10 Unavoidable Trends At Art Basel Miami Beach 2014 (NSFW)

This weekend the art world overload known as Art Basel Miami Beach is in full swing. So far, this year’s edition of the international art fair has been quite the crowd pleaser. Gallerist Sean Kelly dubbed it the “strongest” beginning to an ABMB he’s participated in, while Lehmann Maupin co-founder Rachel Lehmann expressed that “the fair feels more grown up from year to year.” The gang at ArtFCity even reported: “The general consensus seems to be less crap than usual.”

That being said, it’s still a lot to handle.

We’ve combed through the aesthetic labyrinth with the hopes of improving your art viewing experience, and preventing you from hyperventilating in the face of all. that. art. To add a little order to the chaos, we’ve selected 10 trends we thought dominated this year, for better or for worse. Let us know which trends you noticed in the comments.

1. Secret Portals and Crystal Visions: From glass cells to garbage can rabbit holes, ABMB was full of artistic entrances to other worlds.

Ivan Navarro at Paul Kasmin Gallery

Ajay Kurian at 47 Canal

David Altmejd at Andrea Rosen Gallery

2. Breaking the Fourth Wall: The canvas is no longer a window to another dimension, but a vertically hung garden that’s started to sprout.

Francesca Pasquali at Tornabuoni art Paris

Xu Zhen at Bernier/Eliades

3. Cartoon Network: Imagine the craziest, nastiest, most bewitching morning of Saturday morning cartoons possible.

Peter Saul at Mary Boone Gallery

Jamian Juliano Villani at Tanya Leighton

4. Funny Face: Goopy, drippy, slightly terrified yet oddly adorable. The doodle-inspired emojis were everywhere.

Jon Pylypchuk at Fredric Snitzer

Bjarne Melgaard at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise

Brian Bress at Cherry and Martin

5. String Theory: Whether bound to a canvas, hanging in the wind or wrapped around a metal ring, stringy things were definitely in the air.

Jacob Hashimoto at Mary Boone Gallery

Emil Lukas at Sperone Westwater

Reena Saini Kallat at Chemould

6. We See You: With many of the works on view, it was difficult not to make eye contact.

Tony Oursler at Bernier/Eliades

Milena Muzquiz at Travesía Cuatro

7. Wood You Rather: This year’s natural medium of choice turned up as a pressure washer, a flip flop and an abstract sculpture, to start.

Roxy Paine at Kavi Gupta

Lia Chaia at Vermelho

Sam Ekwurtzel at Simone Subal Gallery

Michael Buthe at Alexander and Bonin

8. Soft Palette: If you were as exhausted by the endless art onslaught as we were, the following cozy looking artworks began to look pretty tempting.

Pascale Marthine Tayou at Galleria Continua