Collectors bring curiosity to a week of Miami art fairs making emotional connections and purchases.
The Design Tourist, aka Karen LeBlanc, at PULSE Art Fair in Miami Beach during Miami Art Week.
Miami Art Week takes place Dec. 3-8, 2019 with more than 80,000 collectors, curators and art enthusiasts attending art fairs anchored around Art Basel Miami Beach. The defining trend of this art fair frenzy is the concept of emotional collecting, art purchases propelled by personal connections with works.
Kazuyuki Takishita, an artist from Tokyo, Japan brings his works to PULSE Art Fair with Gallery Art Composition. His art was a PULSE Prize Nominee.
With more than two dozen satellite art fairs throughout Miami Beach and Miami, fair fatigue can set in from sensory overload. PULSE Art Fair in Miami Beach aimed to be the antidote by creating a sensory soothing backdrop for contemporary art on exhibit. “Our theme is Calm in the Palms. We want to be a destination, not an event on the checklist. PULSE is not just an art fair. It’s an experience. I want people to come here, relax, feel the PULSE environment so that they can absorb the artists here to their fullest extent,” says PULSE Art Fair Director, Cristina Salmastrelli.
PULSE Art Fair, one of the first satellite fairs to join Art Basel Miami, celebrated its 15th year with a curatorial theme that stimulates the five senses. The fair’s signature scent by Aroma 360 permeated through the aisles as an invigorating infusion for fairgoers, who were invited to touch the artwork in many of the gallery booths. A soundscape of cicadas created by PULSE Project Artist, Sandra Mohs soothed and focused attention.
Many of the works piqued curiosity and started conversations creating connections between the art and collector. “Emotional collecting is emerging as a strong trend in the art world. The tendency is to think of traditional collections as governed by strict rules that focus art in a certain genre or style, whether it’s emerging artists, print or photography works. In the last five years, more people are coming to our fairs with a curiosity and no rules for collecting. That has led to emotional buying where someone walks in; they are struck in some way by a piece and they buy it. That to me is very exciting,” explains Salmastrelli.
Meguru Yamaguchi, Out of Bound No. 77, 2018 is acrylic, plastic, epoxy, and UV paint on shaped wood board, presented by GR Gallery at PULSE Art Fair
“We must reflect the population that lives here year-round and we need to offer an international experience. We have artists from five continents here, which I’m very proud of because we need to see how creativity in all corners of the globe. When I vet the galleries and artists that apply to exhibit at PULSE, I want to make sure I’m not giving you just one point of view but all,” Salmastrelli says.
Hyperrealistic charcoal drawings presented by Galerie ALB, Paris at PULSE Art Fair during Miami Art Week
Works with emotional resonance include the hyperrealistic charcoal drawings of Galerie ALB by French artist Nicolas Pegon. “It looks like a photo but it’s charcoal drawings from a French artist. We came here to present Nicolas who works in hyperrealism drawings for 10 years now. He takes people’s surroundings, people of his family and he does these mise-en-scene works,” says Anouk Le Bourdiec, gallerist, Galerie ALB.
The Rendon Gallery presented the Casspir Project by South African artist Ralph Zim including this outdoor installation, the SPOEK 1 covered in colorful beads at PULSE Art Fair during Miami Art Week
South African artist Ralph Ziman makes a powerful statement about social justice and violence with The Casspir Project presented by The Rendon Gallery. Ziman covered in beads a Casspir, an armored, all-terrain vehicle developed in South Africa in the 1970s. The Casspirs were used extensively by the South African Police, as well as the South African Defense Force, against civilians in urban township areas from the late ‘70s through early ‘90s during apartheid. Developers of these vehicles named them Casspirs, an anagram combining the name of the designer (the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR) and the end-user (the South African Police, SAP).
The Casspir Project is a multidisciplinary fine art exhibition that encompasses a variety of media including installation, photography, oral history, and documentary film in response to Apartheid’s effects on South Africa’s culture and community.
Sophie Derrick self-portrait on view during PULSE Art Fair. For more go to www.degreeart.com
Artist Sophie Derrick plays with painting and portraiture using the body as both an object and subject.
Sophie Derrick self-portrait on view during PULSE Art Fair. For more go to www.degreeart.com
She photographs the act of painting onto her skin then paints on top of the photographs, creating a layering of the image of paint and painted image, blurring the boundaries between the two.
Port-O-Potty by Zeke Moores presented by Art Mur on view at PULSE Art Fair during Miami Art Week.
Port-O-Potty by Zeke Moores presented by Art Mur takes a disposable, dejected object taken from the street and places it into the artistic context of a gallery space. The artist uses metalsmith techniques to create his Port-O-Potty, usurping the traditional modes of mass production and the disposable materiality that we associate with these objects. Moores uses mechanized assembly line production and objects made to be thrown out and transforms them into a craftsman’s labor of love.
PULSE Art Fair is my antidote to fair fatigue during the art-saturated week of shows and fairs because of its original programming, cutting-edge installations and sensory-rich experiences. I highly recommend this annual art fair during Miami Art Week.
“The SAF, whose mission is to educate about, advocate for and celebrate Sarasota’s mid-century modern heritage, undertook this project as an educational initiative,” SAF Chairman Dr. Christopher Wilson, Ph.D., said. “Recognizing that a majority of Sarasota School structures are private residences not normally accessible to the public, the SAF wanted to expose the forward-thinking principles of the ‘Sarasota School’ to a wider audience by constructing and exhibiting this replica.”
The Walker Guest house was Rudolph’s first design executed independently, and is considered among his most significant projects. Rudolph built numerous other influential residential buildings in the Sarasota, Florida region, including his so-called Umbrella House (1953) and Cocoon House (1950), designed with Ralph Twitchell. In 1997, Rudolph donated much of his archive to the Library of Congress, which helped establish the Library’s Center for Architecture, Design, and Engineering. By ensuring that his work was publicly accessible, he acted to see that his work could be preserved even if the original structures were not.”
The gallery’s mission is to help shape the discussion between art and design and to further increase the presence of cutting-edge design within the larger art world. 
Functional Art Gallery works with artists and designers who push the line between aesthetics and purpose, form and function, perception and intent.
The art installation Roots called attention to “alarming changes in nature and our environment” including disappearing forests and wildlife, polluted air and oceans, rising sea levels are rising, and an increase in extreme weather phenomena. Delta Air Lines and the Sacred Space Miami presented Roots by Atelier Marko Brajovic, curated by Ximena Caminos and produced by Alberto Latorre. The idea behind the art is to stimulate cultural and artistic responses to environmental change. 
The Roots pavilion is a self-supporting aluminum branching system wrapped with fine custom-made ropes and was designed by a parametric software mimicking the natural growth of a mangrove rooting system. In the middle of the pavilion, a large deck is used as a collective space for ceremonies and for three traditional Amazonian hammocks from which visitors can experience the immersive documentary SACRED COCA.
Learn more about the artists and art objects featured at Design/Miami in new episodes of The Design Tourist filmed at Miami Art Week.
The overarching theme at both shows was about creating awareness and connecting with humanity. At Spectrum Miami, I ran into two strange-looking characters clad in rags roaming the show as social sculptures. They were wearing Ghillie Suits, camouflage garb traditionally worn by snipers outdoors to blend in with their surroundings.
“The latest tile trends comprise the most nuanced and interesting design language we have ever had at our disposal. Tiles tell stories through the spaces we create for them. Ceramics this year are daring us to express ourselves and providing all the technical and aesthetic solutions to do so 
Simple and sleek steps aside for the more-is-more design language of Maximalism, expressed in tile with bold colors and contrasting patterns.
Maximalism brings a vibrancy to interior design that in recent years has been zombified with minimalism. Tile designs in clashing prints are expressed as graphic interruptions in contemporary living spaces without overpowering.
Maximalism, on the trend radar since 2018, gains traction as the leading design ethos with decadent textures, colorful tones and pattern clashes.
Self-expression in living spaces becomes playful with asymmetrical, randomized looks in the latest tile styles. Urban inspired designs such as graffiti also lighten up a living space. 
Popular cartoons illustrated on ceramic with Del Conca’s Felix the Cat and pop art inspired graphics take tremendous creative license to experiment with color, size and patterns to create one-of-a-kind surfacing for architects and designers. 
Some of t
One example is Dash by Raw Color with its grid-like pattern, random ever-changing rectangular compositions that combine different shades and different lengths. 
Modern interpretations of Art Deco, the Roaring 20s and organic art nouveau styles are gaining traction in living spaces. Tile designs draw influences from all of the aspects of the era, from fashion to lighting, architecture to jazz and a bohemian spirit in literature, photography, and theatre.
Tile styles reference Cubism, organic floral textiles of the period and geometric 
At the Coverings show, blue made a strong showing in tile designs with blue hues layered on floors and walls.
Expect to see a lot of c
Ceramic Wallpaper
Large porcelain slabs with minimal grout lines create the effect of wallpaper with the technical benefits of ceramic. 
These patterns are digitally printed on large ceramic surfaces that can be used as furnishing elements.
Dramatic Veins
Stone looks are making strong statements with dramatic veining amping up common varieties of stone including carrara, statuario, and travertine. “Popular aggressive stone looks include marble, granites, onyx and quartzite with dramatic veins and patterns,” says Fasan.
Dark marble looks with large swaths dominate this stone-inspired tile category according to Tile Council of North America. Also expect to see more tone on tone larger veins and intense contrast veining.
I saved the best for last. The following tile styles are my favorite picks at Coverings 2019. They rank at the top of my design radar for their fresh designs, fascinating textures and innovative technologies. My best in show pick is The Foundry Collection because it embodies all of the latest trends in tile: imperfectly perfect styling with its timeworn, weathered surfaces, strong use of blue, and mix of textured tile in random patterns. It really encompasses all that is happening at the forefront of design at the moment.
Also, I spotted several collections worth of show stopper status including this worn blue jean inspired tile with a texture that mimics the feel of denim.
My final show stopper pick is this modern interpretation of Terrazzo with geometric accents and large flecks. 
At the 
The rise of the Foodie culture fused with authentic travel is stimulating appetites for regional cuisine. Today’s consumer wants food to deliver a cultural experience. Food is a form of self-expression and the source of social media bragging rights. Meals that are Instagrammable and socially shareable and convey a backstory are capturing the palettes and imaginations of many who seek adventure in their travel and food.
