Art Basel Miami Beach, the hard-partying little sister of the original Art Basel in Switzerland, kicked off yesterday. To guide us through the dizzying maze of expositions, exhibits, and of course, parties, ELLE.com tapped Maria Brito, a Harvard-educated lawyer turned art advisor to stars like Gwyneth Paltrow.
Here, our woman on the beach shares her ABMB diary, revealing how Sean “Diddy” Combs shops for art and why Cindy Sherman can't get enough Marni. (Us too, Cindy. Us too.)
Designating an Art Basel Miami Beach event as "VIP only" seems a bit redundant. It's hard to walk more than two steps at any ABMB event without spilling your mojito on someone important. Still, the organizers do it, carving out time for a "VIP preview" so the really super-famous celebs can see the art without anyone bothering them. This year, I went with Sean "Diddy" Combs, whom I've been working with for three years. (He's about as VIP as it gets, right?)
Sean and I walked the fair and saw many extraordinary art pieces, including Marilyn Minter's brand new paintings, Mickalene Thomas's mixed media pieces, and the super-cool hinge wood panels of up-and-coming New York-based artist Natalie Frank. And there was Ai Weiwei's bicycle installation, which Sean posed with below.
Working with Sean is fun and intense; he's fast-paced and makes decisions on the fly. That's how it was with one of Sean's first purchases with me three years ago, a Tracey Emin neon light sculpture that says, "When I Listen to the Ocean All I Hear Is You." It was on the cover of Art Basel magazine this year, so he was thrilled and super-grateful that I had recommended it to him. It's hard for him to truly, truly fall in love with something, but when he does, it's major.
After spending the day at the fair with Diddy (and some other friends, like Pharrell), it was time to start getting ready for the cocktail party Marni was hosting in honor of my new book, Out There. (Fairy tale sentence, right?) I was so honored when I found out that Marni would host the party. I really love designer Consuelo Castiglioni's boho-chic brand, and it also seemed doubly fitting since so many contemporary artists love to wear it.
In fact, two of my favorite artists, Cindy Sherman and Marilyn Minter, both wear Marni quite a lot. Minter says she loves Marni "because it's playful and they always push the envelope,” while Sherman says that "it just represents the closest thing I can think of that feels like my style. Edgy, mixed patterns, textures, and color, boyish mixed with girlish touches (or vice versa) and not too dressy. It's not about dressing for men, but for me."
Spoken like a woman who really cares about self-expression. (Or, say, an artist.)
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