Art at the Aqua!

4:00 PM on Saturday: After a couple hours at the Convention Center and an amazing lunch at La Sandwicherie (a great sandwich, walk-up, outdoor, counter-like place, that a friend recommended), we stumbled onto a little gem on our way back to feed the meter. Almost three hours later (whoops!), I was more than happy we had the detour—stumbling upon Aqua Art Fair!

The intimate setting of the fair, located inside the Aqua Hotel on Collins Avenue, instantly puts you at ease. The hotel rooms themselves are completely cleared out and each one is then occupied by one of forty-four galleries. The feeling is more intimate and far less intimidating than the main fair. The vibes are just good, with lights in the trees, lounge chairs, a hot tub, and a bar all in the courtyard surrounded by two stories of the renovated hotel, which still holds on to its mid-century charms.

And the art: AWESOME! Most of the galleries are from smaller cities in the U.S. and Canada (well, smaller than NYC or Berlin, like at Art Basel), like San Francisco, Philadelphia and even Tucson. And there are still those big city showings like NYC and Toronto—all in all, a great mix of work from everyone showing. In addition, most of the gallery owners and docents were welcoming, ready to answer questions, and offered information even before you asked.

The work shown reflected the broad range of mediums and ideas that artists working today are using. There was a lot of work that used unusual materials and surfaces like Jessica Drenk’s toilet paper sculptures or Gary Emrich’s photo transfers onto old paintbrushes (below).

And I was super happy to see a large number of encaustic works, including some beautiful work at Conrad Wilde Gallery and at Blunt Collective/AWOL Gallery!

These works and the galleries felt more in reach as a young artist. I left with the feeling that I could actually make it in the art world or be in a fair like this in the (maybe?) near future. I even met and talked with one of the artists who was nearby as I admired his work, which I loved and totally related to my own style of painting—Matthew Schofield.

The evening ended after almost three hours of careful browsing with my feet soaking in the hot tub in the courtyard and talking to new friends…the perfect ending to a perfect afternoon of art in Miami. And then it was back to real-life duties, like that meter and dinner, which would be the leftovers I was carrying around in a bag for a few hours!

And now for what I think was the best of Aqua (these pictures are by me and you can click ‘em to make ‘em larger!):

Carrie Seid, aluminum and mylar covered in silk; can ya see it?

Jaq Chartier, acrylic, gesso, and stain on panel

Amy Casey, Circling Wagons, 2008, acrylic on paper

I love how it's completely made up of shades of browns!

Megan Whitmarsh's embroidered creations!

Eamon O'Kane, ink on paper

This artist also does beautiful architectural paintings and sculptures.

Lauren DiCioccio had a number of works at Jack Fischer Gallery, all stitching including an entire deck of hand embroidered cloth playing cards. I loved these books, where every word is carefully stitched over!

Of course I was stopped in my tracks by this moon by David Joron. Ah, the likeness is astounding...

David E. Peterson

Diem Chau makes these delicately embroidered organza pieces and then stretches them over China bowls and plates.

Carved wooden coat hangers by Maskull Lasserre--there was a whole set!

Casey Roberts takes the chemicals for developing Cyanotypes and uses chemical reactions to create the colors in her paintings. I have no idea how this works but the result is amazing and beautiful!

Sidnea D'Amico

Rocky Grimes, I took home a little t-shirt souvenir screen-printed by this artist. Yay for inexpensive souvenirs that are also art!

Marcia Perello Ramos