December 11th 2009 - Source: Art Basel
With a program of special exhibitions, panel discussions, private collection tours, and events featuring film, performance, and video, the show attracted 42,000 visitors. Visitors included art collectors, museum directors, curators and cultural journalists from all over the United States and the rest of the world. A great number of artists also attended the event, among them Chuck Close, Ingar Dragset, Claire Fontaine, Matthew Day Jackson, Kris Martin, Marilyn Minter, James Rosenquist, Fred Tomaselli, Ai Weiwei, Pae White, and Kehinde Wiley. Over 100 museum and institution groups also visited the show, as did private collectors from the Americas, Europe and many emerging markets of the artworld.

Art Basel Miami Beach proved again that high-quality works remain in strong demand, as collectors rewarded excellent material and booth presentations with steady sales throughout the week. The new layout of Art Basel Miami Beach included larger spaces for many galleries. Many exhibitors also reported excellent sales and valuable new contacts, especially in Latin America

The new Oceanfront environment, created by Los Angeles artist Pae White was a highlight of this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach and proved popular with the public. White’s immersive and interactive cityscape provided a new experience with each visit, transforming at night into a shadowy group of buildings. White’s largest project to date, it also hosted a daily program including the Art Basel Conversations, Art Perform, Art Video and Art Film which were well-visited in the mornings and evenings. Art Video, curated by Creative Time, involved screenings of videos by Tom Sachs and The Neistat Brothers, Marc Horowitz, Jill Magid, Kon Trubkovich, followed by discussions with the artists. Art Perform featured an intensified program of longer performances by rising international artists. This program was again curated by Jens Hoffmann, director of the CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco. It featured performances by Kelly Nipper, Kris Martin, Simon Fujiwara, Claire Fontaine, and Mario Garcia Torres / Loris Gréaud