At another fair taking place for the first time this year, USF’s Graphicstudio struts its stuff. Ink Miami focuses on printed works on paper, so if you’re crazy for collagraphs or loony for lithography, there’s plenty to choose from.
The fifteen exhibiting presses—all members of the International Fine Print Dealers Association—hatched the idea of a specialty sideshow, feeling that their medium was underrepresented at the main fair. (Apparently they weren’t the only ones: Photo Miami emerged this year, too.) They rented out a cluster of suites at the Dorchester Hotel on Collins Avenue and, like the exhibitors at Bridge but in roomier quarters, transformed them into temporary galleries.
For Graphicstudio, the experience has been a boon, says Kristin Soderqvist, director of sales and marketing. In particular, being at Basel has presented the opportunity for face time with print collectors the institution lacked a connection with before. Business has been good.
“We’ll definitely be coming back next year,†she says.
In addition to exhibiting at Ink, Graphicstudio brought along some of its top-level members for a unique Basel experience. Twenty-three couples received VIP passes to the main fair with the option to take tours of Basel and satellite events with Graphicstudio director Margaret Miller. They also visited the home of Miami super-collector Rosa de la Cruz.
The Institution for Research in Art—an umbrella name for Graphicstudio and the USF Contemporary Art Museum—hopes to strengthen ties with Miami collectors who could conceivably contribute to the CAM’s permanent collection in the future, says Randy West, business coordinator at Graphicstudio. The Institute just received permission from USF to begin a $12.5 million capital campaign—to be matched with state funds—to construct a new building to house Graphicstudio and a permanent collection gallery for the CAM.
Pictured: (1) Graphicstudio’s Kristin DuFrain, Kristin Soderqvist, and Randy West in their suite at Miami Ink. On the wall: by Los Carpinteros, geometric abstraction in the footbed of a giant flip-flop. (2) A visitor peruses prints in a rack next to images by Vik Muniz.
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2006.