NADA Is the Opposite of Nothing

Deauville Beach Resort Hosts the 2011 New Art Dealers Alliance Fair

By Irene Sperber

For the third time in as many years, the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) will hold its acclaimed art fair in Miami Beach’s historic Deauville Beach Resort Hotel.

Once one of the exclusive, “big room” hotels of the early 1960s glamour era, it was the site of the live broadcast of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 during their American invasion. Deauville architect Melvin Grossman became one of the most famed MiMo visionaries for his role in the stretch of snazzy mid-century Collins Avenue hotels inhabited by the Rat Pack, America’s  “bad boys” of their era. This 1957 hotel has now come full circle to embody a new era at the forefront of the world’s most prestigious art fairs.

Deauville Beach Resort in Miami Beach.

Still stylishly beachy, this icon of American lore has added a dose of panache to NADA’s already lofty position in the art world by offering itself as the site of the organization’s Art Basel Miami Beach run. The sweeping ocean views add punctuation to NADA’s significant role as a non-profit alternative art fair of young and influential contemporary art galleries from around the world. Just nine years ago NADA had simple beginnings in a vacant space off Lincoln Road before graduating to the famed Ice Palace for five years. It settled in its current location in 2009.

The Deauville dipped its own toe into the creative pool this past August with the inception of an on-site alternative pop-up gallery, Arte Pura, which featured an absorbing group of seven Cuban artists living in Miami-Tomás Esson, Carlos Galindo, Sergio García, Sergio Giral, Jr., Joaquín González, Jose Orbeín and Sergio Payares-and their small format pieces.

NADA 2011 will make use of the Deauville’s Napoleon and Richelieu ballrooms, as it has in the past, but this year also expand into the Le Jardin room as a result of its highly successful 2010 fair. Accordingly, organizers expect more visitors and new artists and galleries than even a year ago.

The most intriguing of new inclusions is an inevitable technological communication tool called Paddle8, a website that will exhibit and sell NADA art online. It is billed as “a new destination for examining, understanding and acquiring unique artworks….directed toward a generation of collectors, artist and gallerists who see the web as a viable space for learning.” Debuting on November 25, Paddle8  will be operational a week before the fair opens and remain open until December 11. During that time, visitors will be able to meander through participating  NADA booths and view online-only pieces. You can also register for updates online at http://livepage.apple.com/”http://www.paddle8.com/artfairs

Event organizers hope that the fair’s continued cutting-edge growth will encourage emerging artists, galleries and curators in town for Art Basel Miami Beach to visit NADA and cultivate a climate that will ensure the success of the next generation of creative stars.

NADA Art Fair will take place from December 1 - 4, 2011. Deauville Beach Resort, 6701 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida 33141. For more information visit www.deauvillebeachresort.com / www.nadaartfair.org

Art Fair Hours: Thursday, Dec 1: 2pm to 8pm /
Friday, Dec 2: 11am to 8pm
/ Saturday, Dec 3: 11am to 8pm /
Sunday, Dec 4: 11am to 5pm. Admission is free and open to the public.