Members of the Art Basel editorial team share their personal highlights

Michael Rosenfeld Gallery (New York)
Kabinett and Galleries (C2)

What is American art? When walking the aisles of Art Basel Miami Beach, despite the plethora of extraordinary works on view, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a conclusive answer. And yet, at Michael Rosenfeld’s booth, it might just be possible to start formulating one. Over the years, the gallery has stood out for its ability to showcase 20th-century artists whose oeuvres blend an unflinching exploration of American culture with a deep interest in the opportunities that lie beyond it. Beauford Delaney’s effortlessly vibrant canvases, Richmond Barthé’s powerful bronzes, and Bob Thompson’s lyrical, mythological scenes – all of which will be on view at the show – are only three examples of this precise focus, which the gallery has been championing for over 30 years.

Michael Rosenfeld will also participate in Art Basel Miami Beach’s Kabinett sector, presenting a suite of arresting works by the late Hannelore Baron. A New York-based Jewish WWII refugee plagued by bouts of anxiety and claustrophobia, Baron created compact, fierce collages that echoed both her own inner turmoil and the violence of US Postwar society. This is a prime example of the gallery’s ongoing commitment to broadening the irregular contours of the American canon – by championing artistic voices that pierce through the noise of history. K.C.

Chung Hyun
PKM Gallery (Seoul)
Survey (S14)

Are they human figures or rocky islands drifting in the vast sea? Exploring human spirituality and energy, Korean sculptor Chung Hyun’s works evolve according to the spectator’s point of view. This presentation highlights Chung’s pieces from the 1990s – a pivotal period in his artistic journey. His works depict human forms through abstract shapes, taking inspiration from the ‘great stone face,’ with shifting perspectives revealing different interpretations. The sculptures emphasize materiality and strive to represent a ‘form of life’ created by solid mass and raw matter, while Chung’s drawings, with their bold lines and use of materials like coal tar, complement these works. Acclaimed in South Korea, the artist gained international recognition with a 2016 installation at the Jardin du Palais-Royal in Paris. S.L.

‘Roberto Matta: 1970s–1980s’
Galerie Mitterrand (Paris)
Survey (S4)

Paris-based Galerie Mitterrand marks the 100th anniversary of Surrealism with a solo presentation celebrating the work of Chilean artist Roberto Matta. The booth, which evokes the acclaimed Surrealism exhibition currently on view at the Centre Pompidou, brings together Matta’s works from the 1970s and 1980s, with a particular focus on his paintings. Matta, who initially trained as an architect, achieved renown for his visionary, abstract compositions that meld dreamlike landscapes with intricate, organic forms. He frequently explored themes relating to the human psyche, space, and time. Through collaborations with prominent Surrealists in Paris, including Salvador Dalí and André Breton, Matta developed a distinctive approach influenced by both Surrealism and existential philosophy. His paintings invite viewers into imaginative realms where emotion and creativity converge, establishing him as a pivotal figure in 20th-century Modern art. P.S.

Paula Nicho Cúmez
Proyectos Ultravioleta (Guatemala City)
Positions (P12)

Their bodies are adorned with geometric motifs or dressed in a huipil (a traditional handwoven Mayan garment whose motifs recount collective memories), their posture is powerful, but also mournful. Paula Nicho Cúmez’s women are embodiments of nature: at once sensitive and resilient, grounded and divine. A member of the Kaqchikel people, the painter and weaver draws inspiration from her own dreams, infused with millennia-old traditions handed down by her ancestors and the sacred Mayan book of creation, the Popol Vuh. These dreams manifest the essential balance between the natural and spiritual, the physical and cosmic worlds – a balance vital to restoring self-determination to Indigenous communities, whose very identity and existence remain under threat after centuries of colonial rule. J.A.

Charlemagne Palestine, Strumming Music, 1974
Meredith Rosen Gallery (New York)
Galleries (D30)

Charlemagne Palestine is a towering figure in experimental music and Conceptual art. Although he is often grouped with the minimalist musicians of the 1960s and ’70s, he self-identifies as a maximalist. Known for his intricate installations, ritualistic compositions, and ostentatious fashion sense, Palestine’s seminal Strumming Music (1974) transforms two simple notes into a hypnotic reverberating soundscape. His compositions often build to a crescendo as he enters a trancelike state, while playing a piano piled with stuffed toys – his so-called ‘divinities.’ His influence has rippled beyond the avant-garde to musicians including John Cale, Nick Cave, and Thurston Moore. At Art Basel Miami Beach, Palestine’s live performance of Strumming Music promises to marry sound, space, and performance in an immersive spectacle. A.R.

Palestine’s 1974 piece Strumming Music from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, will be performed live on Thursday, December 5 at 6pm at Meredith Rosen Gallery’s booth.

‘Premier Artist Talk: Shirin Neshat’
Conversations (Auditorium, Level 2)

The Conversations Premier Artist Talk is always a statement of intent: It opens the Conversations program and sets the tone. This year, Shirin Neshat will take to the stage for a live interview with Kimberly Bradley, th incoming Conversations curator in Miami Beach. Neshat’s practice is a celebration of resilience. Rooted in her home country of Iran, it harnesses the power of poetic text and imagery to pay homage to women, whose rights continue to be under threat around the world. Neshat handles this urgent topic with exceptional consideration and care. C.M.

The Premier Artist Talk with Shirin Neshat will take place on December 5 at 1pm in the Auditorium of the Miami Beach Convention Center. Book your free seat here.

‘Deborah Willis: Meditations on Civil War’
Welancora Gallery (New York)
Nova (N9)

In her photographic series ‘Reflections on Civil War’ and ‘Meditations on Civil War’ (both 2023), artist, writer, researcher, and professor Deborah Willis juxtaposes dancers with historical and contemporary images to reconceive the American Civil War. In the photographs, images of Black women, children, soldiers, and workers, as well as sculptures by her son, Hank Willis Thomas, are projected onto a wall behind two dancers performing a waltz. The gliding performers metaphorically speed up – and question – conventional historical narratives. Eight large-scale photographs from these two series will be presented by Welancora Gallery in the Nova sector. E.M.

Deborah Willis will be signing her monograph, The Black Civil War Soldier (2021), and be a panelist in the talk ‘What can public art do?’ in Conversations. 

Art Basel’s editorial team is composed of Juliette Amoros, Karim Crippa, Jeni Fulton, Coline Milliard, Alicia Reuter, and Patrick Steffen. The editorial contributors from the marketing team are Suzanne Lai and Patricia Li. Art Basel’s commissioning editors are Kimberly Bradley and Emily McDermott.

Art Basel Miami Beach will take place from December 6 to 8, 2024. Learn more here.

– Published courtesy of Art Basel