Miami — Art Basel is the main fair at what’s now known as Miami Art Week, but the satellite fairs are often more intimate. For newer artists and more niche galleries, they represent an opportunity to show their work for a more nominal fee as well as allow gallerists to create relationships with buyers and collectors. Miami Art Week now has more than 20 satellite fairs, and Bloomberg Linea got a private tour of Pinta, the Latin American art fair, which this year is based in Wynwood.
Diego Costa Peuser, the fair director, walked us around and talked about some of his favorite works. One of the themes we discussed in works present at Pinta, and at other fairs, is climate change. A few of the artists at Pinta showcased the effects - and their concerns - through their art. On that note, a selection of works, as chosen by Peuser, are highlighted below.
We’ll start with the video art exhibition by Nan Gonzalez of Venezuela. It shows the withering of glaciers. While it’s a video, Peuser explained, the main way to experience it is actually with your eyes closed and just listening to the mammoth pieces of ice breaking off. Click the video below and give it a try.
This browser does not support the video element.
Right next door is the Alagoas gallery from the northeast coast of Brazil, which hosts an exhibit titled “The Brazilian Artisanal Soul. “The collection reveals the strength of ancestral Brazilian art,” said Peuser. It consists of pieces that are carved, sculpted and hand painted that carry the original essence and energy of native people.
Next, Peuser took us to the other side of the fair to show us works by a Colombian artist named Alejandro Tobón. “The artist uses recycled wood to create natural objects or other objects that you can find in the world,” said José Amar, the gallery owner. Another hat-tip toward sustainability. For example, Amar said, Tobón likes to show power and pressure through his work, so he has a series of diamonds made out of pieces of wood, as we see below:
Peuser’s final pick was a solo exhibit by Alejandro Pintado, which also speaks strongly of climate change. In these works titled “Minds Contemplation,” Pintado shows “landscapes that have been taken up by city scapes,” said the gallerist. “Lost landscapes,” he added. “Now we are traveling to these places virtually,” he said. The pieces are drawn in coal, which represents a strong element in the cause of climate change.
