DWNTWN's only Pop-Up Art Fair for Basel on the Big Screen!

A-B(o)MB Drops on Black Friday!

Artoconecto Announces DWNTWN Basel/Miami Satellite Art Fair

Artoconecto presents a VIP Sneak Preview of 'A-B(o)MB II (Art Basel (off) Miami Beach): The Fallout, a juried show of emerging national and international artists, on Friday, November 27, 2009, from 6-10PM, featuring a live performance by selected artist Gregorio Boscan, who will premiere ACQUA a site specific installation designed for the exhibition. There will be also be complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres kindly provided by some of the hottest new spots in Downtown Miami. This will be an RSVP-only sneak preview event, in anticipation of the official Opening Reception, on November 28^th, from 7-11PM, which will also feature the opening of the Oolite Visual Arts Showcase, Miami artists under 30. A-B(o)MB II will take place at the legendary Macy’s corner, 2 West Flagler Street NW, Miami, Florida, with the generous support of Macy’s and the Downtown Development Authority, and will present an exciting calendar of arts and cultural events that will run through the month of December in the heart of Downtown Miami.

'The Fallout' is Artoconecto's first satellite show in conjunction with Basel/Miami, and will be held at Macy's/Burdine's historic Flagler Street during Basel week. The jury includes artists Gregory de la Haba (NYC), Clifton Childree (Miami), and Christina Pettersson (Sweden/Miami), giving artists a true voice in the selection process.

This will be our second show in Miami, after over a dozen shows in Washington, DC, where Artoconecto was a National Endowment for the Arts Grantee. Artoconecto was awarded a grant from the DWNTWN (Downtown Development Authority) for A-B(o)MB II: The Fallout, after receiving grants this year from Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs, for KIDSART, an arts program for children, and from the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce for the Borscht Film Festival. According to Executive Director Alexandra Rangel, “Miami’s Downtown has evolved from a bustling business core to an international entertainment destination. Casual and upscale dining, lounges, nightclubs and music venues have created an excitement around Flagler Street, Downtown’s traditional ‘Main Street’. Arts venues are the latest addition, adding a cultural layer to an already thriving mosaic. ‘A-B(o)MB II: The Fallout’ will present the best that Downtown has to offer through a month-long celebration of the arts.”

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Alexandra Rangel at Artoconecto@gmail.com or call at 786-246-2052.

Lazy Saturday in Miami

I start every Saturday volunteering for a kids art program, and every week it just seems to get better and better. I follow these great mornings with a small lunch, where I enjoy my solitude and the quietude of dining alone. In this case, on sweltering N. Miami Ave at PizzaVolante. I wanted to try something other than the pizza, so I got some 'local' mozzarella they have from 'Boca Raton'. Is Vito still driving that stuff in? They serve it with tomatoes and spinach, and a little overdressed, to my taste, with oil and vinegar. Maybe a dash of balsamic, tops, a squirt of that good olive oil-some crunchy sea salt maybe? Too much vinegar cuts the subtle taste and creaminess of the cheese, and makes it bitter. Then it defeats its own purpose, Vickie. But the ball itself is great, $7-and you can add accompaniments at $2/ea.



Great---thin fried zucchini strips-light and fresh-but again with the balsamic-what's the point of a crunchy dish if you're going to limp it up with more vinegar and oil? Looks adorable, I know, but maybe better on the side? Caponata---a little bland. Try it for yourself. Olives---two dollars for half a handful of olives? They should give you five instead of ten and make them gratis. Or give you a decent portion. The 'trofie macaronie'? Still not sure what that was supposed to be-but it tasted okay. The tomatoes were amazing-they had heirlooms as well as cherries, and I think I would have liked more. In fact, I'm not sure something more interesting than spinach might have made a big difference. Arugula? Just throwing it out there. Four dollar glasses of that delicious and cold Rosé de Provence; it retails for $10/bottle. And is sold here for $15. That is why I'm here. Because I support a good, inexpensive list, and they got the goods here. And the food's damn good, too. Although next time, just bring me some bread for my mozz and that good extra virgin. Or do I have to order a pizza to get some bread? (Did I mention I hate breadsticks? They combine the worst qualities of bread, and of sticks. Stale, tasteless, and pointless. Just saying.)



Later that night, after the premier of Death Print at the Colony on Lincoln Road (hilarious), I went over to the Eden Roc for the wrap party of 'Work of Genius'-an arts reality show coming to Fox that I've written about here. Had a few bottles of Grolsch, the art beer (isn't that their slogan now?),



and hung with the inimitable Steve Bauer.



Home by 12:30. No craziness, no eight-balls, no after-parties. Still, a productive, seductive, Miami summer day.