The Buzziest Artists of Miami Art Week 2023

The overwhelming onslaught of art during Miami Art Week makes it difficult for an artist to stand out, so it’s impressive when someone does. In Miami’s fairs, galleries, institutions and private collections, we sought out the rising artists who were showing in multiple venues, generating buzz and making notable debuts across the city.

B. 1990, Havana. He lives and works in Havana and Miami.

It was hard not to catch a glimpse of Alejandro Piñeiro Bello’s stunning paintings in Miami this week. Amid growing professional momentum following a solo exhibition with Pace Gallery in Seoul last June, this week has been an important moment for the artist. In addition to debuting his huge, color-soaked landscape paintings at the Rubell Museum, where he has been an artist-in-residence this year, the artist opened a solo exhibition nearby at local gallery KDR. In addition, his work can be found at Marquez Art Projects, the private collection space of John Marquez, as well as at the Pace Art Basel Miami Beach booth. Piñeiro Bello was also among the Pace artists celebrated at the gallery dinner, a star-studded affair co-hosted by Venus Williams at COTE Miami.

B. 1980, Saint Marys, Pennsylvania. Lives and works in New York.

After her much-lauded solo show at Margot Samel in New York, Melissa Joseph and her lovely felt textiles made a powerful presence in Miami. In addition to showing work with San Francisco gallery Rebecca Camacho Presents at NADA, she presented her figurative and fuzzy pieces in a group show, “The Poetics of Dimensions,” curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah and presented by ARTNOIR at UBS. Art studio at Art Basel Miami Beach. In addition, his work 2 miles behind chicken truck, Bentonville AR (2023) was present at ICA Miami in a showcase of the museum’s recent acquisitions. The artist herself was a speaker on a panel on South Asian artists at the ICA, and an event hosted by fashion label anOnlyChild was held in her honour. It is clear that the enthusiasm for José’s works is only growing.

The program of the esteemed Miami-based gallery Spinello Projects is always a highlight of Miami Art Week, but the list of exhibitions and projects of its artists this year was especially impressive and a testament to Spinello’s growing influence.

Taking full advantage of the territory, Spinello mounted a series of five solo exhibitions throughout the city, collectively titled “GAY ERA” and featuring, according to the gallery, “artists whose works embody the rich tapestry of experiences, narratives and artistic expressions” . This included three solo exhibitions at the gallery, with Barnaby Whitfield, Giorgio Celin and Juan Arango Palacios; and a show by Adolfo René Sánchez, presented in collaboration with Swampspace gallery. Perhaps the crowning jewel of the series was a solo stand by the artist Esaí Alfredo in the Positions sector at Art Basel Miami Beach The emerging Puerto Rican artist’s captivating figurative paintings sold out in the first hour and a half of the fair, with one work acquired by ICA Miami, with support from collector Hal Philipps, two destined for The Hort Family Collection; and two for local Miami collectors Pilar Crespi and Stephen Robert.

In addition to all this, Spinello has collaborated with Fringe Projects to present commissions of three more works by its artists around the city. Public mural by Cuban artists Elliot and Erick Jiménez Reclined mermaid (2023), supported by the Knight Foundation, shone next to the iconic Moore Building. And Miami artist Reginald O’Neal (who was featured in The Artsy Vanguard 2021) debuted two giant sculptures this week: The cellist e The Saxophonist (both 2023), exploded versions of porcelain figurines of jazz musicians that the artist purchased in New Orleans. The cellist it was a featured work in Art Basel’s large-scale works section, Meridians, where it was sold to Jorge Pérez for El Espacio 23, his private collection space in Miami. Meanwhile, The Saxophonist made its citywide debut in the acclaimed group exhibition “Gimme Shelter,” curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody, Zoe Lukov, Maynard Monrow, and Laura Dvorkin, at the Historic Hampton House Museum of Culture & Art in Brownsville, Miami. And somehow, O’Neal also presented a new solo exhibition of paintings in Spinello’s gallery space.

B. Mexico City. Lives and works in New York.

In the middle of a strong edition of NADA Miami, New York photographer Camila Falquez grabbed the spotlight as her work Samantha Siagama, trans-indigenous leader (2023) was acquired by the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) for its permanent collection, part of NADA’s annual acquisition gift to PAMM. Hannah Traore Gallery presented an individual stand of the artist’s work, which continues her focus on recognizing and empowering the Colombian trans community. The striking photograph acquired by PAMM features Samantha, a Colombian community leader and activist who works as a coffee picker on a farm; her flowing white skirt was made by Fálquez and stylist Lorena Maza from the curtains of the farm. Falquez had his first solo exhibition with Hannah Traore in 2022 and his photographs were published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Vogue, and others. Earlier this year, she was named Fashion Photographer of the Year at the Latin American Fashion Awards.

Brazilian artist Sallisa Rosa made a strong solo U.S. debut this week with “Topography of Memory,” a large-scale installation that transformed the Collins Park Rotunda into a serene cavern. Commissioned by Audemars Piguet Contemporary and curated by Thiago de Paula Souza, the installation consists of more than 100 hand-built baked clay forms, which were installed on the floor and suspended from above to create an immersive and meditative environment. The work brings together the caves and the cosmos, with shapes similar to stalagmites that extend from the ground and planet-like spheres hanging from the ceiling. Rosa obtains her clay from regions of Rio de Janeiro, connecting her work to the land itself, as well as the ancestral memory of the land. A breath of calm during a particularly frenetic week, the installation caught the attention of notable curators Adriano Pedrosa and Glenn Adamson. The work can be seen in Miami until December 17th and will then travel to be shown at Pinacoteca de São Paulo in 2024. Rosa’s work was also present at Art Basel Miami Beach this year at the A Gentil Carioca booth.

B. 1989, Portland, Maine. Lives and works in New York.

Deftly straddling the worlds of art and design, Katie Stout is often a favorite at Miami Art Week, due in large part to her Miami gallery Nina Johnson. His latest solo show, “Olympia,” is his fourth with the gallery, but the work looks more wonderful than ever. The star works are a series of shimmering vases that range from pieces perched on pedestals to near-life-size forms that sit on the floor, adorned with blooming flowers and tiny ladies leaping from glazed surfaces shimmering with gold streaks. Also shining are a series of glass and steel bulbous lamps: one, Bubble Gum Venus (2023) playfully talks about the ancient Venus of Willendorf fertility figure, while nodding to the recent birth of the artist’s first child. A palette of pastel pinks, greens and blues floods the show with warmth, as does the return of some of Stout’s signature shapes, such as tall, whimsical pieces made of female and animal figures stacked on top of each other. Stout’s work can also be seen at Nina Johnson’s NADA booth.