Tofer Chin’s solo booth as presented by Lu Magnus Gallery at the Untitled Art Fair
Amongst the extensive list of fairs exhibited at last week’s Art Basel, an underdog outshined the competitors with its fresh take on environmentally-minded art. Untitled, directed by curator Omar Lopez-Chahoud, made its debut this year by setting up camp right on Miami Beach. Showcasing up-and-coming artists from all over the world, Omar selected the appropriate galleries whose art was not only intertwined via commonalities, but had also complimented the airy space within the billowing tent. Given enough room to run caravans through its halls, Untitled offered wide paths bathing in sunlight that penetrated through several beach panoramas, as well as the thin ceilings of the tent. Working with architects and artists alike, Omar’s ambitions led him to create a fantastic art show within a refreshing space, which differentiated the fair from the stale, overcrowded indoor galleries we’ve all become accustomed to in the art world.
Omar Lopez-Chahoud states, “One of the important things about presenting your work in the right way is having architects involved. In conversation with the K/R architectural firm, we all understood that we needed to create a space that is pleasant to navigate and facilitates a platform for the artist’s work to be presented.”
THE POOL NYC gallery reflects Omar’s approach by delivering a multilayered exhibition through the pieces of Martin Roth and Patrick Jacobs. Building from the ground up, Roth creates a living piece in which he revives old Persian rugs by nurturing plant life that sprouts from the garden-woven design. Ascending to the nearby walls, we have the microscapes of Jacobs; the voyeuristic peepholes allow the viewers to perceive luscious landscapes that blur the division between photo imagery and deliberate construction. Both sets of works breathe in their own rights, coinciding perfectly with the space of Untitled.
“One main idea behind this is to have something living—in the process of living. Often we see art objects that are considered “living” when in fact they are dead, a sort of mausoleum…[My] artwork asksme for something, and I must love and care for it in order to see it grow,” explains Roth.
With long-established galleries dominating the scene for Miami’s Art Basel, it is energizing to see original ideas permeating the structures of the art world, remaining true to the purpose of art by not only pushing boundaries with the artwork, but with the atmosphere as well.
