MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – With Fernando Botero on Lincoln Road, sand sculpture traffic jams on South Beach and Pablo Picasso’s work on full display, the Magic City is exploding with art right now.
Thousands are flocking to South Florida as Miami Art Week begins to get into full swing.
Art Basel Miami Beach, now in its 17th year, will open Wednesday.
The largest modern and contemporary art fair in the world will bring the best of the best gallerists, collectors and artists from all over, transforming Miami into the center of the art world.
It’s more than Basel -- 17 satellite fairs will lure art lovers all over the city, as Art Miami is now it’s 30th year.
“The economic impact is tremendous,” Art Miami director Nick Korniloff said. “The global cache -- there’s no other week like this. It’s an anomaly.”
Local galleries are winning.
“This is not only a show, it’s a performance,” Gary Nader said.
Gary Nader’s Art Center Miami has three shows running in its Wynwood space, including Jose-Maria Cano’s “Luna.”
“It’s extremely important,” Nader said. “Because it’s one of the few moments when we have top collectors from all over the world.”
There are lots of parties going on, too. The Shore Club was illuminated Monday night with Rubem Robierb’s powerful ice sculpture installation “Climate Meltdown.”
“How dare you do that with our planet,” Robierb said. “That ice sculpture represents the ice from the poles that right now, as we speak, is melting.”
Art lovers in the area are proud to see the event grow.
“As it continues to grow and as our city continues to grow, it’s more and more exciting,” art lover Jilian Sanz said.