Art Basel Miami Beach has been the anchor of Miami Art Week since it launched in 2002, when 160 galleries from 23 countries arrived and roughly 30,000 people came through. This December, the fair returned to the Miami Beach Convention Center for its 2025 edition with 283 galleries from 43 countries and territories, a scale that makes the aisles feel less like a single exhibition and more like a fast moving map of the market. The official tally put attendance at more than 80,000 across the VIP and public days.
Midweek, Lévy Gorvy Dayan reported placing Andy Warhol’s Muhammad Ali from 1977, listed at $18 million, which Artsy described as “the most expensive reported transaction of the fair.” And while it is hard to not feel the crushing power of the market weighing down on your shoulders as you walk the show, littered with celebrities and the ultra-wealthy with their dogs, there were still plenty of beautiful contemporary works to be found and enjoyed.
Here are six of my favorites:
Park Dae-Sung, Willow Pavillion, ink on paper, 2024. Photo courtesy of Leeahn Gallery
Chicago’s Cheryl Pope, The wind will carry us, needle punched wool roving on cashmere, 2025. Photo courtesy of Monique Meloche
Jose Dávila, Fundamental Concern, concrete and volcanic rocks, 2025. Photo courtesy of Sean Kelly gallery
Lee Bae installation view at Perrotin’s Booth. Photo courtesy of Perrotin
Kirk Mangus installation view at The Pit LA’s booth. Photo courtesy of The Pit
Kelly Wang, No City 5, ink, mulberry paper, mineral pigment, iron and bronze powder, stainless steel fiber, acrylic and varnish on claybord, 2025. Photo courtesy of Alisan Fine Arts
