Basel Miami 2022
Walking into Scope Miami at Sunset
Arriving back to Boston from the balmy ocean breezes of Miami in mid December was not so bad. Global warming has jump started our New England blooms twice now.
Basel was wonderful. We began our adventure at Untitled Art Fair, walked Basel and finally, Scope. Wynwood was on the list, but we needed another day for that. Next time.
Our biggest take away from all events, Juniper Rag artists are lit! As we added miles to our shoes, repeatedly the excitement built as we faced the validation. As artists, we also returned home with a mountain of respect for artists showing at these events. Watch our social for information on these artists to watch.
Pointers for ambitious artists:
Presentation
Presentation matters, every little detail must be finished, clean and thought about. Do not risk losing a sale over a warped stretcher, for example.
A painter’s substrate should be well structured and flush against the wall without any warping or fussy mounting issues. Canvas should be professional thickness.
Materials
Take risks when making art by using new materials and processes. We saw so many incredible and unique ideas from car radiator panels to wood flooring and beyond.
Use old materials in new ways, like found flip flops cut and sewn into a wall hanging, or canvas that it cut and sewn back. Use your imagination and go the extra mile.
Some of the most interesting materials were human hair, soap, cigarettes, caviar and custom manufactured cloth with a repeating pattern as the canvas.
Planning
Plan. Masterpieces take time. Looking at the collections in all three shows we attended, the viewer can see the hours of time they took planning and executing.
Create bodies of work that speak to a reason, a cause, a moment. Connect the viewer through your emotion and story. Why do you make art? What do you want your work to say, do or how do you want it to make people feel? The majority of art had stories. We all have stories to tell and artists are lucky to express theirs through creativity.
If you are working with a gallery, make sure they know you, your story and why you make the art you do. The gallerists were so excited to talk about some of the artists and they know their life stories and why their art mattered. This connection the advisors made with the viewer was a game changer.
Habits
Break them. Introduce a new material, process or technique. Go to new cities and museums. Talk to people. Meet with artists and chat. Form a critical group. Expand your horizons.
Take more risks. Change your game, by learning new processes. Mess around in the studio with new materials. Test new ideas.
Create opportunities for growth a few times a month. Network.
Submit your work to new calls, in different cities. Join art orgs outside of your geographical location.
Value
Rethink the value of your work. Are you selling to your satisfaction? Many factors could contribute to fast or slow sales. Investigate and be ready to adjust where needed.
Do not undervalue your artwork. Pricing is tricky and dependent upon many factors. Get the price right and find your audience and your work may just start flying off the walls.
