Kimpton Surfcomber Showcases Miami Art During Art Basel 2019

Every year, Art Basel Miami brings the world’s premier artists – and a host of high-octane celebrities – to Miami for a week filled with cutting edge creativity. And in 2019, Kimpton Surfcomber got into the Art Basel spirit. The South Beach hotel joined forces with Miami artist Gustavo Oviedo to showcase the local Miami art scene. The event transformed the Surfcomber lobby and courtyard into an immersive experience for guests and local art lovers.

From Eden to Sahara

Titled From Eden to Sahara, the Kimpton Surfcomber exhibition took its name from a book written by American Botanist John Kunkel Small, who explored and photographed thousands of miles of Florida’s natural habitat. The works chosen for the exhibition authentically reflected and modernized Small’s themes; each piece was thoughtfully created utilizing nature either as its main focal point, material or process.

A Sustainable Message

From Eden to Sahara focused on sustainability messaging and “upcycled” materials, showcasing more than 25 local Miami artists and designers who work at the intersection of fashion, art and eco-friendliness. Highlights included:

• Sarah Michelle Rupert – Sarah’s Miami Is Sinking series of collages presented a powerful vision of global warming and its effects on Miami. “Miami is sinking, and we keep building,” Sarah says. “Collage buildings sourced from luxury condo advertisements and renderings of not yet built buildings.”
• Fashion Evolved – Curated by The UpCycle Project, Fashion Evolved united internationally recognized designers to display one-of-a-kind pieces UpCycled from unconventional materials.
• Christina Pettersson – This Swedish-born/Miami-raised artist transformed Surfcomber’s lobby bookshelves with masterpieces made with recovered materials from Miami’s shoreline.
• Young at Art Museum – Miami’s youth-centric art museum recruited some of its most talented young designers to display fashion pieces made from recycled materials.

A Hot Ticket

From Eden to Sahara’s grand kickoff event on December 4 was one of the hottest tickets during Art Basel 2019. The evening soirée offered guests a chance to mix and mingle with the local Miami creative community while checking out one of the largest collections of Miami art and design on display in 2019. Taking place in the stylish environs of Surfcomber’s lobby and outdoor area, partygoers enjoyed a fashion exhibit, pop-up shops, popular Miami DJs Sean Bang and Benton, art performances by Forealism, live mannequins sporting fashion pieces made from recycled pieces and much more.