Cultural Compass / Art Wynwood
The Sad Story of a Smashed Koons Porcelain Blue Balloon Dog
Art Wynwood, Miami’s premier winter art fair, kicked-off with an exclusive VIP Preview on Thursday, February 16, a memorable opening night — not so much for the fine art exhibited but for a costly accident.
The official word is that Art Wynwood provides a unique opportunity for collectors to discover and explore contemporary, emerging and modern art galleries in Downtown Miami, the vibrant cultural hub of South Florida. More than 50 leading international galleries from countries spanning England, Italy, the Dominican Republic, Canada, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Austria, and throughout the U.S. will showcase, pop surrealism, street art and other modern and contemporary genres by more than 550 innovative emerging and top name artists.
Caught Our Eye (Opening Night)
Vladimir Kush is the founder of a new branch of art, metaphorical realism. He transformed himself from a struggling artist who earned his living by drawing portraits on the beaches of Santa Monica, to a major artist recognized on both sides of the Atlantic. Kush’s American odyssey began in 1990 when he chose not to return to Russia and flew to Los Angeles. His first few years in the United States required a lot of perseverance and hard work.
“Kush Fine Art Galleries embark you on a Metaphorical Voyage into a world of the unknown,” said the artist, “to a place where you only have to start noticing around you, and the miracle of connection is everywhere! To reflect the world in the mirror of the metaphor — this is the goal of the artist. Metaphor does not only belong to linguistic communication but can also be found in our daily life. Metaphor is the means of communication that we live by. First of all, the metaphor is aimed at the viewer’s feelings and subconscious. It gives full rein to imagination, as it is the imagination that creates the connections between two seemingly different things. Imagination is more important than knowledge. As Albert Einstein said, Knowledge has its limitations, while imagination has no limits.”
Downtown News asked Azar Billini how he would define his art. Said the artist: “Synthesis, assimilation, the transmutation of signs and symbols.” And elaborated: “Multiple languages, techniques, media, materials, and expressive resources … Besides oil, for example, I use acrylic, earth, wood, shells, and other elements extracted from nature … Also, materials of industrial elaboration such as linen, vinyl, silicone, frost, metallic paper, rhinestones, jewelry, sequins, and synthetic resins.”
“Silvia Berton bears the composure of the Italian tradition dating back to the Renaissance,” points out Liquid Art System brochure. “Against a dark background, usually solid blue, women stand out, in a frontal or three-quarter pose, whose female fierceness depicted in their eyes is clouded by a touch of melancholy. Berton’s painting has a great impact, an international style, but at the same time it is very personal and therefore recognizable, full of matter, that does not conceal the rapid brush stroke and that manner to paint which has equally great outcomes.”
The Accident: Don’t Touch the Art!
Since its inception in 2012, Art Wynwood has been the premier winter destination for contemporary and modern art in South Florida, attracting a diverse, affluent and culturally savvy international audience. This edition also attracted a rather careless lady who forgot rule number one: Don’t touch the artwork!
A sculpture of an electric blue balloon dog by the famed American artist Jeff Koons was tapped off a pedestal and shattered on opening night. VIPs ran to the source of the commotion and incredulous contemplated the scattered pieces of the artwork — estimated to cost $42,000. A skeptic art connoisseur shook his head telling the crowd it had to be an art performance. A young lady who witnessed the incident contradicted him: “No, man, this older lady tapped the sculpture, and it flew to its destruction.” And the young lady apologized — she didn’t mean to be dramatic, but a writer, thus she spoke.
A Photographer in the Audience
Marc Schmidt is a photographer whose art captures scenes of everyday life with the eye of an anthropologist and the sensibility of a cartoonist or graffiti artist. “Colorful even in black and white,” said a critic, “and seriously ironic!”
