The Best in Art, Fashion, Dance, and Music from Art Basel 2022
The fair showcased its most ambitious catalog for its 20th anniversary.
Art Basel went all out for its 20th anniversary.
The annual art fair, which every winter causes the art world to migrate to Miami for a few days of beautiful insanity—from packed galleries to cramped roads and lavish celebrity-filled parties—pulled its most ambitious itinerary yet to mark its major milestone.
From December 1 to 3, the Miami Beach Convention Center was home to 282 exhibitors from 38 countries, with 25 galleries making their Basel debut—the fair’s largest-ever catalog. Young artists highlighting today's biggest topics took the cake.
Meanwhile, outside the center, it seems ever spirit, luxury car, and fashion brand hosted its own massive party. The three-day event attracted the likes of Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Kylie Jenner, Travis Scott, Kim and Khloé Kardashian, Venus Williams, Leonardo DiCaprio, Pharrell Williams, Karlie Kloss, Cardi B, Offset, Hailey Bieber, and Jon Bon Jovi, to name a few.
Young artists highlighted big topics
In questions & answers (2022), Erin M. Riley—whose works dive into the psychological formation of self identity—shows the dark side of sexuality and crossover into violence.
Young artists highlighted big topics
Music and art came together
Meta House took over Miami’s Soho Pool House and Sacred Space in Wynwood Arts District to create a three-day experience featuring performances by Doja Cat, GloRilla, TOKiMONSTA, and Elena Rose as well as DJ sets by Coco and Breezy, Kitty Cash, Andre Power, BASHMENT, Pangea Sound, Peachfuzz. and StarSixty9.
For the backdrop and surroundings, artists created AR murals, mixed-reality structures, and an inflatable sculpture garden.
James Blake performed at the Bass Museum
The Macallan celebrated the launch of their M Collection, a range of limited release single malt whiskies, with a collaboration with James Blake, the New York City Ballet, and The Bass Museum of Art.
Blake performed against a backdrop featuring AI projection telling the rich history of the nearly 200-year-old spirit brand, which over the last 20 years has collaborated with more than 100 artists in every field.
"What I would love for the artist community to see is that we are more than just a brand," Jaume Ferràs Santín, Macallan's global marketing manager, tells BAZAAR.com upon their debut at Basel. "We are a brand, but we have feelings, emotions, a sense of beauty, a sense of design. We get inspired, we’re an emotional beast, not a functional machine that just sells a product. Just because something is commercial doesn’t mean it can’t be art."
Travis Scott made a comeback
Travis Scott performed at E11EVEN Miami on December 3, drawing a crowd of celebrities—including his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, and her sisters—and marking one of his biggest returns to the stage since the Astroworld Festival tragedy last year.
The New York City Ballet made an appearance
Dancers from the New York City Ballet performed during James Blake's set at Miami's Bass Museum on December 2.
Their special duet was set to Blake's "Before."
Vintage graffiti took center stage
EAST Miami hotel unveiled a historic exhibition in their lobby featuring a vibrant selection of 1980s graffiti works curated by the Museum of Graffiti. The show included pieces by Fab 5 Freddy, Delta 2, Blade, Quik, Kel, and more.
To celebrate the opening, the two also hosted an exclusive artists dinner with leading street artist guests Cey Adams, Jel Martinez, Gustavo Oviedo, and Vic Garcia.
Poetry was turned into art
The Macallan commissioned art prize recipient Jorge Méndez Blake to create an installation inspired by his interpretation of the brand's connection to nature. The work was influenced by Mexican poet Jose Juan Tablada’s two books on haikus.
Fashion caused a stir
Alexander Wang opened a pop-up in Miami's Design District and auctioned off a bed covered entirely in crystals—and a matching teddy bear—meant to highlighting the brand’s ability to "reinvigorate the mundane and make it extra-ordinary."
Art and fashion collided
Louis Vuitton celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its first collaboration with Yayoi Kusama with a vibrant Basel pop-up featuring the artist's famous polka dots and bright colors, as well as life-sized wax figures of Kusama herself.
The brand's lounge at the fair also displayed works by other artists, including Takashi Murakami.
Kusama and Louis Vuitton are slated to release a new partnership very soon.
Art and fashion collided
In a flawless intersection between fashion and art, an artist debuted a piece featuring the pop culture phenomenon that is the Adidas Samba sneaker—hung on chains and covered in crystals and flowers, that is.
Art and fashion collided
The art and fashion circles came together to kick off Basel and celebrate The New Museum’s deputy director, Isolde Brielmaier, with an intimate dinner on November 29.
Art and fashion collided
The Giorgio Armani LOVE project exhibited in the city's Design District included new work by Italian artist Marcantonio.
His sculptures depict life-sized animals unexpectedly coupled with others—a koala hugging the horn of a rhino, a goose getting a sweet kiss on the head from a gorilla—exploring the themes of love and the discomfort of unfamiliarity through nature.
Artists painted on luxury cars
Artist Romero Britto debuted his custom painting on a Bentley Continental GT convertible at The Rooftop at Braman Miami on December 1.
Artists painted on luxury cars
Britto also celebrated his pop art success at Bentley's bash on December 3, the last day of Art Basel.
Artists painted on luxury cars
Bentley and The SagerStrong Foundation, founded by the late Hall of Famer Craig Sager and his wife, Stacy Sager.
The Sager Strong Continental GT Speed Convertible was inspired by the eccentric fashion of Craig Sager—specifically the jacket he wore to accept his Jimmy V Perseverance Award in 2016.
Proceeds from its auction set for February 2023 will be donated to the fight against blood cancer.
Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper's Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets.
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