黑料不打烊

Aqua Art Miami is pleased to announce its return to the fair鈥檚 original location 鈥� the Aqua Hotel in the heart of South Beach. During the first week in December, and running simultaneously with Art Basel Miami Beach, this boutique hotel will be transformed into a hub for innovative contemporary art programming, represented by the 43 galleries exhibiting there this year.

After a break in 2009, during which the fair focused on its Wynwood location, this return to the original hotel venue where the fair first began in 2005 is welcomed by many. 鈥淲e are thrilled to be a part of Aqua鈥檚 comeback to South Beach, as it鈥檚 certainly one of the best hotel fairs in the U.S., if not internationally,鈥� boasts an enthusiastic Kathy Murphy, publisher of Modern Painters magazine, who are sponsoring Aqua鈥檚 Preview Opening on the evening of December 1st.

Over the years, Aqua鈥檚 organizers Jaq Chartier and Dirk Park have made it their mission to promote progressive galleries with strong emerging artist programs from the West Coast, as well as from the greater United States and abroad. This curatorial commitment is complemented by the unique art fair setting of a classic South Beach hotel with spacious exhibition rooms that open onto a breezy, intimate courtyard. The surroundings have become a favorite gathering spot not only for relaxation during the busy Art Basel week, but also as a place to exchange and disseminate new contemporary art ideas. And with its close proximity to the main Art Basel fair, Aqua Art Miami has consistently been ranked among the top satellite art events by collectors, artists, curators, critics and the art loving public alike.

Throughout its tenure, a number of new galleries have made their Miami art fair debuts at Aqua. This year is no exception with Walker Contemporary from Boston and Nudashank from Baltimore, among the newcomers. The fair is also thrilled to welcome back many of its veterans, including Seattle鈥檚 Platform Gallery, Gregory Lind Gallery & Eleanor Harwood Gallery from San Francisco, PDX from Portland, and Philip Slein Gallery from St. Louis. Local Miami art dealers are represented by Harold Golen and Cancio Contemporary, while our Canadian neighbors to the north have dispatched Birch Libralato and Katharine Mulherin Contemporary of Toronto, as well as Montreal鈥檚 Pierre Fran莽ois Ouellette Art Contemporain.

The fair鈥檚 organizers are quite optimistic that with this year鈥檚 鈥渞eturn to form鈥� and with the recent upswing of the art market, this will be one of the most successful incarnations of Aqua Art Miami during their six-year history of producing the event. Plus it鈥檚 great to be 鈥渂ack to the beach鈥�.