Art Basel Miami Beach: Diplo, Jeremy Scott Kick Off the Week
“Diplo is in the kitchen.”
The update (good news, it was assumed) traveled fast Tuesday evening at the home of Stephen and Petra Levin, who opened their waterfront Miami Beach home (which was so filled with large-scale art that model Isabeli Fontana mistook it for an exhibition space) for a dinner in honor of the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami’s opening and its inaugural exhibition, “The Everywhere Studio.”
Diplo chatted with Jeremy Scott whilst leaning against the kitchen counter, hiding out from the crowd of guests who gathered in the Levins’ backyard.
“I can’t touch?” asked Fontana upon receiving a gentle scolding for copping a feel of an inflatable Hulk statue. The model, though a bit of a novice in the art scene, professed she was in town for equal parts parties and art viewing.
“I was here and I was just invited and I just came to check it out, and it’s just lovely to see the art,” she said. “It’s so beautiful, I’m a big fan of art. I love art, I love everything.”
Daniel Arsham said he “always” makes sure to hit a mix of parties and actual fair events. “I went to Design Miami today and I just came from the Wallpaper event, then this and then tomorrow is of course the fair,” the installation artist said. “For the last couple of years, it’s sort of been this vibe. You have to kind of pick what you’re going to go to.”
Scott, who will play host on Friday at Moschino’s Art Basel party, was reveling in the chance to be off-duty.
“I like seeing my friends that I don’t get to see as much, so it’s a little bit more of a social thing in that way, to celebrate some of my friends who are artists who are having their moments,” he said. “It’s like their fashion week. I can just feel more happy and fun and frivolous and they can be a little stressed and that’s a fun turn of tables.”
“I’m very, very busy — so I’m actually happy to be outside of the store right now and see some art,” said The Webster’s Laure Hériard Dubreuil. “I think the energy is amazing and we’ve seen some people that we haven’t seen in a few years.”
“I landed yesterday afternoon and I went straight to the house of Rosa de la Cruz, who has a beautiful collection at her own house,” said W magazine editor in chief Stefano Tonchi, who was cohosting the party with the Levin’s. “Somehow every year [Art Basel Miami] gets a little bigger.”
The sculptor Abigail DeVille was settling into her first Art Basel Miami well; in fact, it was starting off a bit softer than she anticipated.
“I’ve heard over and over again that it’s completely insane, so I’m kind of up for anything,” she said. And was it living up to the warning so far? “No” she laughed. “But this is just day two.”
More from the Eye:
Art Basel Miami Beach: From the Wynwood to the Walls
Art Basel Miami Beach: Urs Fischer Breaks His Rule for Design District Celebration
Art Basel Miami Beach: Loewe Reveals ‘Chance Encounters III’
Launch Gallery: Art Basel Miami Beach 2017: W Magazine x ICA Miami Dinner
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