Art Mamas’ Top Picks | Miami Beach 2020
UNTITLED, ART is pleased to introduce a new series of curated selections from the art fair. Cultural tastemakers, international curators, gallerists, and local collectors will be tapped to share their picks from the Online Viewing Rooms of UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach 2020.
Today’s highlighted selection comes from the cofounders of the Art Mamas Alliance, Katy Donoghue and Helen Toomer. Toomer is also the Executive Director of Artists in Residence in Everglades (AIRIE) and co-founder of the STONELEAF RETREAT. Donoghue is the Editor in Chief of Whitewall Magazine.
Read on to explore their curated choices from UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach 2020.
Helen Toomer’s Top Picks
Devan Shimoyoma, Caution to the Wind, oil, colored pencil, glitter, collage, fabric and jewelry on canvas stretched over panel, 2020.
On View with De Buck Gallery, Booth A9.
I’ve been obsessed with Devan Shimoyama’s work since 2016 and his new Diamond girl group paintings, showing with DeBuck Gallery are SO SO good! He’s a beautiful human — so talented — and I love watching him gaining the recognition he deserves.
Hiba Schahbaz, Moonrise, Watercolor, tea, gouache and gold leaf on paper, 2020.
On View with De Buck Gallery, Booth A9.
Also I’m so proud to see two STONELEAF alumni — Theresa Chromati, showing at Kravets Wehby and Hiba Schahbaz showing at De Buck Gallery at UNTITLED, ART. Hiba Schabaz’s work always stops me in my tracks. It’s so beautiful and alluring, it’s soft and strong — confronting the male gaze and standing its ground — which is how I think of Hiba herself.
Theresa Chromati, In between space… ( Note from a scrotum flower: I’ll be with her when she stands again. There to illuminate the way when her darkness wraps tightly. There to offer balance in breath and movement. There until she realizes I am her and she is me. Perhaps she knows, but enjoys the idea of external company), Acrylic and glitter on canvas, 2020.
On View with Kravets Wehby Gallery, Booth B6.
I love the stories, the glitter and power that is packed into Theresa Chromati’s paintings! She and her work are a force. I always want to see and know more about her work and her titles themselves are a work of art!
Paula Wilson, The Light becomes You, Ink (woodblock print), spray paint, acrylic, oil, on muslin and canvas, 2018.
On View with Denny Dimin Gallery, Booth A3.
I’m a huge fan of Denny Dimin Gallery and Elizabeth Denny is also an Art Mama! I really like the conversation between the works of Paula Wilson and Amanda Valdez at Denny Dimin, as their palettes are both bright, materials are varied and interwoven and I love the organic shapes and references. They’re a joy to look at and sit with.
Amanda Valdez, funhouse for us, Embroidery and oil stick on mounted paper on canvas, 2020.
Katy Donoghue’s Top Picks
While I missed the real thing this year — the sun-filled beach side tent of UNTITLED, ART is always a favorite of mine — the virtual fair did not disappoint.
Elizabeth Schwaiger, Gathering Crowd, oil on linen, 2020.
On View with Jane Lombard Gallery, Booth B1.
I really enjoyed Jane Lombard’s presentation — so many fantastic artists. I love the work of Elizabeth Schwaiger. We interviewed the artist back in April, at the beginning of the pandemic, and her work then like now felt so relevant and poignant politically and environmentally, and is equally haunting and beautiful. Her watercolor interiors feel like a dream, both present and of the past. And there is something about Sarah Dwyer’s work that always catches my eye. Her use of color, line, and composition feels a bit surreal in the best way.
Sarah Dwyer, Ukranian Larry, Oil, oil bar, charcoal and pastel on linen, 2020.
Ayobola Kekere-Ekun, She and I. The Secret Keepers, Mixed Media (Paper, fabric and acrylic on canvas), 2020.
On View with Guns & Rain, Booth A7.
It’s always a thrill to encounter new art and artists at the fair, and I was particularly drawn to the works at South African gallery Guns & Rain. There were monocrhomatic, graphic works made in paper by Nigerian artist Ayobola Kekere-Ekun that were full of texture. And I was totally floored by the mixed media pieces of Tuli Mekondjo, a Namibian artist. The felt wholly other-worldly.
Tuli Mekondjo, Mother of Tsui-Goab/ Wounded Knee, Mixed Media on Canvas (photo transfer, collage, acrylic, millet grain and resin on canvas), 2020.
UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach OVR ran from December 2–6, 2020.
