ART SAKE : COOL TAKES BASEL WITH #TheSELFIE

Interactive Art Exhibition Shows Us 

the Two Faces of #TheSelfie

The interactive art exhibition took place in the heart of Wynwood at the Lab Miami, known as the hub of the tech movement in Miami. Guests were greeted by hosts then directed to the interactive fine art pieces featuring some of Miami’s influencers in music, fitness, fashion, art and entrepreneurship. Selfie subjects include: Cuchi Of Afrobeta, Tony Smurphio Of Afrobeta, Johanne Wilson, Julz Goodard, Terrance Wilson, Sheyla Beaujin, Rosie Pradel, Ramses Principe, Annie Vasquez, and Charles Reynolds. “It is an honor to collaborate with COOL Creative on this project,“ says photographer Adrian Ruiz of Uneeq Productions.

Each work of art features a black and white portrait one of the influencers surrounded by a vibrant custom graphic pattern inspired by their personality. The portraits are “faceless” as they are covered by a smartphone to similate the way we look as we take selfies in the real world. As they visit each piece, people are invited to scan digital codes to see the other side of each selfie, without the phone covering the face. #TheSELFIE explores the relationships between the real and digital world, the duality of selfies, and stories behind the selfies. “I took a selfie in a dressing room and when I looked at it, I realized that my entire face was covered up” explains artist, Johanne Wilson.  ”At that moment, I was inspired to do this project. It’s about the duality of our lives in the digital and real world.”

The art exhibition continued to the back of the building where artist, Terrance Wilson was completing his monumental mural that explored the relationship of nature and technology. “It’s a representation of the past, present and future,” says the artist. It is one of Wynwood’s only free-hand murals. The artist did not create a pencil drawing to trace or project the image onto the wall, “I just let my hand flow,” says the artist. The black and white mural can be seen from 25th street between 4th and 5th avenue.

Guests enjoyed art, great vibes provided by DJ Legato, and the most artful sangria by Sangria Lolea. Lance Bass of NSYNC even showed up, spent time and enjoyed the exhibition. “When he asked me to sign the prints he purchased I almost passed out,” recounts the artist. The exhibition was very thoughtful, well organized and engaging.  “This is one of the only events I’ve been to that had a great melange of art and event,” boasted Juan Carlos Arcacia of Pure Etiquette. “This is a celebration of our inaugural appearance at Art Basel. It’s only going to get bigger and more creative,” says Johanne Wilson.

To purchase prints and original pieces visit the shop: https://squareup.com/market/cool-creative-inc

Recap video can be viewed here:

To purchase prints and orginal pieces visit the shop: https://squareup.com/market/cool-creative-inc

See more COOL here.

ART SAKE : PUMA'S, PENCILS, AND BULLETS - Federico Uribe

Close up shots (Source)

Walking around Miami's Wynwood Arts District we stumbled upon one of the coolest exhibitions we have ever experienced: Frederico Uribe's, "Realm of the Unreal." The contemporary artist created a wonderland entirely made of unexpected objects including: compact discs, Puma sneakers, colored pencils, plastic forks, bullets, yard rakes and more. 

At first glance we didn't realize what we were looking at, we just thought,  "wow this a fun space." As we moved closer we discovered that the birds on the wall were made of cut open Puma sneakers, the water was made of compact discs, the swimmers had swim caps made of computer keys, and the chandelier was made of plastic forks. As we moved through the space, we got hypnotized by all the details we kept uncovering.

We soon noticed a crown surrounding what looked like a moving version of all the sculptures we had been looking at. As we moved closer we discovered that the sculpture  was actually the artist himself dressed in his unbelievable creation. 

We learned that Uribe had spent the past 7 years laboring over this epic fantasy world.

He was incredibly gracious and timid as he hid behind the thousands and thousands of colored pencils that blanketed his face and body.

Learn more about Uribe on his website.

#CertifiedCOOL

ART SAKE : DELUXX FLUXX ARCADE

Tucked away on Washington Ave was the Deluxx Fluxx Arcade, a psychedelic exhibition
with specially created and programmed video games, pinball machines, and foosball. Harkening back to the golden age of arcade games, contemporary punk rock and graffiti culture, this neon-laden, interactive, mixed media installation gives the audience a chance to genuinely engage with the work without feeling the pressure of the traditional gallery environment. #CertifiedCOOL

FAILE & BAST  
DEVELOPMENT TEAM Matthew Cooley Eric Ishii-Eckhardt Quin Kennedy Julio Terra  
SOUND & MUSIC Seth Jabour  
PINBALL MACHINE FABRICATION Dave Baach / Tilt Warning Customs  
SPECIAL THANKS Perrier Mirrorball Dennis Leyva Vivian Garcia Boris Giacoman Patricia Nachtigall Allan Ramos Helen Allen Meryl Cooper Industry Print Shop Sticker Robot

ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH : TUESDAY 12/3 DAY ONE

Our favorite time of year is unarguably Art Basel season right here in Miami. The week is filled with cool events and exhibitions that remind us so much of the time Terrance and I spent courting each other while in art school. We also love all the surprises and randomness we discover throughout the week. 

This year we started out early. On Monday we browsed through opening of the The Wynwood Art Building before heading out to a friend's private "Basel Bash." Tuesday was really the start of exhibition hopping and what we consider 'Day One.' We started at the Context/Art Miami tents in Wynwood and then headed to Project Miami and Red Dot.
We'll be going to back to the Wynwood tents on Friday and Saturday to spend more time browsing and favoring, but here are a few snaps from our drive by.

Look up and you might see the floating lady.

Not to be missed is Miami Project's pop-up shop that features artist-made merch available during basel only. Prices for the items range from $10-$500. This reminds us of the time when Bansky sold priceless prints on the streets of New York for $60. 

That said, we recommend you stop by and pick something up.

Next stop was the Colette Art Drive By pop-up shop at the Alchemist in the 1111 Lincoln building and the Ferarri Piston Head Exhibition. The Colette shop, on the 7th floor, explored a new shopping experience where users browsed the merch on a wall, ordered at a kiosk and picked up at the check out station. The hottest show in town was the Ferarri event on the top floors. A-listers examined Enzo's and car sculptures while sipping on Veuve in the gorgeous Herzog & Meuron designed building. 

We capped off the evening on sand at Scope Art Fair. The 'drive-by' theme continued as we quickly browsed through amazing galleries, including Ken Borochov's MORDEKAI. We'll be returning to Scope throughout the week to give the show the time it deserves. 
(sigh) So much to do…

Check back during the week and after for more Basel bites!

His work has been seen on Nikki Minaj, Cher, Lady Gaga and many more.