By: ERIN MICHELLE NEWBERG
Anticipate an interactive installation where sound and light are integrated,” Nick Korniloff shares enthusiastically. That is how Art Miami’s executive vice president and director describes a collective of never-before-seen works by the late Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez, one of the highlights of this year’s fair. “Some of his earlier works that have been held close by his family are now about to be exposed. So, this was simply the proper opportunity for a partnership, and the Cruz-Diez Foundation decided that they wanted to do this with us. We could not be more honored nor elated!” Quite the coup, considering the two-year pandemic related art hiatus that could have wrecked this preeminent and seasoned event. However, the interval proved to be industrious for Art Miami. Having met Cruz-Diez many times, Korniloff saw the opportunity to connect the late artist with a captive audience. “After the dialogue I had with the family, I came to understand what it meant for them and for us, too,” he adds. “It was a mutual perfection.” Although the immersive experience is not available for purchase, a range of Cruz-Diez pieces will be up for sale through Miami- and Paris-based Galeries Bartoux. Keep an eye out for a large-scale, never-seen, four-panel Fernando Botero painting. It is said to be one of the most important oeuvres he ever executed. Brought in from a private collector’s estate through Art of the World Gallery, the piece is exemplary proof that Art Miami’s assembly of renowned galleries, proven primary artists, and blue-chip works is the real deal.