Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art /// Nada vs. Untitled: A Battle on the Beach

Christoph Draeger, Bungalows on the Beach, 2011 at Untitled.

By PAUL LASTER, Dec. 2016 read article

Back in Miami Beach for its 14th year, the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) is facing a formidable challenge for the role as “the best showcase for emerging contemporary art,” a title that the non-profit organization has held for many years, from Untitled, the curated fair of contemporary art that was founded in 2012.

Returning to the Deauville Beach Resort after a stint at the legendary Fountainbleau last year, NADA is presenting 111 exhibitors representing 36 cities from 17 different countries. While NADA stalwarts like James Fuentes Gallery and Foxy Production are exhibiting new paintings and photographs by John McAllister and Sara Cwynar, respectively, The Landing and Mitchell Algus Gallery are showing the sort of historical works you would normally expect to find at Art Basel or Art Miami.

Untitled, meanwhile, which has pitched its stylish tent (designed by the Miami-based architects K/R) on a stretch of sand in South Beach, features 129 international galleries from 20 countries and 48 cities. Presenting mostly contemporary art in what it calls a “curated” context, Untitled Miami Beach puts a lot of emphasis on Latin art, with exhibitors like Curro and Machete, both from Mexico, offering dynamic displays of photographs by Mauricio Alejo and paintings by Hulda Guzmán—two young artists who are on our One-to-Watch list.