Art Basel Miami 2012 Highlights: 12/8

All good things come to an end, and Art Basel Miami was no exception. We spent our last day at SCOPE and Context Art Miami, both which housed an enormous amount of work that would take weeks to actually absorb and understand. Thankfully, we caught most if it, and noticed a ton of trends that we'll detail in a separate post. Enjoy our (sadly) last installment of Art Basel Miami 2012 Highlights: 12/8 to see how we went out with a bang (and a lot of brilliant contemporary art sans rappers).

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SCOPE Art Fair, which took place in the Miami Design District, was incredibly overwhelming through its vast array of bold, contemporary work. From the beginning, you realize that you're entering a land of sweeping sculptures and bright pieces. Maybe it was too pop to enjoy fully, but then again maybe that's what made it such an exceptional art fair. View some of our favorite works from SCOPE in the following slides.

This is the first piece you see walking into SCOPE, and it's as if it immediately prompts you to take out your camera phone and take a distrorted selfie. The mirrored geometric shapes spill out from a matte black shipping container that extends farther back than the viewer can see from the front. This piece was a featured piece made possible by the SCOPE Art Foundation.

I (h)ate you is a flashing neon piece that either says, "I hate you," "I ate you," or it's just unlit. It was a definite favorite of all passing by. This piece was a part of VH1 x SCOPE's Artists on the Rise series at booth A18.

Harry Benson's photos of the Beatles remain iconic, and this 9-part photo piece depicting a pillow fight is no exception. It's from Palm Beach's Holden Lutz Gallery at booth 305-7.

This piece is full of humorous references that play with celebrity culture, fashion symbols, and type. Sorry about this one, Anna Wintour. It's from New Orleans' Octavia Art Gallery at booth 403-4.

Christian Gonzenbach melted a computer, Sony TV, and vacuum in order to show us alternative, abstract shapes of these technological items. He succeeds in making us think twice about the solid form of an functional object. It's from New York's Victori Contemporary at booht G06.

This is one of our favorite Ron English pieces, so it was nice to see it in-person at the fair. It's from Culver City's Corey Helford Gallery at booth H07.

Patrick Martinez's neons stand out for their bold statements and color combinations. His broken-looking pieces are always intriguing, and we're not just saying that because he is our Man of Next Year in Art+Design. It's from Dallas' Circuit 12 Contempoary at booth C03.

A few blocks down from SCOPE is the Art Miami Fair, and it fills up multiple tents. It would be redundant to say it was overwhelming, so we'll just say it was massive and inundated us with more great work from galleries worldwide. A few highlights in the following slides.

This gold-plated stainless stell sculpture lives on a mirrored titanium base and is over 95 inches tall. Only two were made and each cost $120,000. A piece about money that costs a lot of money. Cool right? It's from New York's De Buck Gallery at booth C24.

Leila Pazooki's neon light installation plays with the idea of what and who's next in the art world, when in fact things are more global and less predictable and comparable than they've ever been. It's the third piece in an edition of four and from New York's Leila Heller Gallery at booth A33.

Michael Scoggins' work at Art Miami was a joyful break from the colossal works that preceded it. Despite containing sometimes morbid messages, the notebook aesthetic is too clever to overlook. They're from New York's Freight + Volume Gallery at booth D41.

Todd James' latest paintings from his King of the Wild Frontier exhibition are definitive of his work and also show his evolution. It was nice to see them at the Gering and López Gallery at booth D52.

Photographer Jill Greenberg released her book Horses last October, and while they are amazing online and in print, they are even better to see at such a large scale. Read our interview with her discussing the meaning of the series in the context of her work as a whole. It's $15,000 and from New York's ClampArt Gallery at booth D19.