A couple of weeks ago, I went on tour with Kasey, and I was not disappointed. She knows so much about the area and its evolution that there did not seem to be enough time to share everything she wanted to. I found the tour inspiring and inspired!
A couple of highlights from the tour:
At Gregg Shienbaum Fine Art Kasey pointed out that the collection brings pop art, graffiti, and street art full circle, as Andy Warhol, Shepard Fairey, Banksy, and Miami graffiti artist Ahol Sniffs Glue are exhibited in frames, side by side. The street art inside the gallery, selling for thousands or tens of thousands is one side of the circle. Street artists like Shepard being inspired and influenced by Warhol is another side of the circle. And there are probably other sets of influences and ironies to think of.
As I have been bitten by the Banksy bug lately, I was pretty stoked to see his work at both Robert Fontaine Gallery and Gregg Shienbaum. At Fontaine’s, the print depicts an auction where the art being sold is a canvas with the words “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit.” (You can see a copy of this here.) Well, yes. Reverence is not what Banksy is known for. At Gregg Shienbaum, I asked Gregg how he obtained his Banksy print, and he said he bought his from a private collector. Banksy is not represented by a gallery (it says so on his website), but he does release prints from time to time. Gregg told me that for the first time in four years, Banksy has recently released a set of prints, which started selling at $50,000 apiece. Remarkable, considering the guy’s PR consists of inaccessibility.
The tour then focused on graffiti along the streets and ended at Wynwood Walls. Tour-goers who came up to Kasey at tour’s end received recommendations on everything from what gallery to visit next to where to find the best ice-cream in Wynwood and where to eat dinner.
I had fun, and my appreciation and understanding for art have deepened, too.
You can book this tour here.
by Anna Vamos
