first, shapirodesigns accompanied talented collaborator @fornasaro to aqua miami whose amazingly detailed + important zoomorph series was selected by @beacongallery for a solo exhibit dec4-8. never having been to mia it was love at first sight! agua miami at the aqua hotel [located right across from the beach and other venues seaside] was the perfect location for an fun weekend of all things art. every language could be heard at the opening nite of raquel fornasaro’s show. as the dj’d played + much alcohol being served we had honestly no idea what to expect. everyone was friendly and loved talking about the work on view. congratulations raquel!
art design + art basel were two well reknowned exhibits this year being the 15 year anniversary. art design, much like the architectural digest show in NYC was quite diverse in furniture, lighting and art. some favorites were designers from italy + france. a bit confusing at times was what was touchable and what was not. raquel was quick to notice but often sat on furniture that was just for show [in her defense there was no signage] and quickly became my favorite part of this event!
art basel really was quite the venue. quickly stumbling upon a champagne cart at 22usd/plastic glass [you bet we got 2x!] we were immersed in it all. things we overheard: “its like they handpicked only the most attractive people to be here”, “i’m exhausted”, “how much for the fontana?'‘, “wow just wow” to name a few. although we honestly were exhausted after strolling through about a quarter of the show. raquel once again couldn’t help herself with trying to interact with the exhibits and was told to step away from the expensive art for real. at this point i knew it was time to leave but it really was a must see!
we had VIP access to aqua context + aqua miami which we really wanted to get to but after looking at the expansive map of both venues [both having over 200+ booths] we decided to stroll down south beach to view the public art. starting at the famous faena hotel with a delish brunch we quickly made it over to the damien hirst sculpture: “gone but not forgotten'“. this golden gilded wooley mammoth bones enclosed in the artists iconic gold tank make the palm trees + beach background a perfect place to sit back and take wonder in such exquisite thought provoking work.
outside the hotel there were two oversized [twenty feet+] sculptures. no artist name could be found but everyone was quick to flock over to the shiny silver buddah for a photo op. directly across from the star buddah was a sculpture that was seemingly decapitated and deteriorating with sticks in brown sand + soot. did they do this on purpose? were these sculptures made by two different artists? was there a hidden camera taking note of all the people who dismissed the less attractive one? were just a few of the questions I asked myself.
we made it down about two miles towards our destination [our hotel + back to aqua hotel] but couldn’t resist stopping at the versace mansion now transformed into a highend restaurant. i could feel the excitement of getting a glimpse into the fashion icons world but this was shortlived due to flip flops [yes they have a very strict dress code] however I feel that giovanni would have approved of raquels overall physique and given us access…So, until next time MIAmi!!
