NinaJohnson

With 283 galleries from 43 countries, the review celebrates the creativity of the Americas, hoards new galleries from all over the world, sets the stage for the winners of the Art Basel Awards gold medal and once again transforms Miami into the world capital of contemporary art

By Monica Trigona

From December 5 to 7, with VIP previews on 3 and 4, Art Basel Miami Beach returns to dominate the international scene by closing the year of the great fairs with the strength and charm that have distinguished it for over twenty years. With 283 galleries from 43 countries and territories, the 2025 edition promises to be one of the richest and most cosmopolitan ever, reaffirming the fair as the “queen of winter” of the global art calendar. More than two-thirds of the exhibitors come from the Americas, testifying to Miami’s role as a crossroads between North and South, between the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Alongside market giants such as Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Zwirner and Pace, 49 new galleries enter the scene. «The strength and caliber of this year’s exhibitors reiterate the centrality of Art Basel Miami Beach in the global artistic ecosystem. This edition reflects the vitality of artistic production throughout the American continent, which continues to shape contemporary artistic practice, patronage and debate worldwide, as well as the role of the fair as a fundamental gateway to introduce artists and international prospects at the forefront of the American market. She is bold, rigorous and in tune with the moment,” said director Bridget Finn, who signs her second edition at the helm of the fair.

This year’s edition highlights the richness and variety of the American art scene thanks to a new generation of emerging galleries from the downtown New York scene and the West Coast, such as Rebecca Camacho Presents, Catharine Clark Gallery, Diane Rosenstein Gallery and The Pit. The fair also expands its horizon beyond traditional art centers. From Dallas, the Erin Cluley Gallery participates for the first time, while the Locks Gallery in Philadelphia returns after almost twenty years of absence. Chicago maintains a significant presence with galleries such as Document, GRAY, moniquemeloche and Patron. In Florida, Art Basel consolidates the link with the local cultural community, welcoming historical galleries such as CentralFine, Piero Atchugarry, David Castillo, Gavlak, Fredric Snitzer and Acquavella Galleries, along with new realities such as Nina Johnson and the Voloshyn Gallery, the latter also based in Ukraine. Internationally, Art Basel Miami Beach confirms its global vocation with the participation of almost a hundred galleries from Europe, Asia and Africa. Prominent exhibitors from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Japan are back. Among the most prestigious names are Cardi Gallery, Galerie Karsten Greve and Vedovi Gallery, flanked by important US dealers such as Edward Tyler Nahem, Helly Nahmade Tibor de Nagy, which celebrates its 75th anniversary. There is no shortage of the most experimental and contemporary galleries, such as Edel Assanti, Gallery Baton, galerie frank elbaz, Nanzuka and Galerie Thomas Schulte, while realities with offices on several continents, including Galleria Continua, mar charpentier and Galerie Nordenhake, testify to the increasingly close interweaving between the Americas and the rest of the world.

The four main sectors, Galleries, Nova, Positions and Survey, will offer a wide and multifaceted overview ranging from the masters of modernism to the most contemporary practices. The main sector of the fair, Galleries, brings together as usual the main players in the market while Nova, as the name suggests, galleries that present works made in the last three years by up to three artists. The “young” sector is Positions, with spaces that exhibit personals of emerging authors while Survey is dedicated to galleries that highlight artistic practices of historical relevance. Within the latter, with 18 participating galleries of which 12 are debuting, such as Parallel Oaxaca (Oaxaca), Diane Rosenstein Gallery (San Francisco) and Pavec (Paris), some names dear to the public in Miami return: Paci contemporary (Brescia, Porto Cervo) presents the conceptual and ironic photographs of the American Leslie Krims; Piero Atchugarry Gallery (Miami, Garzón) proposes the pictorial and intimate landscapes of the Uruguayan Eva Olivetti; Sapar Contemporary (New York) brings a trio of American textile artists, Jacobs Ferne, Nancy Hemenway Barton and Yvonne Pacanovsky Bobrowicz, who intertwine sculpture and weaving in a contemporary key; Sebastian Gladstone (Los Angeles) rediscovers the lyrical abstractionism of Nan Montgomery; while Wooson Gallery (Seoul, Daegu) presents a selection of historical works by Korean Myungmi Lee. Among the novelties of Galleries, which collects 226 spaces, nineteen galleries participate for the first time in the main sector of the fair. Among these, Cristin Tierney Gallery in New York will offer works and performances that explore American identity ahead of the 250th anniversary of the United States, while Alisan Fine Arts, with headquarters in Hong Kong and New York, will present three Chinese-American artists whose pioneering contribution has so far been underestimated. Cay6n, with offices in Madrid, Manila and Menorca, will offer a reflection on the color black, from Joan Miró to Yves Klein, in dialogue with Venezuelan kinetic masters. El Apartamento, based in Havana and Madrid, will feature works that reflect on post-revolution Afro-Cuban identity, while Nina Johnson of Miami will offer paintings inspired by Navajo cosmology and cultural practices. Johyun Gallery, from Korea, will explore the relationship between matter, time and process through the works of Park Seo-Bo, Lee Bae, Kishio Suga and Bosco Sodi, and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Sydney will exhibit Australian artists and a cinematographic work by Isaac Julien. Finally, Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi will bring works by pioneering feminist artist Nalini Malani and a selection of works by Indian-Canadian photographer Sunil Gupta. The fair also confirms its support for emerging galleries, with ten exhibitors moving to the main sector including Matthew Brown, Galatea, Richard Saltoun and SMAC Gallery.

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