The hottest art spots to visit this year
Art lovers are spoilt for choice with a calendar that is chockablock with art fairs, biennales (and triennales) and other art outings that span the world across all seasons
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1/10
Miami Beach, Florida, USA
December 1-4, 2016
They come in private planes, hire private yachts and party at Miami’s hot spots, but make no mistake, it’s the art that draws them in, this flood of collectors, curators, writers, museum directors, trustees and patrons who make the rich feel jaded, the cognoscenti like the hoi-polloi. The Art Miami fair sets trends that resonate around the world. Though it remains global, the focus is on America, the Latin American countries and Europe, with representations from Africa and Asia, and large-scale artworks and performances that create a buzz. The parties at Miami Beach are almost as exciting as the fair itself, yet the focus is centred determinedly around the art. This makes Art Miami the single destination that aficionados choose when they want to feel like the chosen few. Indian art, though, remains hugely unrepresented at the fair, something that should get addressed in the forthcoming editions.
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2/10
Kochi, India
December 12-March 29, 2017
Heading for its third edition after a rocky start in 2012, which its founders Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu pulled off against all odds, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale has become India’s most important art event to engage with the public. Sieved in the previous edition by Jitish Kallat, and in the forthcoming one by Sudarshan Shetty, the biennale has highlighted the distinctive quality of Indian art for a global audience of curators and influencers, leading to their inclusion in global projects. In turn, it gives Indian art lovers a chance to engage with the most talked-about international artists whose work reflects their activist ideologies.
_20170123021338_930x584.jpg "India Art FairNew DelhiFebruary 3-5, 2017The annual art jamboree is one of India’s winter high")
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3/10
New Delhi
February 3-5, 2017
The annual art jamboree is one of India’s winter highlights and was instrumental for first bringing the Indian art discourse and exchange to a public platform when it began in 2008. Promoted by Neha Kirpal, a majority stake in the fair was recently acquired by MCH Group, the promoters of Art Basel. The art fair, now in its eight edition, has grown exponentially as a social event for the capital, but it has also been instrumental in drawing the world’s attention to Indian art practices and its high quality. Global galleries which started out as sprightly partners have dwindled, given the country’s infamous bureaucratic procedures and scant appetite (as yet) for global marque names, and the focus has now shifted to South Asia. Accompanied by discussions and talks, the art fair is the most critical, sales-driven interface and public gathering of artists, gallerists, writers, promoters and collectors in the country.
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4/10
New York, USA
March 2-5, 2017
Held at Piers 92 and 94 on the Hudson river wharf, with a chilly wind blowing, The Armory Show hits you in the guts. It isn’t typically large or flamboyant, and its location makes it a challenge for the organisers to overcome some of its limitations—they’d probably address them as advantages. The promoters launched the show in 1994 at the Gramercy Park Hotel (it was then called Gramercy International Art Fair), before moving to Lexington Avenue, and then to the Hudson river, first at Piers 88-90, before settling on its current venue. This potted history is useful because it points to The Armory Show’s flexibility and adaptability that has also inspired its name. The 1913 Armory Show is thought to have been the first juxtaposition of modern and contemporary art—famously Vincent van Gogh and Marcel Duchamp —thus giving it its vibrant identity. Currently, modern art is exhibited at Pier 92. Living artists, on the other hand, are represented at Pier 94.
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5/10
Maastricht, The Netherlands
March 10-19, 2017
Begun in 1988 by art and antique dealers, TEFAF Maastricht continues to enjoy the distinction of one of the most visited spots where the best old masters, ancient collectibles and treasures gather under one roof, pointing to the way the world is collecting. It works, and curates, in the belief that someone who is passionate about a painting or sculpture could also be a consumer of antique furniture, stupendous jewellery or rare books. Those who have attended the fair compare it with a museum, with only one caveat—you can actually buy here, provided you have the financial appetite its treasures command. So successful has the fair been that it has recently launched two editions in New York: Its recently concluded Fall, a version of its home fair, and forthcoming Spring, which is built around modern and contemporary art and design. Will others follow?
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6/10
Dubai, UAE
March 15-18, 2017
Abu Dhabi is aiming at becoming an art hub for the region with the opening of The Guggenheim and The Louvre, but it is Dubai’s art fair that grabs the eyeballs with its concentration on the region and its cultural neighbours, South Asia and Africa. Ten editions old, the curatorial focus of Art Dubai is driven towards individual artists, and with a discussion forum as well as prizes, it has become one of the pioneering art platforms for the Middle East. Over the last few years Art Dubai has emerged as the place to view some of the best art works from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
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7/10
Kassel, Germany and Athens, Greece
Athens: April 8-July 16, 2017
Kassel: June 10-September 17, 2017
For an art event that is so serious, Documenta does not grab the kind of press in India that it should. Begun in 1955, and held every five years, it has become a huge resource and library for searching for curatorial ideas and an archive rich with art writings and ideas from around the world. Under artistic director Adam Szymczyk, the forthcoming Documenta (though it is usually written with a lower case ‘d’) is the fourteenth edition and is distinctive for having moved, for the first time in its history, a part of its programme to another country, Greece. The artistic vision comes from Germany’s economic support to Greece and the resultant hostility that involves the world’s embrace of globalisation and capitalism amidst underlying fears and vulnerability. With the selection of important South Asian artists to represent a poignant phase of the region, the forthcoming edition will shed light on nuances and reflections that have slipped past narratives of history in the conscience of the mainstream.
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8/10
Venice, Italy
May 13-November 26, 2017
La Biennale di Venezia is the oldest art event of its kind, having begun in 1895, with the first international pavilions starting in 1907 and steadily building up a presence to become the world’s most exciting outing for art. While India has remained removed from this by way of a national pavilion, Indian artists at least have been well represented—who can forget Subodh Gupta’s utensil skull overlooking the canal? Or Feroze Gujral’s glamorous, crammed party at the last edition? Occasionally controversial for the political content that draws sharp debates across art communities as well as religious outfits and even governments, the Venice Biennale is the most highly regarded and attended biennale in history.
Organised at several venues across the city, and conjoined by an architecture biennale that is every bit as momentous, the Venice Biennale offers a meeting place for art lovers and a chance to holiday in Italy at the same time.
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9/10
Basel, Switzerland
June 15-18, 2017
Started in 1970 by a handful of local gallerists wanting to show the best world art, Art Basel is arguably the most prestigious of the world’s art shows. Located near the borders of France and Germany in the small Swiss town better known for its watch and jewellery fair, Art Basel’s language is considered more contemporary than modern, yet it segues the distance across the 20th and up to the 21st century. Several distinctive segments make up its portfolio under the vision of its global director, Marc Spiegler. Its buzz makes it an exciting art bazaar where, the most expensive deals are struck with a snap of the fingers. Such is its potential that galleries and artists across the world vie to participate but are routinely turned away. With participation by 300-odd galleries from three-dozen or so countries and several thousand artists, this is art hedonism at its best.
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10/10
London, UK
June 29-July 5, 2017
The only thing better than summer in England must be Masterpiece, the Chelsea fair that’s young by comparison with its peers—it was launched in 2010—but makes up for it with its eclectic, exciting selection of antiques, rare books and maps, ancient furniture and statuary, art and even armour. Here, you can rub shoulders with British royalty, Indian industrialists, Hollywood stars, Chinese writers and the casual world of celebrity in search of treasures dating back six millennia—there are Egyptian statues, Grecian columns, Indian miniatures, contemporary jewellery, amusing artefacts, the grand masters of art, embracing all the points that interest collectors with a broad vision and varied passion. Great restaurants and bars add to its attractions, and there are London’s galleries and museums to fill in the gaps, making Masterpiece a venerable destination for art lovers.
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