Under the direction of Helen Toomer, PULSE New York brought more single-artist and focused booths to the floor than ever. To be fair, after hopping from Frieze Art Fair to New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) to Cutlog, the busyness of PULSE was assuaged if only by the cohesiveness of the contemporary art collections.
Among the gems was Shantell Martin’s “You Are You” in the Projects program. In a stream of consciousness, Martin unveiled a language of curious characters, creatures and secret messages. The bottles on a table stand, the 10 x 10-foot wall, and even the shirt on the artist’s back told the story of self and identity through steady, monochromatic line drawings.
About texture, conceptual artist Sean Fader asked visitors to touch his pelt. His wishing pelt, to be exact. Adventurers climbed a podium to whisper their hopes into a shirtless Fader’s ear, all while rubbing his hairy (fluffy?) chest. Additional points of interest included a roundtable discussion series with Claire Breukel, Miami darling-turned-Chief Curator at MARTE Contemporary; and Zadok Gallery’s collection of Pavel Acosta’s drywall paintings.
With plans to relocate PULSE Miami from the mainland to Indian Beach Park in Miami Beach, December 4 – 7, Tomer explained, “Since I became director, I have been listening to a lot of our exhibitors who felt the need for change at PULSE […] The energy and redevelopment of Mid-Miami Beach, which celebrates the mix of local culture, art and architecture – especially the future Feana district – embodies the revitalized direction of the fair.”
On the upcoming 10th anniversary of PULSE Miami, the fair is stirring the pot in hopes of creating a platform for that elusive element of ‘surprise discovery.’ But for now, we wait: “We are looking forward to engaging with the local Miami community, from the artists to the galleries and neighboring businesses. More will be revealed in the coming months.”
