Miami Art Week is in full swing in South Florida, hosted by Art Basel Miami Beach. We were on hand for parties in the area featuring performer Janelle Monáe, filmmaker Harmony Korine, and prominent figures from the art world.
Harmony Korine introduces Edglrd Miami
Pop star Camila Cabello enthusiastically greeted Harmony Korine at El Palenque nightclub in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood on Thursday evening.
Mr. Korine, the filmmaker and artist, attracted about 600 people, including Ms. Cabello, to the sprawling room decorated with red neon lights. For many, it was an introduction to his new design collective Edglrd, pronounced “Edge Lord,” a reference to internet trolls known for courting and relishing controversy.
“I just want to work on future content,” said Mr. Korine, 50, adding: “I just think it's what comes after linear logic.” What's more sensory? What is better integrated with a specific feeling or with things that go beyond simple articulation?”
Inside the club, the DJ booth was surrounded by LED screens with visual effects and animations that mimicked Mr. Korine's new film “Aggro Dr1ft,” which was shown at film festivals in Toronto and New York this year.
The event's audience included comedian Hannibal Buress, artist Alex Israel and skater Evan Mock. The party was hosted by Boiler Room, an online broadcaster and club promoter. The evening began with a performance by AraabMuzik, who composed the music for Mr. Korine's film, followed by BLP Kosher, a rapper from Florida, and Yung Lean, a rapper from Sweden.
Around 1 a.m., Mr. Korine, wearing a skull-like yellow mask with horns that was a reference to “Aggro Dr1ft,” stepped to a turntable for what he said was his public debut as a DJ
Mr. Korine described the sound, an aggressive mix of Brazilian phonk with elements of trap music, South Florida rap, '90s pop and metal, as something made by “gamers in favelas.”
Around him, people in white body suits and masks moved to the beat of the music, and women in long neon green wigs stood still and stared ahead.
To prepare for the set, Mr. Korine said, “he smoked a lot of menthol vapes, smoked a lot of Mountain Dew, ate Sweet Tarts, sat on a houseboat and listened to a lot of Brazilian music.”
He wanted to try his hand at the craft, he said, because “I just thought it was the right time.”
Mickalene Thomas toasts Art Basel with Janelle Monáe
On Wednesday evening, artists, curators and musicians gathered under palm trees for an event celebrating artist Mickalene Thomas at the Miami Beach Edition Hotel.
Ms. Thomas showed work at Art Basel Miami Beach and had launched a capsule collection with Shop with Google that included T-shirts, a sweatshirt and a baseball cap featuring some of her designs.
“What excites me tonight is the community of people here together,” Ms. Thomas said. “It’s about women celebrating women.”
Guests, including actress Tasha Smith, musician George Clinton and gallerist Yancey Richardson, sat at a poolside bar sipping rosé while servers handed out pepperoni pizza pockets and endive salads.
Around 8:30 p.m., performer Janelle Monáe climbed to the top of the diving board suspended over the pool wearing a custom cape made of ruffled black-and-white fabric roses that she designed with Rey Ortiz.
“Happy birthday my dear!” shouted actress Yvonne Orji as Ms Monáe, 38, took a microphone.
For about 30 minutes, Ms. Monáe performed several of her songs, including “Float,” “Make Me Feel” and “Come Alive.”
“I’m here for you, Mickalene,” she told the crowd. “I love you so much. One of the greatest artists of our time. My friend. My sister.”
As she packed up her kit, Ms. Monáe entered the blue water behind her, fully clothed, and swam to the other side.
The audience cheered and Ms. Monáe returned to the stage, ended the performance and walked away, wrapping herself in a large white towel.
Gagosian Canals on the Amalfi Coast
On Tuesday evening, just blocks from the palatial accommodations of Collins Avenue, a disco ball spun slowly over a pool while a DJ played a mix of Afro-Caribbean jazz, disco and Italian pop.
Just before Art Basel Miami Beach opened to VIP clients, blue-chip gallery Gagosian hosted a party at Freehand Miami, where more than 600 people gathered at the hotel's Broken Shaker bar and 27 restaurant.
The evening was intended in part to channel the calming energy of Italy's Le Sirenuse hotel before a week of art fairs and luxury consumption kicked into high gear.
“Relax,” intoned Antonio Sersale, the owner of Le Sirenuse, as he strolled around the terrace with the cheerful air of a hotelier preoccupied with the good life. Servers streamed by with fried oysters and stations with tacos and ceviche were set up.
(Gagosian's employees, as well as many of the gallery's customers, are fans and frequent guests of the family-run five-star hotel, organizers said.)
The audience included Jeremy Pope, an actor and artist with work at the Scope Art Show; photographer Tyler Mitchell; artist Chloe Wise; and Meredith Darrow, an art consultant whose clients include Kim Kardashian. Guests sipped champagne and margaritas poolside and chatted with work friends. Larry Gagosian, the gallery owner, was not present.
Ms. Wise, who is showing her work at Art Basel Miami Beach, said she planned to celebrate her birthday, see art and go to the beach.
“I feel very connected to Miami and Florida in a humorous and inspiring way,” she said, specifically referring to the bikini shops near the beach.
She continued: “It's this combination of something that I would like to satirize, something that I look at, something that I participate in, and I find it to be a very American, consumerist, hilarious, but still meaningful.” Space acts.”