Museums in New York For The Win

For the contemporary art world, 2014 was a monumental year; there was a significant spike in attendance of gallery exhibitions, stellar art sales, and an array of unique events. It started on November 12, 2013, when artist Jeff Koons (or rather, his contemporary works of art) started a wave of events that would continue into 2014. The New York City-based veteran broke a serious and sought-after record when his Balloon Dog (Orange) sold at a Christie’s auction for $58.4 million. Besides the notable price tag, it became the most expensive piece sold by a living artist. Fast-forward to June 2014; The Whitney Museum of American Art housed many of Koons’ iconic pieces, resulting in an epic turn out throughout the summer until October. Thanks to pieces like Pop-Eye, and Play-Doh the Whitney experienced its highest attendance of any show in its history: over 250,000 in foot traffic throughout the span of just five months to see “Jeff Koons: A Retrospective”. Its popularity in attendance may have resulted in the exhibition’s visibility on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, where images of Micheal Jackson and Bubbles filled up feeds across the world.

South Beach Miami Heats Up

Down south in Florida, Art Basel Miami kept the heat going in November with more record-breaking attendance and an unfathomable amount of parties and gallery showings. The Pérez Art Museum commissioned another New York City-based artist, Gary Simmons, to explore pop culture and race relations in the United States. By tapping into the darker side of 2014, such as the deaths of Mike Brown and Eric Garner, his show was highlighted by major publications as a must-see while attending Art Basel. Beyond his collaboration with the museum, he broke barriers by taking his art into the sky as part of “Plane Text” - an aerial exhibition. Simmons and 15 other top artists each chose an individual message to be displayed on a banner and towed around popular parts of Miami by a single engine airplane. Simmons’ banner read “I Wish It Could Be Morning All Day Long. 

Beyond routine gallery shows, Art Basel Miami hosted unique pop-ups promoting newly launched projects like the e-commerce site ArtMarkit.com, a global market place for contemporary art merchandise. Having gone global in August, the site provides works of art, accessories, and more for visitors to shop online. Ranging from Andy Warhol notebooks to Misaki Kawai pillowcase sets, the curated selection is readily available for anyone with WiFi and a taste for the abstract. Similar sites like Artsy.net have grown in popularity due to this spike in socially shared art. Artsy provides editorials on new artists, and visitors can follow galleries, get insider news, and discover the latest trends. Artsy.net aims to “make all the world’s art accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.” 

An exhibition at Art Los Angeles Contemporary in 2014

LA Loves Art

Over on the West Coast, 2015 is similarly packed full of events. The Los Angeles Contemporary Art Fair is on the horizon, taking place the last weekend of January. In case you’re looking for a more mellow experience, California’s version of the art fair has scaled down in recent years, being dubbed more intimate while still maintaining a crowd that’s heavily attended by Hollywood celebrities. Unlike Miami where Art Basel has had many complaints of being borderline offensive when it comes to commerciality, Los Angeles has yet to reach that level. A day in Santa Monica, where the fair is set to take place, will be less of a frenzy while taking in the sights, sounds, and speakers of 2014. Unless of course, that’s your thing.

All over the United States, contemporary art is being consumed in new ways every year, blurring the lines of physical and online interactions. American artists are poised to grow a following and build a reputation thanks to events across the country, while international artists are flocking to the States to be seen as well. From fairs to famous galleries, talented artists are connecting with enthusiasts beyond the doors of an exhibition. 2014 made substantial headway towards diminishing the exclusivity of art (both modern and contemporary), with more barriers coming down as the new year continues.

Here are the evnts for 2015 you do not want to miss:

Art Los Angeles Contemporary, January 29-Feb 1, 2015

South By Southwest (SXSW) Art Installations, March 13-21, 2015

Coachella Art Installations, April 2015

Frieze New York, May 14–17, 2015

Expo Chicago, September 17-20, 2015

Art Basel Miami Beach, December 3-6, 2015

An art installation at Coachella Music Festival in 2014