PETITE PICASSO
Art historian Diana Widmaier Picasso, the famous artists granddaughter and authority on his life and work, curated Desire, a group show on view through December 4 at the Moore Building in the Miami Design District. Presented by Jeffrey Deitch and Larry Gagosian, it marks the art dealers second project together, having received favorable reviews for Unrealism last year. Works from Pablo PicassonaturallyJohn Currin, Ed Ruscha, Cecily Brown, Diego Rivera, Jeff Koons, Vanessa Beecroft, Harmony Korine and Marilyn Minter (pictured), among 50 artists, represent a range of mediums within modern and contemporary art; several were commissioned as well. The exhibit explores eroticism, a subject as old as art. The overview depicts how the theme evolves every generation to its current state of overexposure through social media and the Internet.
3841 NE Second Avenue; deitch.com; gagosian.com
COMET RELIEF
When youre out perusing fairs on the mainland (Art Miami, Pinta, Superfine!) this weekend, stop by Locust Projects. Alexis Gideon, a musician and composer whos known for live video operas, performs his new work, The Comet and the Glacier, daily through Sunday. Its part of his large-scale installation, a burst of stop-motion animations, sculptured clay reliefs and glass paintings that transforms the nonprofit exhibition space into a surreal dreamscape. Reality and fiction become fuzzy as layers of his story are revealed. Huffer Collectives Save Your Selves, a pyramid pile of Miami-specific references such as nightclubs and midcentury-modern motels, occupies the project annex. Katie Bell also shows Backlash II, domestic-minded sculptural paintings using cork, rope and even pieces of hot tubs.
3852 North Miami Avenue; 305.576.8570; locustprojects.org
TALK IT OUT
One of the best things about Basel is getting quality time with savvy art insiders. This year, Surface Media adds another venue, a geodesic dome on the beach behind Faena Hotel, for artful discussion. Tonight, at 6:30, editor in chief Spencer Bailey moderates a creative chat between hip-hop artist Pusha T and Los Angeles artist Ben Jones, whose immersive video art installation (pictured) is also being presented. On Friday at 2 p.m., Jeffrey Deitch and Diana Widmaier Picasso engage in Design Dialogues No. 33 with Surface digital director William Hanley. RSVP for entry. Catch conceptual artist Glenn Ligon and poet Claudia Rankine on Friday, and digital experts from Google and the Whitney Museum for a discussion about how tech is affecting the artistic process on Saturday, at Art Basel fair.
surfacemag.com. artbasel.com
CLOTHES & CORSETS
The Savannah College of Art and Design exhibits Theater of the Self: An Exploration of Identity with more than 20 life-size, sculptural ensembles by Daniel Lismore, Londons most outrageous dresser according to Vogue (pictured). A hodgepodge of finds from theater props to vintage fabrics forms his signature outr style. Bin Fengs photographs are also on view through December 13. Though a Shanghai native, the SCAD grads self-portraits capture the American Dream through intricately, staged vignettes about class, race and gender. Following tonights reception from 6-9 p.m., join SCAD founder Paula Wallace in conversation with Lismore at Design Miami/ fair on Friday at 2 p.m. Fashion historian Catherine Ormen curates Lingerie Franaise, a retrospective of 150 years of undergarments, films and photographs at the Sagamore Hotel through December 6.
1601 North Miami Avenue. designmiami.com. 1671 Collins Avenue;
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