Art Basel Miami: UNTITLED.

Miami Beach on Ocean Drive

Even though Art Basel is the main destination for the thousands of art lovers who flock to Miami Beach, it’s now no longer the only destination. Having so many high-powered collectors and gallerists in one place has sparked a number of satellite art fairs—there’s Ink, a fair entirely dedicated to works on paper, NADA, the fair for the New Art Dealers Alliance, and Untitled, in its inaugural year.

Untitled Art Fair Tent on Miami Beach

Ryan Smith Looks at Artwork at Untitled Art Fair

Untitled was particularly interesting, as it was held in a tent directly on the beach. The tent was constructed so that the fair was lit by entirely naturally light and even had a few transparent walls so that visitors could look out onto the crystalline waters.

We came across lots of things we loved at all the fairs (our eyes literally ached after our day at Basel!), but here are a few things at Untitled that caught our eye. We look forward to returning for their second year on the beach in 2013.

- Laura and Ryan

Cyanotype Photographs at Untitled

Red Dice Artwork at Miami Art Fair in December 2012

Art Basel Miami: Wynnwood Arts District

CasaLin in Miami

On our first full day in Miami for this year’s Art Basel, we headed out of Miami Beach to the Wynnwood Arts District, a formerly industrial neighborhood that has seen a number of galleries, private art collections, and performance art spaces crop up over the past few years.

As with any of our trips, our first stop was a coffee shop. We ducked into Panther Coffee where we enjoyed a cup brewed via siphon. (We tried the Finca Nombre de Dios from El Salvador, roasted in-house using Panther’s antique Perfekt roaster.)

Panther Coffee in Miami

Siphon Coffee at Panther Coffee in Miami

After our caffeine fix, we walked around Wynnwood Walls. Wynnwood is famous for its incredible street art and murals, thanks to the late Tony Goldman, a South Beach real estate developer who thought that the neighborhood’s windowless warehouses would make great canvases for murals.

Ryan McGinness Mural at Wynnwood Walls in Miami

Murals in the Wynnwood Arts District

Thanks to Goldman’s effort, Wynnwood is now covered with beautiful works by famous artists (Shephard Fairey and Ryan McGinness, to name a few) and some not-so-famous, but all expertly executed and beautiful to look at.

Our next stop was CasaLin, an outdoor exhibition space behind an old house that caters to Miami artists.

Juice at CasaLin

It’s the city’s only art space in an urban garden and we loved relaxing in the shady yard while sipping a freshly-pressed sugarcane-pineapple-ginger juice.

In full on art-viewing mode now, we made it to the Rubell Family Collection, an absolutely envious private collection of contemporary art in a beautiful building. (We weren’t just envious of the art, but also of the Bugatti Veyron park in the garden.) By then, it was time for lunch.

Cady Noland's "This Piece Has No Title Yet" at the Rubell Family Collection

We wanted to do Florida right, so rather than heading to The Dutch or Scarpetta (both excellent New York-based restaurants), we ducked off the beaten path and right into Clive’s Cafe, where we had heaping plates of jerk chicken, plantains, and rice and peas for just $7. Welcome to Miami—we’re loving it.

- Laura and Ryan

We’re Thankful For…

Hudson Diner, a classic New York City diner in the West Village

…Our neighborhood diner—where you can always get a seat (a vinyl booth, of course), the home fries are always hot, and our favorite waitress, however brusque she may be, always manages to sneak a smile and a “hun” at the end of her sentences.

There aren’t very many of them left in the city, so we make sure to appreciate ours, and I think other folks in our neighborhood do too, judging by the repeat customers we see on our Sunday visits—everyone from blue-haired old ladies to dads and their sons. It’s a quintessential New York experience and the food is pretty delicious, too.

- Laura