This year’s Art Basel Miami Beach did not disappoint, and as to be expected, the city was jam-packed with haute events, celebrity sightings, exclusive dinner parties and of course, riveting art exhibits. Here’s a look at some of the highlights of the week:
ALEC MONOPOLY AT THE FONTAINEBLEAU MIAMI BEACH:
Photo Credit: Romain Maurice
Street artist Alec Monopoly took over the iconic Fontainebleau Hotel this past week—literally. He attracted an audience of more than 100+ viewers as he rappelled down the wall of the front of the hotel, which was wrapped in a piece of his artwork. From there, he put the final touches on his work and came down to debut his new TAG Heuer sculpture with President Kilian Muller inside the hotel.
Later in the evening, Art Life and Haute Living presented an Alec Monopoly pop-up gallery inside the hotel’s Fontaine Ballroom where guests like reality stars Scott Disick, Foodgōd Jonathan Cheban, Sofia Richie and more showed up to support the artist on the VIP opening night.
MADDOX GALLERY X DAVID YARROW:
Photo Credit: Romain Maurice
The famed London-based gallery was in town for the week with a special pop-up gallery for renowned photographer David Yarrow at the Fontainebleau’s Fontaine Ballroom. Later in the evening, VIP guests were treated to an intimate dinner inside the private dining room of Stripsteak, co-hosted by Haute Living and Louis XIII. At the dinner, they auctioned off a special David Yarrow photograph, which sold for $27,000, to benefit the Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation.
RICKY MARTIN
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Hublot
On Thursday evening, the star co-hosted the Global Gift Gala dinner with Eva Longoria to benefit Puerto Rico, which took place at the Nobu Eden Roc Miami Beach. Stars like Serena Williams, Adrienne Bailon, Domingo Zapata and Zuleyka Rivera showed up to support the affair.
The following evening, Haute Living and Hublot held their annual Art Basel Miami Friday night dinner honoring cover star Ricky Martin and artist Richard Orlinski. This time, they took over the third floor of the Pérez Art Museum Miami. The night included live violin entertainment by Ezinma, beats by DJ Arkitekt, private museum tours by Franklin Sirmans and a VIP after party aboard megyacht Bliss.
DANIEL ASHRAM AT RIDINGER HOME
The Ridinger family once again hosted their legendary Saturday night Basel bash at their gorgeous private estate, this year welcoming artist Daniel Ashram and the YoungArts Foundation for a beautiful evening. The night was in honor of the new partnership between Ashram, Amber Ridinger-McLoughlin, Duane McLaughlin and the National YoungArts Foundation as they launch their fellowship for aspiring visual artists. Notable attendees included Alicia Keys, Romero Britto, Shareef Malnik, Gabrielle Anwar and more.
MOIC VIP OPENING
Photo Credit: BFA
The highly-anticipated opening of the Museum of Ice Cream Miami opened for VIPs only on Friday evening, to no surprise attracting a handful of celebrities who wanted to be the first to share the Instagram-worthy pictures of the colorful museum located at Faena District. Attendees included Sofia Richie, Karolina Kurkova, Olympic Gold Medalist Aly Raisman, Foodgōd Jonathan Cheban, jewelry designer Jennifer Fisher, Alan Faena, David and Isabela Grutman and more.
LIV
Photo Credit: World Red Eye
As to be expected, LIV nightclub also welcomed in a serious group of VIP partiers throughout the week, with headline artists/celebrities including Cardi B, Philipp Plein x Alec Monopoly and DJ Khaled for his Sunday night “Major Key” birthday party.
NAUTILUS
This year the Nautilus Hotel presented a handful of VIP parties including Butter Group’s UP & DOWN and Cipriani’s Socialista pop-ups. Throughout the week, guests and presenters included Virgil Abloh, Richie Akiva and Ronnie Madra, Scott Disick, Jonathan Cheban, Maggio Cipriano, Rocky Barnes, DJ Ruckus, Sara and Erin Foster, Adriana Lima, Frank Ocean and more. Also on display—which captured a lot of attention throughout the week—was a provocative, 12-foot installation of an orgasming vagina, entitled “I Can Feel” by visual artist Suzy Kellems Dominik.
ROCKWELL
Photo Credit: World Red Eye
The celeb-favorite nightclub presented the 1 OAK x Rockwell pop-up for the third year in a row, with an all-star lineup of Rick Ross, Miguel, 2 Chainz and more that attracted audiences from Thursday throughout the weekend. A-list attendees included Giancarlo Stanton, Rick Fox and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Shawn Koldny’s Fake Fulfillment Center
Photo Credit: Haute Living
Artist Shawn Koldny debuted his first solo exhibition entitled “Fake Fulfillment Center” in Miami Beach from December 6th-10th. The interactive experience was designed to confront society’s battles of addiction and obsession with self image, social media and more. Of course, every room was designed to be social media-friendly, as Kolodny guided guests throughout the center which was the perfect canvas for Instagram boomerangs and photos. The experience began with guests donning laboratory coats and entering the center, first through Kolodny’s signature “Addicted to Fashion” room, which featured Prada and included dazzling mirrored walls, string lights and stunning art pieces of the brand incorporated into pills and vials. Other immersive experiences included guests spray painting some of Kolodny’s art pieces and playing with life-size prescription pill bottles.
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December 11, 20177 Under The Radar Luxury Experiences You Have To Try This
