The sun-soaked shores of Miami Beach played host to the 12th edition of Untitled Art Fair, a dynamic convergence of artistic expressions that unfolded from December 6 to 10. Guided by the curatorial finesse of Artistic Director Omar López-Chahoud and Director of Development and Curatorial Affairs Clara Andrade Pereira, the fair transcended traditional boundaries, featuring 166 exhibitors from 38 countries who collectively painted a rich tapestry of global creativity.
For this year, the fair partnered with companies such as Resy & Delta SkyMiles, American Express, Chargeurs Philanthropies, 99 Canal, Desert X, For Freedoms and the Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
Curatorial themes, Special Projects and programming
“Untitled Art 2023 presented a dynamic program encompassing artist projects, performances, and panel discussions, including the Untitled Art Podcast. Spearheaded by Artistic Director Omar López-Chahoud and Director of Development and Curatorial Affairs Clara Andrade Pereira, this year’s international presentation focuses on collaboration within the global art community. The programming aligned with the curatorial themes of “Gender Equality in the Arts” and “Curating in the Digital Age,” exploring topics such as gender and diversity, digital initiatives, historical perspectives, and amplifying new voices.
The fair introduced Special Projects, highlighting key issues and emerging artistic voices. Notable presentations included:
- Bitforms (New York, NY) showcased Manfred Mohr’s pioneering computer-generated plotter drawings from the 1970s, emphasizing his early use of algorithms.
- Gerd Leufert’s NENIAS, presented by Henrique Faria Gallery, merged ancestral cosmogonies with contemporary expression.
- Vigo (London, United Kingdom) presented Henrik Godsk’s interactive sculpture, Carousel 1884 (2023), a modernist reinterpretation of a family heirloom.
- Henrique Faria Gallery (New York, NY) presents Gerd Leufert’s NENIAS (1965-1985/2023), a wall installation merging ancestral cosmogonies with contemporary figures.
- For Freedoms commissions limited edition prints by artists April Bey, Petra Cortright, Christine Sun Kim, and Hana Ward, accompanied by a panel discussion on artists’ roles in society.
- Ediciones Marea, in collaboration with the Pedro Reyes Studio, showcased works from the late Luis Ortiz Monasterio, marking the first presentation outside Mexico.
- Zielinsky Gallery (Barcelona, Spain / São Paulo, Brazil) presents Vera Chaves Barcellos’ Epidermic Scapes (1977-2022), exploring the abstraction of skin images.
Ten live performances became a pulse within the fair, embodying a commitment to non-commercial genres and multi-disciplinary practices. From New York Performance NOW! to Awilda Sterling-Duprey’s Blindfolded, Untitled Art celebrated not just the static but the dynamic, creating an immersive experience for attendees.
The Untitled Art Podcast, now in its fourth year, wove a rich tapestry of conversations with luminaries like Antonio Andrews, Ashanti Chaplin, and Natasha Becker. These dialogues fostered connections and shared insights that resonated across the artistic landscape.
Overall, Untitled Art 2023’s programming reflected a commitment to fostering collaboration, diversity, and exploration within the contemporary art landscape.
Untitled’s Virtual Exhibition
In a forward-looking move, Untitled Art Fair 2023 expanded its horizons into the digital realm with 55 virtual exhibitions hosted on Vortic’s platform. Part of The Vortic Prize initiative, these digital showcases symbolize a significant step in embracing the potential of the digital age, aligning with the fair’s theme, “Curating in the Digital Age.”
These exhibitions transcend geographical boundaries, fostering accessibility, and archiving art in a rapidly evolving world. Galleries such as Jane Lombard Gallery (New York, NY), CURRO (Guadalajara, Mexico), and Richard Koh Fine Art (Singapore / Bangkok, Thailand / Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) participated, showcasing a diverse mix of artistic voices on a global scale. These digital exhibitions offer a dynamic dialogue between the physical and virtual realms, emphasizing Untitled Art’s commitment to fostering innovation in the digital sphere.
You can visit the virtual exhibition here.
Sales and attendance
Closing on December 10, the fair disclosed substantial sales and a noteworthy attendance of 55,000. Some of the special attendees included Jeff Bezos, who was spotted appreciating art like just anyone else!
Approximately 60% of exhibitors highlighted female/non-binary artists, and around 37% featured BIPOC, Latin American, and Asian artists em Shasizins the fair’s commitment to diverse representation.
Beyond commercial activities, Untitled Art 2023 made a lasting impact, creating a global platform for creativity, conversations, and varied artistic expressions. During those five days, Miami Beach evolved into a focal point of inspiration, where artistic exploration narratives mingled with the gentle whispers of the waves, and the walls resonated with the diverse voices contributing to the ongoing story of contemporary art.
Dot Red Highlights for Untitled 2023
kó Gallery
kó brought a vibrant showcase to the Untitled Art Fair in Miami Beach, Florida, featuring an eclectic mix of artists exploring the tactile materiality of their mediums. Through painting, sculpture, collage, and digital experimentation, these artists delve into themes of history, identity, and place.
kó is an art gallery based in Lagos, Nigeria, dedicated to promoting modern and contemporary art. With a dual focus on championing Nigeria’s leading artists from the modern period and celebrating emerging and established contemporary artists across Africa and the Diaspora, kó contributes to the dynamic landscape of African art.
Some of the artists we saw at kó Gallery’s booth that we wish to highlight are:
Joseph Obanubi
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1994, Joseph Obanubi adopts an interplay between digital and tactile experimentation, exploring the relationship between identity, fantasy, technology, and globalization. His afro-futuristic collages reconstruct fragments from everyday experiences, embodying layers of collected negative films that harbor inverted memories and experiences. Obanubi is currently based in Illinois, completing an MFA in New Media from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.
Mobolaji Ogunrosoye
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1991, Mobolaji Ogunrosoye uses the distortion of photography and collage to explore ideas around perception, selfhood, and body image. Her “Portraits” series addresses societal influences on personal identity as related to Nigerian women. Ogunrosoye’s work has been featured in various exhibitions, including the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in New York.
CULT Aimee Friberg
CULT Aimee Friberg is a contemporary art gallery established in 2013 by curator Aimee Friberg. The gallery provides a space for both emerging and established artists, fostering a platform for experimental and socially aware work. Through various exhibitions, offsite displays, artist conversations, and multimedia events, CULT engages a diverse audience, promoting risk-taking in artistic expression.
Aimee Friberg, the founder of CULT, sees the gallery as a bridge connecting artists producing critical work about the social context and those inspired by it. Grounded in the unseen and forces emphasizing essential interconnectedness, CULT offers a safe space for artists to experiment and witness each other’s collective evolution.
CULT operates in San Francisco, housed within Yves Behar’s global design firm fuseproject, and a second gallery, CULT Bureau, located in Oakland, California, which functions exclusively by appointment.
Mia Weiner
While visiting CULT’s booth at Untitled, we had the opportunity of connecting with Mia Weiner and her work. Based in Los Angeles, California, Mia draws inspiration from the historical tradition of tapestries to create intimate works exploring identity, personal memories, gender, and human relationships expressed through the human body.
Her hand woven tapestries originate from sensations rooted in the body, capturing moments associated with the intricacies of human relationships. Her work explores the body and its shapes, while employing techniques like collaging and adjustments, manipulating images until they reach their final form. The photographs taken are then manipulated and worked on to later be woven into Weiner’s tapestries. The shapes of the bodies photographed are often hard to decipher, questioning where one body starts and the other begins, materializing intimacy in a subtle yet intoxicating way.
Jonathan Carver Moore Gallery
Last but not least, Jonathan Carver Moore Gallery is the final highlighted gallery in our list for Untitled. This gallery stands as a contemporary art space dedicated to championing emerging and established artists, particularly those from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women communities. As the only openly gay Black male-owned gallery in San Francisco, Jonathan Carver Moore is committed to amplifying voices often underrepresented in the art world, offering a unique perspective through a Black queer lens.
We saw the works of two women artists, Namita Paul and Kacy Jung who both use their art to speak on important social issues while also reflecting their identity.
Namita Paul, a Bay Area artist, explores personal and political histories in her work. Themes of rupture and repair, migration, architectural space, memory, and time shape her creations. Paul employs various mediums, including large-scale installations, drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles, and photography, to make visible the markers of personal and collective memories.
Kacy Jung responds to societal pressures she has faced as a woman, an Asian immigrant, and a former scientist through her art. Described as “photo sculptures,” her mixed-media compositions address stages of empowerment, healing, self-discovery, and identity redefinition, challenging external expectations.
