All of the craziest things that went down at Art Basel Miami

All of the craziest things that went down at Art Basel Miami

Every December celebrities and artists flock to Miami Beach in the US for the beachside instalment of Art Basel.

This is the younger cousin to the original June version in Switzerland, and is a place to see (and buy) pieces from well-known names like Keith Haring and Cindy Sherman, as well as being exposed to some newer artists.

Art Basel Miami is often considered wilder and more experimental than the Basel event, and this year’s artworks didn’t disappoint…

A banana was taped to the wall… and then eaten

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The Mona Lisa of @artbasel ?

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Luckily, another banana was soon fixed to the wall in its place. However, it wasn’t back in action for long and the installation was soon taken down as it was drawing too big a crowd and needed security guards to protect it.

This isn’t the first time Cattelan’s work has been targeted – earlier this year his solid gold toilet was stolen from Blenheim Palace.

A sofa was made out of Balenciaga off-cuts

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Thank you for this INSANE opportunity to all Balenciaga @balenciaga team — Demna, Martina, Rain you make it come true ♻️♻️♻️ / Today we opened the show at @designmiami / THE BALENCIAGA SOFA — BY HARRY NURIEV IN COLLABORATION WITH BALENCIAGA / @balenciaga @harrynuriev For Design Miami 2019 (December 3-8), Balenciaga has collaborated with artist, architect, and furniture designer Harry Nuriev to advocate for environmental accountability by creating a functional artwork using discarded Balenciaga clothing. The collaboration between Balenciaga and Nuriev reimagines a sofa — the center of so many homes — as an example of environmentally conscious design, giving generations of garments and other materials another life. The oblong sofa — inspired by typical overstuffed recliners — is upholstered with damaged or otherwise unsellable garments and off-cuts from obsolete stocks of Balenciaga clothing, encased by scrapped transparent vinyl. Patterns, cuts, and tags within the stuffing are recognizably Balenciaga, a mix of past seasons and ideas. Intended to encourage sustainable practices within design and elsewhere, the piece reflects Balenciaga’s recognition of the responsibility designers have to counterbalance their environmental impact, and dedication to implementing programs that upcycle waste and contribute to a circular economy.

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Nuriev stuffed a large couch with off-cuts of Balenciaga clothes that weren’t going to be sold, making for an incredibly chic sitting situation. Giving it extra fashion credentials, model Bella Hadid even visited the installation and posed on it.

Dior brought back a retro designer

Dior at Art Basel
(Brynn Anderson/AP)

While Stüssy is still actually going strong – even if it’s not quite at the height of its powers – Shawn Stussy himself hasn’t been in the game for a while, and came out of retirement to collaborate with Jones.

Madonna’s daughter was in a simulated ‘orgy’

Desigual said the performance was: “A representation in which the catalan artist affects the most basic and universal act of love: the kiss.”

A traffic jam was made out of sand

Art Basel Miami cars made out of sand
(Lynne Sladky/AP)

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