{"id":3757,"date":"2026-02-13T01:28:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/3757\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T01:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:28:16","slug":"art-basel-miami-beach-aims-to-end-the-year-on-a-high-note-the-art-newspaper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/3757\/","title":{"rendered":"Art Basel Miami Beach aims to \u2018end the year on a high note\u2019 – The Art Newspaper"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year\u2019s edition of Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB) comes at a time of adjustment across the global art market. After more than two years of slumping sales, transactions at live events have still not rebounded to pre-Covid-19 lockdown levels, according to the most recent Art Market Report<\/a> published by Art Basel and UBS.<\/p>\n

Bridget Finn, the director of Art Basel\u2019s Florida fair, is approaching this year\u2019s edition with bolstered optimism. Strong sales at Art Basel Paris in October were a \u201cgreat\u201d indicator for the art market, Finn says, adding that gallerists and collectors alike were happy and high-energy throughout the duration of the fair. That spirit, Finn believes, will carry into the Miami Beach fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are really looking forward to this fair to end their year on a high note,\u201d Finn says. \u201cThe market was in a more complex place leading up to last year\u2019s show. The galleries have worked so hard to really think through what material to bring, how to define their programme and what audience they\u2019re aiming to target at each show.\u201d<\/p>\n

While a handful of longtime ABMB participants quietly stepped away just weeks before the fair began, Finn says the withdrawals reflect broader market complexities rather than a loss of confidence in the fair. With five Art Basel fairs now operating worldwide, including a new Qatar edition launching in February 2026, galleries are being more selective about where they show, she says.<\/p>\n

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Home front: among the Miami-based galleries that are exhibiting at Art Basel this year is Piero Atchugarry, showing La Maestra (1968) by Eva Olivetti <\/p>\n

Courtesy of Studio Verde Arte<\/p>\n

\u201cGalleries have to think so much about what markets they\u2019re interested in growing and participating in, and how to best serve their artists,\u201d Finn says. \u201cAnd for me, it\u2019s an absolute priority to make sure that Art Basel Miami Beach, the largest show in the Americas, is servicing our galleries in the way it needs to for them to find value in their presence in Miami Beach with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the most noticeable structural updates this year is the relocation of two key sections. Nova and Positions have been moved to the east side entrance of the fair. The new location runs along Washington Avenue, closest to the Miami beachfront. Previously, the two sections\u2014which highlight emerging and mid-career artists\u2014were located in the two southern corners separated by the Meridians section, which is dedicated to large installations.<\/p>\n

According to Finn, this is \u201cthe first time, to my knowledge, that Art Basel has brought the more emerging galleries to an entrance\u201d, a move designed to develop a critical mass for visitors seeking out\u00a0new talent.<\/p>\n

Another new feature of the fair is the launch of Zero 10, a platform aiming to integrate digital art into Art Basel\u2019s existing global roster of fairs. Inaugural participants this week include Pace Gallery, Art Blocks and Beeple Studios. After the section\u2019s debut at ABMB, Zero 10 will be implemented across select other Art Basel fairs in 2026.<\/p>\n

Art Basel\u2019s Florida fair \u201cwas originally sited in Miami Beach in large part because it is the geographical and cultural nexus point between North, South and Central America\u201d, Finn says. \u201cWe have to always think about what we can introduce to the show that keeps things fresh and moving forward and providing a new client base to our galleries.\u201d<\/p>\n

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David Castillo is showing Sanford Biggers\u2019s Presage (2025)<\/p>\n

Courtesy of the artist and David Castillo<\/p>\n

Local dealers in the spotlight<\/p>\n

Finn says that she is also looking forward to the participation of more local galleries this year. In all, seven galleries with local spaces will be participating in ABMB: David Castillo, Central Fine, El Apartamento (which also has spaces in Havana and Madrid), Nina Johnson, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Piero Atchugarry Gallery (which also has a space in Garz\u00f3n, Uruguay) and Voloshyn Gallery (which also has a space in Kyiv).<\/p>\n

The local dealer Nina Johnson\u2019s eponymous gallery is making its ABMB debut. With a handful of artists on the gallery\u2019s roster enjoying concurrent institutional shows, having a stand at the fair \u201cjust really makes sense\u201d, Johnson says. This was the first year the 18-year-old gallery applied, having usually taken part in Miami Art Week\u2019s smaller satellite fairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cFairs are most successful when you approach them with a kind of strategic and considered vision,\u201d Johnson says. \u201cFor me, that\u2019s a political and conceptual conversation. It\u2019s a conversation around beauty, and then saying: what is the appropriate context for\u00a0them? And this year, the answer for that was Art Basel.\u201d Her group stand will include works by Anna Betbeze, Rochelle Feinstein, Patrick Dean Hubbell and Katie Stout, among others.<\/p>\n

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Anna Betbeze\u2019s Untitled (Stack) #12, on the stand of Art Basel first-timer Nina Johnson<\/p>\n

Courtesy of the artist and Nina Johnson<\/p>\n

For Johnson, who grew up in Miami, it is also an important time to represent the city on a global stage. Florida has been at the forefront of the US\u2019s polarised political landscape since President Donald Trump was re-elected last year. Miami-Dade County, which includes Miami Beach, swung to the right after long being considered a Democratic stronghold within a red state. Florida\u2019s governor, Ron DeSantis, has stayed in line with the Trump administration\u2019s policies, including working with the federal government to conduct sweeping immigration raids and open the migrant detention centre known as Alligator Alcatraz, painting over Pride-themed rainbow sidewalks, and targeting LGBTQIA+ education in schools, drag performances and gender-affirming care for minors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Miami that I opened my gallery in 18 years ago is very different from the Miami that I sit in today,\u201d Johnson says. \u201cMiami was rich with immigrant communities, rich with queer communities, and the city really embraced that. So to now see it be a place where that\u2019s no longer the case, or sort of quickly\u00a0changing, is deeply concerning to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an independent commercial gallery not beholden to a board of directors or local government, the space can operate as a hub for queer culture in a time when some art institutions are under pressure to self-censor. During ABMB, one of the three shows Johnson\u2019s gallery will stage at its Little Haiti home base is Acid Bath House, curated by Jarrett Earnest and inspired in part by the culture of gay bathhouses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a show that really celebrates the idea of the gallery as a safe and celebratory space for queer culture,\u201d Johnson says. \u201cI think that\u2019s really important, because where else is that happening in South Florida right now, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This year\u2019s edition of Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB) comes at a time of adjustment across the global…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3369,77,3370,1202],"class_list":{"0":"post-3757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basel","8":"tag-art-basel-miami-beach-2025","9":"tag-basel","10":"tag-miami-beach","11":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}