I went to the opening of a main exhibition at the The Bass, one of Miami Beach’s premier art institutions. To be honest, contemporary art doesn’t interest me like it used to. But the people watching is enticing.
Miami has become one of the world’s prime art destinations. It started with the arrival of Art Basel in 2002 and continues apace, in part, due to the freedom enjoyed in Florida and to a dynamic mixture of cultures. When I moved to Miami Beach in 2007, serious local artists still had to decamp to New York or LA. No longer.
The Bass opening, coincidentally, was the same day as Hurricane Helene’s landfall in the state’s Big Bend. Even this far south, the winds were felt, along with some rain. I couldn’t escape the sensation of Prince Prospero’s ball, the revelry inside short lived.
Rachel Feinstein is one such Miami artist who decamped to New York. This is the first major exhibition of her work in her home town, up through Aug. 2025. [please hover over images for captions]
