Ultimately, Paper Holds Up in the Miami Heat

This year, Art Basel Miami Beach and its satellite art fairs brought sunshine and glamour to the visiting masses, all the while offering substantial grist to the quietly growing art mill of America’s renowned gateway city. Kardashian look- alike contests and references to the “Super Bowl of Art” aside, to those of us in sensible shoes with canvas tote bags, the panoply of shows, private collection openings and riot of public art offered several days of foraging for art treasure.

Heat and humidity can be unkind to paper, so I was curious as to what dealers had brought along knowing that climate-controlled venues would be taxed at best. And, indeed, the lights went down and the temperatures up at one of the largest of fairs, but the paper held its own. As a result, the need for closer scrutiny revealed some gems.
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Joan Linder’s botanical drawings were spectacular. Known for a variety of ambitious drawing projects, including anatomical lab studies and plein air gallery installations, Linder’s quill and ink are a powerful medium for her detailed observations.

​Seonna Hong’s paintings on paint chips caught my eye. Her background in animation lends a storytelling aspect to these brightly colored rectangles. Part of her Tectonic Plate series, this work indeed seems to shift and come to life the closer one looks.

​Jeanine Cohen made the trip to Miami from Brussels for the Scope Miami fair. I had the pleasure of meeting the artist to discuss the minimalist works on paper exhibited alongside her larger, painted wood constructions. Carefully incised lines pierce the surface of these works with precision. Unfolding just so much, to me, they recall the jalousies of old Florida. As inspiration, Cohen has photographed the dramatic angles of buildings in Tel Aviv as well as the familiar windows that frame views to her backyard garden. She is a world traveler and this work easily invites imagination and wanderlust.