Nancy Martini Eco Artist - Miami

Art Basel: Wednesday 2010

"Harriet" by Matthew Day Jackson

Excitedly, I headed out this morning to see the Rubell Family Collection and the Margulies Collection. First on my list was the Rubell because I wanted to see Matthew Day Jackson's work. I was delighted to see that his work is very textured and detailed. He uses wood, shell and yarn.

The brown lines that you see on the face are done with a wood-burning tool and the white of the eyes are mother of pearl with green glass sphere irises all of which are hard to see in the photos.

"Another Man's Cloth" by El Anatsui (112" x 156")

The art above is my favorite piece at the Rubell Collection by El Anatsui. Anatsui is a West African artist who creates sculptures out of food tins, aluminum roofing, etc. who's work is a metaphorical commentary on modern consumerism. This piece is made from upcycled cans that are attached with copper wire.

After the Rubell Collection, I went over to see the Margulies Collection. At the door they were collecting donations for the Lotus House. The Lotus House is a resource center and residential facility serving homeless women and infants in Miami. The program seeks to improve the quality of life for women in need through programs like helping at art events.

From the front door, I immediately saw the exhibit featured above upstairs. I love the colors and the textures used by Dutch artist Folkert De Jong. However, I wish he would have chosen a different material to create the sculptures because they are made from styrofoam and polyurethane foam. The figures were inspired by the Harlequin characters from Picasso's Rose Period. When I was looking at the sculptures, I found myself taking to a curator from Rome standing next to me. I asked her if she liked the installation and I expected her to say something very profound and sophisticated, but all she said as she looked down her nose was, "they look creepy."

The next exhibit I loved so much and had so much fun looking at that somehow I didn't write down the artist's name nor the name of the installation. To see the Hulk shriveled up in a wheel chair with a green comb-over, Mr. Fantastic wrinkled and reading and a saggy Wonder Women checking in on an IV laid-out Captain America was enough to make my day! A must see...

Lastly, I met Hannes Kotch from London. Hannes was accompanied by Blair who insisted he take a photo of me under this fabulous light and Natalie, a curator from Canada. Hannes has an exhibit at Design Miami (in the tent located in the parking lot of the convention center) called "Swarm Light" that I hope to see later this week. He showed me a video on his phone of his lighting. The lights turn on in the same pattern that bees fly... so beautiful.