home and also home
school the kids, there are more meals to make. Items like bread, eggs and meat are
hard to come by or not available. Rather
than buy supermarket convenience food, I’ve
put my mother’s World War II “how to feed a family” strategies into place.
Periodically on my blog, you’ll find tips on how I’m, “Feeding
Five Under Twenty-Five” dollars. Keep eating healthy and exercise because that
will help you manage the stress.
Here’s my first “Feeding Five Under Twenty-Five” recipe:
Cast Iron Cooked
Flatbread Filled with Leftover Meat
1 package of active dry yeast
2 tsp of sugar
1 c of warm water (115°) – use only ½ c of water for the
yeast
2 ½ c of all purpose flour
1 tsp of salt
3 tbsp olive oil
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in ½ c of water and reserve
the other half.
Wait at least 5 minutes until the yeast becomes active. The
top will resemble beer foam.
Combine the flour and salt. I use a mixer with bread
hook, but with a spoon is fine. Slowly add the yeast and then the olive oil and
the water (you may not need all of it) and blend until almost combined. I do
the rest by hand and then knead until everything comes together and you can
form a smooth ball. You don’t need to knead it too much, but here’s a ‘how to’ video.
Coat your mixing bowl with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and
place the dough back in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a (warm water)
damp tea towel.
Go do something else for an hour. I chose to run outside because it’s a great way to get some Vitamin D and restore my sanity while in quarantine.
The dough
should double within the hour. Punch it down and remove the dough onto a
lightly floured surface. Roll it into a tube and cut into six even pieces.
I used semolina flour, but any flour for rolling will do. Sprinkle some flour onto a rolling pin and roll into a thin disk. You can also rotate and stretch the dough like you’d do when making pizza. See this link which BTW is my favorite pizza dough recipe.
Heat a cast iron pan on medium until it is very hot
(think pizza oven hot!) Add one of the rolled out dough pieces and watch it
bubble up quick. Wait about 3 minutes and take a peak. You can flip it when it’s
golden or get the charred look. Cook for another 3 minutes.
Note: A cast-iron pan gets very hot, so lower the temperature slightly if you think the dough will brown too quickly.
To keep the flatbreads warm and moist, wrap them in a tea towel.
I filled the flatbreads with leftover carné con papas (beef stew) from the night before. Shred the meat
and chop the potatoes into small pieces. There wasn’t a lot of meat left so I
added some chorizo too. Top the meat with chopped tomatoes, avocado, shredded
cheese and cilantro. I didn’t have sour cream, but it’s healthier without it.
If you’ve read this far and hopefully making this recipe,
I hope you’re now sharing my joy of creating something wonderful to eat. More
than that, here’s a great time to stop watching the news or checking social
media. You’ll have a yummy distraction for yourself and make your loved ones
very happy.
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien
When it comes to what’s in your glass — that sumptuous work of
art, do you resign to the visceral or let a wine rating or tasting note dictate
your opinion?
Tasting Notes
While I understand that tasting notes are needed in the industry as a means to sort, order, classify and make a wine brand marketable, should the rest of us be controlled by this numbered rating? Must we fill our thoughts with aromas of wildflowers or forest floor before we even take a sniff or sip?
Wine Newbie Me, is not trying to diminish in any way the credibility of the world’s wine experts and big names such as Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, or James Suckling, just to name a few. In fact, I learn a lot from them and love to read their reviews and articles, especially Jancis Robinson.
Or, if you explore (hashtag) #wine and try to keep up with the ever-growing Instagram and Twitter world of sommeliers and wine lovers, you can become easily swayed by the next up-and-coming wine critic’s notes because he/she has over 30.5K followers. That’s fine I guess, but before I get called self-righteous, I do have a point…
The Mom Factor
Would you tell a mother that you know more about her child than
she does? You better not — that is if you value your life! I imagine a
winemaker might not be so quick to react as strongly as your mother. However,
he or she is the creator of the wine: from the soil tilled, to the excitement
of bud break, to the blisters on the hands. He/she loses sleep over that
unexpected wind, rain or cold spell, or even Corona Virus!
The winemaker is ever present. He/she celebrates the joyful
moments and courageously plows through the suffering (pardon the pun.)
He/she too can express in words the wine better than anyone
else.
With that being said, I found this little poetry in motion.
Baron de Brane
Margaux 2015: Château Brane-Cantenac
Henri Lurton is the composer of what he describes, “Une vraie
valse de fruits rouges, arrivés à parfaites maturité. La robe est grenat,
intense et profonde.” — A waltz of red fruits at perfect maturity. A garnet
dress, intense and profound.
Bottles from the world’s greatest wine producers have a story to tell and when you go beyond the tasting notes and pairing recommendations, you’ll find both the history and the story. By story, I mean what is present and what the possibilities can be.
Learn more about Château Brane-Cantenac at this link.
I found the the Baron de Brane Margaux at Wine by the Bay in Miami.
“The truly free man is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse.” ― Jules Renard
Until next time… When it comes to what’s in your glass (or life for that matter,) be truly okay with “You Say Tomato and I say Toe-mah-toe” – just know what you love and love what you know.
Photos and Highlights of the “Ciudades” Opening Reception
l to r: Isabelle Lambert, Alicia Restrepo (Curator and Etra Fine Art owner), Anaide Govaert
Miami, FL…December 2, 2019…Etra Fine Art located in
Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood (also known as Little River Art District)
held a highly successful Opening Reception of Ciudades, a
multimedia art exhibition. The event was attended by clients and a steady
stream of art lovers over the course of a four hour, open house style event.
Artists in attendance were Juan Raul Hoyos
(Miami/Colombia) and Jorge Olarte (Miami) and throughout the week will
be present along with Andriy Halashyn (Kiev) and 2501 (Milan.)
The exhibit is curated by Etra Fine Art owner, Alicia
Restrepo. She has had a long career as gallerist originally in New York
City and then moved to Miami shortly after Art Basel arrived in the Magic City.
Restrepo has gracefully weathered the real estate changes over the years and
changed location to adapt accordingly: from the Design District (before it was
a luxury retail destination); Wynwood; and now Little Haiti/Little River Art
District.
Apart from Hoyos, Olarte, Halashyn and 2501, the other exhibiting artists are: Ana Maria Gutierrez (Bogota); Valeria Yamamoto (Buenos Aires); Francis Hines (New York); and André Cypriano (Rio de Janeiro.) Also on view are videos by Hoyos and 2501; poetry and essays by Elizabeth Rogers; and music, La Ciudades by Astor Piazzolla.
Ciudades, a multimedia exhibition made up of
paintings, music, an installation, sculptures, photography, videos, poetry and
essays will open for special hours during Miami Art Week (Art Basel) and close
on Tuesday, January 28, 2020. 6942 NE 4th Ave, Miami, FL 33138,
www.etrafineart.com, info@etrafineart.com, 917.370.2907.
Etra Fine Art Presents, Ciudades
Art Basel Miami
Closes: Tuesday, January 28, 2020
During Miami Art Week (December 3-6): 11 am to 5 pm, Tuesday to Friday and other days by appointment.
Top Art Fairs: The A-Z of Where #MyArtEscape Will Be.
It’s my favorite time of the year! I have all of my press credentials in place, am reading voraciously about art, art installations, events and VIP soirees. The trickle of incoming press releases has become a flood, and I’ll soon be swimming through miles of art. Hooray, Art Basel aka Miami Art Week is (almost) here!
Without delay, below is the A-Z of where I’ll be. Read all the way to the end because I’ll recall a couple of the past VIP events that I’ve had the good fortune to attend. You may also wish to follow my daily, Art Basel Instagram stories for highlights of each fair and a couple of special events.
Note: I’ve scaled down my art fair trekking from last year’s 10 fairs. As much as I’d like to see it all, I was art oversaturated and no shoes or running prep could condition me for that much walking.
I really don’t understand people who say that they won’t go to Art Basel like it’s some kind of art fair boycott against the 1%. Sorry, but Art Basel is the OG of international art fairs. Maybe you can’t afford to buy anything, but why would you pass on an opportunity to see a new work by huge artists like Anish Kapoor, Yayoi Kusama or my favorite American artist, Nick Cave?
Dates:
December 5-8 at the Miami Beach Convention Center
Global
focus: 269 leading galleries from across the world to exhibit, with 20
galleries joining the fair for the first time
18th
edition and 500,000 square feet of exhibition space
Meridians:
A new sector located in the Grand Ballroom of the Miami Beach Convention
Center. Curated by Magalí Arriola will bring together around 30 projects that
push the boundaries of a traditional art fair layout.
Day
Ticket: $65.00; Students and Seniors $45.00
Miami Beach Convention Center, 1901 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139 | www.artbasel.com/miami-beach
I said it last year and I’ll remind you again, Art Miami came first! It’s a sophisticated and intellectually stimulating art fair. You’ll find just about all of the highly collectible and blue chip artists’ work sought by wealthy collectors that you would find at Art Basel. Art Miami also makes great efforts to spotlight Miami galleries, museums and artists. Support local!
Dates:
December 3-8 at the Art Miami pavilion in Downtown Miami
Milestones:
Returning for its 30th edition, Art Miami is recognized as one of the preeminent international
modern and contemporary art fairs, Art Miami will showcase an array of iconic
and important art works, dynamic projects and special installations from more
than 170 international galleries from nearly 22 countries representing 69
cities.
The
Platinum VIP Preview on December 3rd will benefit the Perez Art
Museum Miami.
Adult
Admission $55.00; Seniors $35.00; Students (12-18) $35.00
The Art Miami Pavilion, One Herald Plaza @ NE 14th Street, Downtown Miami. On Biscayne Bay between the Venetian & MacArthur Causeways | www.artmiami.com
Sister to Art Miami, here’s the perfect example of supporting local and emerging artists. I love this fair and most of the art is affordable for people like you and me. They offer some great programming too and I’ve enjoyed in the past, sitting down and listening to one of their talks. Looks like this year guests can enjoy visual performance art.
Dates:
December 5-8
Held
at the Aqua Hotel in South Beach, the unique setting (open courtyard and rooms
transformed into art exhibition spaces) has become a favorite gathering
spot for collectors, curators and art lovers to discover fresh talent and
acquire new works while exchanging cultural ideas and forming meaningful
connections.
Milestones:
Presenting its 15th year and last year recorded the strongest sales
and attendance to date.
Adult
Admission $25.00; Seniors and Students $20.00
Aqua Art Miami at the Aqua Hotel, 1530 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139 | www.aquaartmiami.com
If I’m not staring at new works by Porky Hefer
at Southern Guild, you’ll find me swooning over very expensive ceramics or an
Armani Casa living room. A girl can dream right? Since I love sculpture,
functional art (and I know artists and designers hate that term) makes so much
sense. I want to fill my house with objects that I can touch and maybe use now
and then.
Dates:
December 4-8
Updates: Design Miami will take place
for the first time in the newly completed Pride Park with its entrance directly
facing Art Basel at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The reconfigured fair
tent will have a glass façade at the entrance to house the new Design Forum
presented by SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design.) Occurring alongside Art
Basel in Miami and Switzerland, Design Miami/ has become the premier venue for
collecting, exhibiting, discussing, and creating collectible design.
Now
in its 15th edition, Design Miami 33 galleries and 14 Curio presentations from
13 countries, including three galleries exhibiting for the first time.
I really love NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance)
too. Maybe’s it’s the Ice Palace’s interior black walls and curated gallery
spaces that make me feel like I’m walking through Soho on an autumn day. These
curated spaces appeal to the intellect, but don’t feel shy to ask questions.
There are millions of artists and you can’t know them all.
Dates:
December 5-8
Presenting
its 17th edition, NADA will showcase a
diverse selection of local, national, and international galleries with 136 exhibitors
representing 56 cities from 25 countries. The
fair continues to grow in the 17th edition, welcoming 28 first-time
exhibitors and 71 NADA Member galleries.
Adult
Admission $20.00; Seniors and Students $10.00
Last year was my first year at PULSE. I must
admit, it’s a little out of the way and parking is not easy. Yes, you can do valet
at the Eden Roc if you’re okay with the fee. However, don’t let that stop you.
You have options: shuttles run between the main fairs and you can park further
south and take a rideshare. The galleries are worth any little inconvenience.
Dates:
December 5-8
Milestones:
Celebrating its 15th anniversary and announced its new fair
director, Cristina Salmastrelli. Visit over 60 globally-renowned galleries and
artists. New this year is PULSE Perspectives, a dual language programming
series presenting talks and tours in English and Spanish. Find a variety of
programming and also a wellness lounge and restaurant in partnership with Eden
Roc/NOBU Hotel Group.
Here’s a great fair for young collectors and who can resist the location right on the South Beach sand? You’ll find works that are bold and gutsy, rich in statements about society and the many complications that we face today.
Dates:
December 4-8
Returning to Miami Beach for its 19th
edition, SCOPE will welcome 134 diverse contemporary exhibitors featuring The New
Contemporary, a genre that stands as a critical contribution to both global
politics and local community engagement. New to the pavilion this year is
OASIS, an experiential multidisciplinary program located in our expanded
Atrium. OASIS will present daily programming featuring large scale
installations, music performances, and panel discussions while continuing our
long-standing commitment to wellness.
If I had to choose a favorite art fair, UNTITLED, ART would be it. I really enjoy visiting galleries that focus on curation. The Untitled team is made up of curators, designers and architects providing not only an overall cohesiveness in the quality of galleries it selects, but in the fair design itself. It’s a pleasant and stimulating place to be. The natural light flows in through the skylights. I just love how each gallery is set back differently and the concept is open – not boxy like other fairs.
Dates:
December 4-8
Find a collection of 126 international
galleries and nonprofit spaces from 28 countries and 57 cities make up the 2019
roster, carefully selected by Artistic Director and Curator Omar López-Chahoud.
Here’s a look back at some of the events I’ve attended in past years.
Albedo by Tomas Saraceno for Aerocene Opening Brunch | Art Miami 2018Pharrell Williams Private Concert at 1 Hotel South Beach 2019Perrier Jouet Champagne Dinner at Leynia, Delano Hotel (South Beach)Jeff Koons Unveils Ballerina and Pluto andProserpina at Oceana Bal Harbour
Put on your comfy and stylish shoes and I’ll see you there!
Read my past and future published articles here and follow @AllegoryPR #MyArtEscape for daily Art Basel, Miami Art Week updates.
As I am writing this blog post, the Instagram hashtag Yayoi
Kusama (#yayoikusama) has 850K related posts and @yayoikusama_ (which I presume
is the artist’s official Instagram) has 31.3K followers. There’s plenty of
unofficial accounts and a variety of Yayoi-ish hashtags. Search Yayoi Kusama
news on Google and you’ll find 40,400 results. Switch to “All” and there will
be more than 7 million results.
It’s infinite and that’s
Yayoi Kusama.
There’s nothing that I can write that hasn’t been written
before about Kusama, who has lived through a turbulent, personal history for
nine decades. Today, I can only relate my personal experience and it was a
magical one!
I adore polka dots and my daughter’s first Easter outfit was a navy blue dress with white polka dots. The hat had a matching fabric sash. I loved it and she hated it. I tried for all of her preschool years, to force polka dots on her, but failed.
Before even knowing anything about Yayoi (can we be on a first name basis?), I was drawn to one of her pumpkin sculptures at a gallery participating in Art Basel Miami. A man looked at it pensively while I wondered what he was thinking.
A couple of years ago a friend recommended to see a
documentary about her life. I did plan to watch it, but it got bumped off the
long list of things to do. Over time, I would hear other Yayoi murmurs and
rather than research, I would just recall those dots.
Then, recently I received an email that I must go see All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins at the ICA Miami. Without thinking twice, I purchased two tickets for $30.00 for myself and a friend, and squeezed that one minute experience, which I might add entails a 2.5 hour round trip car drive, into my busy schedule. Yes, if you are blinking at the last sentence: it translates to $15.00/person for a 60 second, solo view of Yayoi’s Infinity Mirror Room.
In order to prepare for the visit, I finally watched Kusama: Infinity and I suggest you do the same.
Connecting the Dots
Between that first work of art that I saw to some last minute research, I gained a compassionate understanding of Yayoi Kusama’s life and career. To think that at ninety years old, she walks to her studio almost every day and meticulously and obsessively creates dots on canvas or other two or 3-D mediums, fascinates me. Her therapy became#MyArtEscape.
It was reported in January, 2018 that over 75,000 people visited With All My Love For The Tulips, I Pray Forever at David Zwirner in New York. At ICA Miami, they receive 20 people per thirty minute time slot and hundreds line up on Thursdays when entrance is free.
I imagine during Art Basel/Miami Art Week attendance will skyrocket.
Multiply those figures by the amount of people who will visit any of the Infinity
Rooms around the world, from today until a closing date of probably never,
means that Yayoi’s artistic legacy will be limitless.
Buzz Lightyear said, “To infinity and beyond” a remark
embraced by children and adults alike. How often do you see Facebook posts, “I
love you to infinity and beyond?” Infinity is the fictitious place (or non-place
to be exact) that we dream to reach.
For Yayoi, infinity may once have been a location to escape like fields of flowers or an infinite reflection of polka dots, but now it’s eternal hope for her and us all.
And, as we make the most out of our 60 seconds, immersed in that infinite field of spotted pumpkins, we can reach Instagram immortality by the click of our iPhone. Or, if we leave our phone behind (which I plan to do next time), our imaginations will be forever sealed in that magical spot/polka dot.
Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos. Polka dots are a way to infinity. ~ Yayoi Kusama
About This Town by Artez | Calle de Fuencarral 31, Madrid
Puerta del Sol, Madrid
A brief visit to Puerta del Sol in Madrid was Instagram
worthy, but crowded with shoppers. The stores were mostly American and there
were the familiar fast food restaurants. I was disappointed.
About This Town by Artez
However, my eye caught sight of this colorful mural. “About This Town” depicts a girl holding a pile of books with a bird and its birdhouse balanced on top. There’s a plant behind her or maybe she’s holding that too. The eye happily travels up and away from the crowded street to appreciate the blue sky above.
Born in Serbia, Artez painted this mural in four days to be a part of the 2019 Urvanity Art Fair. On his website, he explains: “This mural tells us the story of Madrid, a place where visitors from all around the globe are welcome to come and enjoy the vivid artistic and cultural content that this city has to offer. Positioned in the very centre of the town, this mural creates a contrast with the pedestrian shopping street in which it is located. Instead of carrying shopping bags, girl depicted on the mural is holding a pile of books important for the history and culture of the city, and a plant with a small birdhouse that is inviting all the “birds” to come and feel like home!”
A closer look reveals the title of one book Miau by Benito
Pérez Galdós (considered to be one of Spain’s most famous writers since Cervantes)
and another references the painter Francisco Goya. Possibly this reference is a
commentary about the maladies of society.
I would say that a deeper reading surfaces from Artez’
mural. Possibly, the tourist should spend more time getting to know Madrid’s
history and culture. Or, maybe it’s the Spaniards
who should pay more attention to Madrid which may be selling its soul to the
tourist industry. Who knows?
In any case, she’s my soul sister. I’ll give up shopping bags for a pile of books any day. And, if my nose isn’t in a book, I’ll be birdwatching with my zoom lens pointed to the sky.
El hombre de pensamiento descubre la Verdad; pero quien gozan de ella y utiliza sus celestials dones es el hombre de acción.
~ Benito Pérez Galdós
The man of reflection discovers Truth; but the one who enjoys it and makes use of its heavenly gifts is the man of action.”
