Untitled Art, Miami 2024
Untitled Art has made its return to the stunning white sands of Miami’s South Beach for its 13th edition. Renowned for its dedication to enhancing the broader art ecosystem, the fair provides an inclusive platform for exploring contemporary art, with an emphasis on collaboration throughout the event.
Each year, a diverse range of exhibitors, both new and established, is chosen by Untitled Art’s dynamic curatorial team based on their artistic merit and global outreach, including several galleries located outside traditional art centers. The ‘Nest’ sector supports emerging artists, younger galleries, and non-profit organizations by offering subsidized booths, addressing the traditional obstacles that often accompany participation in art fairs.
Carl Freedman Gallery
Founded in 2003 in London by Carl Freedman, the Gallery quickly became known for its critical and curatorially-driven programming. It features emerging British and international talents, including Nel Aerts, Billy Childish, Bianca Fields, Ann Cathrin November Høibo, Jon Key, Studio Lenca, Lindsey Mendick, Navot Miller, Vanessa Raw, Benjamin Senior, and Tori Wrånes. Since 2019, the Carl Freedman Gallery has been located in the dynamic cultural center of Margate, within the historic Thanet Press building on Union Crescent, adjacent to Margate's Old Town.
For its inaugural showcase at Untitled, the gallery exhibited vibrant and uplifting new works by Studio Lenca and Vanessa Raw.
Studio Lenca’s creative approach begins with personal memories, driven by social activism and various forms of praxis. The artist's paintings weave an autobiographical narrative that traverses borders and identities altered, created, and erased through colonization and conflict. The portraits notably feature the artist and his community, adorned in hats and vivid colors, standing boldly against dominant ‘western’ discourses on migration.
Utilizing an intensified color palette, Vanessa Raw captures the moment's intensity while placing her paintings in an imaginative context. The dreamlike fluidity in certain areas of her work hints at an altered state of awareness and a profound human connection unfolding on both physical and spiritual levels. She incorporates photographs taken during her therapeutic daily runs through local nature spots as reference material for her background landscapes, linking these creations to meaningful realities and infusing the paintings with a nostalgic sense of unity with nature.
SECCI
Founded in Florence in 2013, Secci has built an international reputation through a high-quality, curatorial-driven exhibition program. Housed in the historic 15th-century Palazzo Ricasoli, this Florentine gallery has consistently fostered artistic creativity. Its stringent curatorial strategy has enabled international collaborations, engaging critics and curators alike.
At the fair, the gallery showcased works from artists such as Alin Bozbiciu, Chris Soal, Chico da Silva, Didier William, Etsu Egami, Giuseppe Stampone, Jeremy Lawson, Kevin Francis Gray, Levi van Veluw, Lotte Wieringa, Michael Staniak, Sebastiano Sofia, and Alfredo Pirri. Notable pieces included those by Levi van Veluw, whose recent clay creations feature a marbled, muted color palette and explore religious themes. Another highlight was Daria Dmytrenko, whose paintings delve into the subconscious, using intuitive impulses to evoke deep memories and transform them into composition.
Nino Mier Gallery
Nino Mier Gallery is a contemporary art venue with locations in Los Angeles, New York, and Brussels. The gallery hosts a mix of both established and emerging artists specializing in painting, sculpture, and photography. Mier opened his inaugural location in Los Angeles in 2015, focusing initially on artists from his native Rhineland in Germany.
The gallery features work from artists like Andrew Dadson, Jorge Galindo, Lola Gil, Joanne Greenbaum, Pieter Jennes, Otis Jones, Marin Majić, Kyle Staverm Jansson Stegner, Mònica Subidé, Nicola Tyson, Ana Villagomez, Thomas Wachholz, and Jonathan Watering. Noteworthy pieces include those by José Lerma and Liliane Tomasko, who are personal favorites. Lerma, a multimedia artist, is known for his portraiture, particularly a recent series that challenges traditional character psychology with its unique tactile quality, created using a custom acrylic mix that results in a signature impasto effect. Conversely, Tomasko’s canvases feature sweeping, curvilinear strokes that blend seamlessly, reminiscent of movement or spirits. Her artworks engage the viewer’s senses by evoking the feel, scent, and appearance of a scene without direct visual representation.
C O U N T Y
C O U N T Y is situated in Palm Beach, Florida. Since its establishment in 2016, the gallery has showcased contemporary art from emerging and mid-career artists from America, Europe, and Africa, featuring various mediums such as VR, sculpture, new media, and painting.
This year's exhibition highlighted the works of emerging and mid-career artists from America and Europe, presenting sculptures, new media, and paintings by Petra Cortright, Rachel Lee Hovnanian, Liz Markus, Enoc Perez, Boo Saville, Carolyn Salas, Adam Parker Smith, and Wendy White.
Room 57 Gallery
Room 57 Gallery operates on the principle that discovering art and design should feel natural. Collectors are encouraged to interact with the pieces personally before deciding to integrate them into their homes. Consequently, the exhibition space is designed to evoke the warmth of a home rather than that of a conventional gallery, featuring an eclectic yet streamlined selection of artworks, including paintings, photography, furniture, decor, and beyond.
At Untitled Art, the gallery showcased ‘The Resting Place’ by Alexander James. This latest series invites viewers to experience intimacy and solitude, urging them to contemplate private moments that often go unnoticed. In ‘Room Service,’ James delves into the contrast between the ordinary and the refined, merging moments of glamour with the stark realities that follow indulgence. He employs thick layers of oil to obscure previous narratives while leaving traces with each added layer. Throughout art history, swamps have been portrayed in varied ways, often symbolizing the intricacies of nature, life, and human emotion. In crafting ‘The Swamp In Your Dressing Room,’ James drew inspiration from artists like J.M.W. Turner and Caspar David Friedrich, who utilized swamp imagery to express the sublime and mysterious qualities of nature. Their works frequently emphasized the relationship between light and shadow, creating an atmosphere ripe for awe and reflection.
Laney Contemporary
Established in 2017, Laney Contemporary in Savannah, Georgia serves as a platform for both emerging and established contemporary artists. The gallery showcases an exciting array of solo and themed exhibitions that include works by regional and international artists. With a strong commitment to involving Savannah’s diverse arts community, the gallery undertakes thoughtful curatorial projects and hosts various events such as artist discussions and collaborative programs with local partners.
At this year’s fair, Laney Contemporary featured a curated exhibition spotlighting the works of Jiha Moon from Tallahassee and James Benjamin Franklin from Detroit. This presentation aligns with Untitled Art's 2024 mission, which seeks to foster a sustainable arts ecosystem through the exchange of ideas and practices between the East and the West.
