Art Basel Miami Beach is back, bringing with it 277 renowned international dealers exhibiting some of the biggest names in modern and contemporary art. Yesterday, the fair opened to VIPs and press, who got an early look at some of the market’s coveted works of the moment.
The fair is also a fertile breeding ground for emerging talents, and this year, six artists have garnered attention for their inclusions. Representing a range of perspectives and mediums, with noteworthy solo and group shows on the horizon and recent residencies and acquisitions by leading private and institutional collections under their belts, these talents are drawing crowds during this year’s fair previews.
Caleb Hahne Quintana
Anat Ebgi, New York and Los Angeles
Colorado-born, Brooklyn-based artist Caleb Hahne Quintana has generated significant buzz at Anat Ebgi’s booth this year following a string of recent acquisitions by the Denver Art Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Hahne Quintana draws from his Colorado upbringing and his Mexican heritage to create contemplative figurative paintings that spotlight intimate moments in his life. At Anat Ebgi’s booth, the artist is showing an arresting composition that depicts the 30-year-old artist at work in his studio, an angel hovering above his shoulder. Locking eyes with the viewer, the self-portrait provides a welcome invitation for passersby to pause and reflect on the process that brought the work to life. The prices for his increasingly coveted, large-scale paintings range from $24,000 to $30,000.
Grace Carney
P.P.O.W., New York
Grace Carney is another highlight of this year’s fair. The 31-year-old abstract painter has had a big year since joining P.P.O.W. in May. Her dynamic, gestural works in oil—grounded in abstraction with references to Baroque and Renaissance painting—have become highly sought after by collectors and institutions following a sold-out booth at Independent Art Fair in May. In addition to her works on view at P.P.O.W.’s booth, the artist is participating in Marquez Art Projects’s inaugural exhibition elsewhere in Miami. The New York-based artist is also preparing for her first solo show with P.P.O.W., opening next month.
Suchitra Mattai
Roberts Projects, Los Angeles
After joining Roberts Projects’s robust roster, Guyana-born, Los Angeles-based interdisciplinary artist Suchitra Mattai is establishing herself with a practice that blends influences ranging from European tapestry, craft, and Indian miniature painting to reconsider patriarchal and colonial narratives. In the year ahead, Mattai, whose works feature materials such as vintage saris and ribbon and range in price from $25,000 to $300,000, has solo shows at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, Socrates Sculpture Park, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Mattai’s work on view at Art Basel Miami Beach reflects her interest in the domestic sphere, exemplified in her skilled implementation of embroidery and fiber art.
Nickola Pottinger
Mrs., New York
In her first Art Basel Miami Beach solo presentation, which will soon be followed by her first solo show with Mrs., 37-year-old Nickola Pottinger presents sculptures that include found materials and casts of her own body. The Jamaica-born, Brooklyn-based artist is showing a series of new works—bodily in form and referred to by the artist as “duppies,” the Jamaican Patois word for ghosts. Pottinger’s ghost works explore the folk traditions and spirituality of her Jamaican heritage. Larger in scale than her previous works and with prices ranging from $12,000 to $24,000, the new sculptures mark a shift in Pottinger’s practice. Up next, she will begin preparations for a solo show at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, opening in June of 2025.
Devin N. Morris
Deli Gallery, New York
2023 has been a big year for Devin N. Morris—he was featured in Mickalene Thomas’s group show “Portrait of an Unlikely Space” at the Yale University Art Gallery, participated in the Studio Museum’s coveted artist-in-residency program, and opened a corresponding exhibition at MoMA PS1. The Baltimore-born, New York-based artist has transformed Deli Gallery’s booth into an all-encompassing installation that continues his exploration of racial and sexual identities. Using materials such as toys, hair weaves, wire, feathers, and furniture, Morris’s assemblage pieces are inflected with humor and irony, adding depth to his inquiries into the value systems at the heart of American culture.
Antonia Kuo
Chapter NY, New York
Using a unique process that involves “painting” chemicals onto light-sensitive silver gelatin paper, 36-year-old Antonia Kuo harnesses traditional photographic techniques to untraditional ends. Her transfixing works, priced from $4,500 to $20,000, blur the boundaries between painting and sculpture, reflect her interest in photography’s ability to record changes in light and time. This year, the artist has emerged as a star of Chapter NY’s booth, her undulating swirls of color drawing attention from fairgoers. Next year, the New York-born artist will participate in several shows, including an exhibition at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle that puts her work in conversation with that of the late Chinese-American artist Martin Wong.
