Untitled isn’t the only art fair taking place in Miami Beach this week, but it’s easily the busiest on the beach. The market is set up in tents on the beach, and from the aisles you can see bathers milling around.
This may explain the free spirit of Untitled. Don’t expect too much from the concept art—you’ll have to wait until Art Basel opens in Miami Beach tomorrow to see this one. It’s mainly a large collection of paintings, both figurative and abstract, and there are a lot of great people watching.
The chilly atmosphere seems to conflict with the scale of Untitled, which this year attracted 171 galleries. It’s just one of two high-profile events opening to VIPs on Tuesday — the other is NADA Miami — which means the curators, artists, collectors and consultants in attendance are forced to make some tough decisions about how to manage decision. Both.
To help make those decisions easier for those visiting during the week, here’s a brief guide to Untitled’s five can’t-miss offerings.
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Guy Harloff at Chiostro
Photo credit: Alex Greenberger/ARTnews
Untitled may be best known for showcasing the work of hot young artists, but this time a late, obscure poet-philosopher named Guy Harloff steals the show. The dense arrangement of eyes, gears, tools, etc. in his bizarre, dazzling paintings seem imbued with spiritual meaning. One work from 1960 depicts a bulging peeper, menacing knives and slithering snakes. Amid the chaos, the word “woman” was clearly visible, along with scrawled text that read “There is nothing obscene in this photo” – a statement considering a swollen phallus with full pupils could be seen nearby It feels ironic. Harrouff’s subject of taboo testing has attracted the interest of tastemakers in the past, including curator Harald Szeemann, who featured the French-born artist’s work in the 1972 edition of Documenta. work. Harrouff’s recent fascination with surrealist imagery has taken hold, and he’s ready to win over some new fans.
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Amina Agueznay at Loft Art Gallery
Photo credit: Alex Greenberger/ARTnews
In a sea of unforgettable fiber art, Amina Agueznay’s wool pieces stand out for their frugality. The artist’s father, Malika Agueznay, was a modernist and part of the Casablanca School movement of the 1960s. The artist’s knitted and crocheted works allude to Moroccan traditions, although she does not explicitly represent them. landfill (2024), a hanging 11-foot-long piece of cotton with undyed wool sewn inside, suggests Adgarprotective clothing worn by the bride on her wedding day. The title, which translates from French as “act of burial,” refers to violence and silence; droopy, wrinkled wool elements suggest wounds that have begun to heal.
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Ibrahim El-Salahi at Vigo Gallery
Photo credit: Alex Greenberger/ARTnews
Now in his 90s, Ibrahim El-Salahi has a thriving career and has participated in two Venice Biennales since 2020 alone. The Sudanese modernist continues his hot streak at this booth, showcasing a larger work from his “Pain Relief” series of prints, in which the artist screen-prints human-animal hybrid patterns onto linen. These works, designed to free him from chronic back pain caused by sciatica, focus on creatures in a state of transformation. In one work, El-Salahi shows an anguished figure wearing an African mask. The figure’s legs transform into other people’s faces, and a bird perches on the figure’s head, as if unaware of his torture.
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Sofía Gallisá Muriente and Natalia Lassalle-Morillo perform at El Kilometro
Photo credit: Alex Greenberger/ARTnews
Time is a precious commodity at art fairs, so it can be difficult to set aside even a few minutes for video art. Can I convince you to do this for two stunning pieces by Sofía Gallisá Muriente and Natalia Lassalle-Morillo? Please allow me to try it.
Among these paired works, both titled thin film passes through water (Underwater Cinema, 2024), these artists present moving film strips with images of beach bums, trains, and barely visible landscapes. All of these cels were damaged because the artists used water from the town of Jayua, Puerto Rico, to develop the footage. The town was the site of a 1950 uprising against the U.S. government and suffered particularly severe damage during Hurricane Maria in 2017. The film shown here, with its choppy and partially deteriorated images, reflects Jayuya’s unique sense of loss. Recent History. But the fact that their films do exist, and are preserved here in video form, suggests that the images they contain will not forever disappear completely, placing these works in line with a larger narrative of Puerto Rican resilience in the face of colonialism and climate catastrophe. Great tradition.
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Anne Samat by Mark Strauss
Photo credit: Alex Greenberger/ARTnews
Door stoppers, baubles and strips of upcycled denim are unlikely embellishments in Anne Samat’s over-the-top pieces that make the most of don’t forgeta ceremonial cloth native to Borneo, not far from Malaysia, the artist’s country of birth. As used by the indigenous Iban people, Pua The cloth is traditionally used in rituals and offerings can be placed on it. Samat, who learned Pua The Iban weaving style is used here, and the fabrics are used in the sculptures, which also include necklaces, tassels and cheap items bought at discount stores. They are both tawdry and ornate, suggesting divine forms found in unexpected, everyday objects.
