First of all, I am once again calling everything from Art Basel Miami Beach itself to the satellite events "Art Basel" purely for organizational purposes. There will be pieces at a number of events and all will be identified and given their due!

The below video is of a sculpture video piece by Daniel Glazer and Magdalena Kunz at the first night of Scope Miami  (November 29).

Other events before the formal opening of Art Basel and satellite events included one at Wynwood Walls--restaurant and destination for street art/mural aficionados. The exhibit, beyond the murals included the piece by Swoon on the right. More on this shortly.

The "Interview" section will feature any moderately extensive interviews with artists, gallery owners, curators, gallery managers etc that have time to chat. If you are in South Florida, make a sincere effort to take part in some part of this absolutely amazing event. Locals sometimes get irritable about things like this, then complain there is "no culture" (and then move to Las Vegas).

You do not have to see everything, in fact, that would probably be impossible. Also don't worried about special events and the like. Those are more for people who like to tell everyone "I am on the list" and then give two cheeked air kisses and discussing how "everything is positively bourgeois THIS year!"

Go for the art. Hell, even buy some if you can afford it and there are plenty of open to the public discussions on how to collect. Go HERE FOR INFO. Go HERE for OTHER info. The Miami Herald website also has a number of good suggestions--as do the websites for Scope, NADA, Pulse, Art Miami, Red Dot (Use Google...you will find them all).

_ For those of you not in Miami—and in Chicago—Robert Bills Contemporary are holding a show, Joint Assembly.  There is an opening reception Saturday, December 3 from 5 to 8 p.m. You can also stop by during regular gallery hours. The show consists of the work of Chicago’s Steven Frost and St Louis’ David Hartwell.

The work is an exploration of the relationships between personal narratives, representations, identifications and relationships.  It is all about the picking and choosing in life isn’t it? It is also about that in this exhibit.

For more info and hours head to robertbillscontemporary.com.

Let's get this out of the way first, Rare Gallery send out info on shows at their gallery that make me want to move to NYC. I would become a Jets fan even (ok maybe not...Giants maybe! Go Eli!).

But I don't get to spend a great deal of time in New York, which is why events like Scope Miami are so fantastic.

Rare has also been part of Scope Miami for the past 11 years and they are celebrating that by showing work by three (ok, technically four) amazing artists, Daphne Arthur, Maya Brodsky, Craig Smith and Colin Beatty (collectively known as SmithBeatty). Scope runs, as noted in the headline, from November 20 through December 4.

Scope, this year, is at NE 1st Ave and NE 30th St. Rare will be in booth B26.

I especially like the SmithBeatty work as it is practical. This IS Miami and a gun can come in handy. More on SmithBeatty HERE.

_ Art Basel Miami Beach (and satellite events) are an excellent chance to learn more about art. To that end Art Basel, for over a decade has given the public the chance to see international art experts discussing ranging from collecting to producing to exhibiting art.

The program are Art Basel Conversations and Art Salon and this year panelists include artists Tracey Emin, Liam Gillick, Emilia and Ilya Kabakov, Gabriel Orozco, and Erwin Wurm. There will also be curators, collectors, museum directors and other art-world experts on hand. These events are free and open to the public—on a first come first serve basis.

Art Basel Conversations this year will include Basel Miami Beach and South Florida: A Decade of Transformation. The content is self explanatory.

Art Salon refers to shorter presentations, panel discussions, lectures, performaces etc.These are also conducted by experts.

Art Basel Conversations are held at Miami Beach Convention Centre (in the auditorium) , next to Info Zone D, daily 10 – 11.30am, from Thursday, 12/1, to Sunday, 12/4.

_ Art Basel Conversations

THURSDAY | December 1 | Premiere | Artist Talk | Gabriel Orozco
Gabriel Orozco, Artist, Mexico City/New York/Paris
In conversation with Michelle Kuo, Editor in Chief, Artforum, New York

FRIDAY | December 2 | Public/Private | The Evolution of Museum Missions
Margarita J. Aguilar, Executive Director, El Museo del Barrio, New York
Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
Madeleine Grynsztejn, Pritzker Director, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago Beatrix Ruf, Director, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich
Moderator |
András Szántó, Author and Consultant to arts and philanthropic organizations, New York

SATURDAY | December 3 | Collector Focus | Art Basel Miami Beach and South Florida: A Decade of Transformation
Irma and Norman Braman, Collectors and Patrons, Miami
Carlos M. de la Cruz, Collector and Co-Founder with his wife, Rosa, of the de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space, Miami
Martin Z. Margulies, Collector, The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami
Dennis Scholl, Collector, Miami
Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, Collector, Founder and President of the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO), Miami
Moderator | Bonnie Clearwater, Director and Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami

SUNDAY | December 4 | The Future of Artistic Practice | The Artist as Poet
Gerry Bibby, Artist, Berlin
Tracey Emin, Artist, London
Olivier Garbay, Artist, London
Karl Holmqvist, Artist, Poet and Performer, Berlin/Stockholm
Jonas Mekas, Writer, Curator and Filmmaker, New York
Moderator | Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, Serpentine Gallery, London

_ Next Art Chicago, working with Chicago Gallery News, are hosting Collectors Colloquium, six sessions to help collectors develop collecting skills and a discerning eye. Each session will be led by an art professional—artists, art dealers, collectors and curators. Each will give tips and share ideas on buying art. Next recommends attending all six sessions as the focus will be different in each and will build on information contained in previous sessions.

This is a great opportunity for Chicago area folks who are interested in collecting. Keep in mind, this isn’t about buying Picassos. It is, in part I am sure, about helping you see new artists and the potential of their work. The cost is $25 per session, $75 for access to the sessions online and $120 for six sessions in person and online

To register go HERE.

_ Session 1: Collecting Case Studies
November 29, 2011   |   6 pm

Session 2: In the White Cube
November 20, 2011   |   6 pm

Session 3: On the Block
January 31, 2012   |   6 pm

Session 4: Eye for Hire
February 28, 2012   |   6 pm

Session 5: Art as Investment
March 27, 2012   |   6 pm

Session 6: (Art) Fair Game
April 27, 2012   |   6 pm

If you are heading to the Bird Road Artwalk you should be sure to stop by Luisa Mesa Artspace for her multi-artist exhibit on November 19.

Mesa's own art is stunning and I have some confidence the people she is exhibiting will be as well. The details are above but you can visit Mesa's website HERE.

The 10th Art Basel Miami Beach is approaching and the show will work with the Bass Museum on Art Public. Collins Park will be transformed with 24 pieces ranging from sculpture to performances. This, as you may guess from the name, will be open to the public.

Art Public opens November 30. Opening night will have several performances including; Theaster Gates and the Black Monks of Mississippi. Art Public is free and open to the public from Dec 1 – 4, 2011, 24 hours. Art Public Opening Night: November 30, 2011, 8pm – 10pm, Collins Park. For details go HERE.

Art Public artworks:
-Darren Bader: my aunt's car / Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York

-Nina Beier: The Demonstrators, 2011 / Standard (Oslo), Oslo

-Chakaia Booker: Holla, 2008 / Marlborough Gallery, New York

-Andrea Bowers & Olga Koumoundouros: Transformer Display of Community Information and Activation, 2011 / Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles

-Bruce Conner: LOOKING FOR MUSHROOMS, 1959-1965 / Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles

-Kate Costello: Untitled, 2011 / Wallspace, New York

-Jen DeNike: Iemanjá, 2011 / Mendes Wood, São Paulo
Gardar Eide Einarsson: Untitled (Apparatus), 2011 / Team Gallery, New York

-Rachel Feinstein: Gargantua, 2011 / Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York

-Theaster Gates: Stand-Ins for a Period of Wreckage, 2011 / Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago

-Antony Gormley: Strain, 2011 / Sean Kelly, New York

-Damien Hirst: Sensation, 2003 / L&M Arts, New York
-Thomas Houseago: Rattlesnake Figure, 2011 / L&M Arts, New York

-Zhang Huan: 49 Days No. 1, 2011 / Blum & Poe, Los Angeles

-Richard Hughes: If I was where I would be, here I would be not, 2011 / Anton Kern Gallery, New York

-Robert Indiana: ART, 1972-2001 / Galerie Gmurzynska, Zurich

-Glenn Kaino: Levitating the Fair (The Flying Merchant Ship), 2011 / Marlborough Gallery, New York

-Anish Kapoor: Black Stones, Human Bones, 1993 / L&M Arts, New York

-Robert Melee: It Sitting, 2008 / Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York

-Anthony Pearson: Untitled (Transmission), 2011 / David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles

-George Rickey: Two Lines Oblique Gyratory II, 1989 / Marlborough Gallery, New York

-Eva Rothschild: Living Spring, 2011 / Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London

-Eduardo Sarabia: Snake Skin Boots with Snake Head. White Quarry Stone 21st Century. Northern Mexico, 2011 / Proyectos Monclova, Mexico City

-Banks Violette: Not yet titled, 2011 / Team Gallery, New York

Christine Y. Kim, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Co-founder of the Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND), curated the program.

Rare Gallery in NYC announces the second solo show by Nathan Ritterpusch at Burkhard Eikelmann Galerie in Dusseldorf (Dominikanerstraße 11, D-40545, Düsseldorf-Oberkassel. The show is entitled, I Thought I Was Someone Else, and runs from November 9 to December 15. The show includes six new paintings created during a residency in Berlin.

Ritterpusch made his USA solo debut at Rare back in 2006 and has done other shows at Burkhard Eikelmann. A third show for Rare will take place in the fall of 2012.

For more information head to www.rare-gallery.com or www.burkhardeikelmann.com.

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Catto Gallery present an exhibition by Sergei Chepik that begins November 10 and runs until November 30, 2011. The gallery is located at 100 Heath Street, London.

You can also view the exhibition and price list online HERE.

Chepik left the Soviet Union in 1988 and is one of the, if not the, most important living Russian artist. He has won numerous awards and been lauded by an even greater number of art critics.  Personalities as diverse as Margaret Thatcher and Rudolf Nureyev have posed for Chepik. You can read more on the official website.

Normally I do not just post a giant flyer on an exhibit or a gallery attending an art show. Normally I try to write a little thing about it. But I was tired tonight and had a lot of other stuff to do.

Plus my computer keeps suddenly jumping back into previous sentences and erasing entire paragraphs of my clever prose.

So while I sort THAT out, read the above from Judy Saslow Gallery in Chicago.