Well the past few weeks have been a whirlwind!  Art Basel/Design Miami kicked off with a blast on Monday June 2nd with a great opening at the design fair as well as the Netjets party at the Beyeler (www.beyeler.com)  

The Arabs and Iranians were out in force all week, undeterred by the problematic availability of rooms in Basel due to the impeding and dreaded Eurocup.  

Particularly interesting was Dubai's exhibition “Dubai Next” curated by Rem Koolhass and Jack Persikian at the Vitra Museum—the weather was pretty miserable that day unfortunately, so no one was able to enjoy the wonderful outdoors, but the presentation was a true success.  Dr Omar bin Sulaiman, along with Sheikh Majed and crown prince Sheikh Hamdan, all made the trip to Basel, underscoring the growing importance of contemporary art in the Middle East.

The fair had its usual international array of art, from secondary market masterpieces to modern and contemporary works.  A gem at the fair was Matthew Marks' gallery and their stand devoted to Ellsworth Kelly.  Close by was Anthony Reynolds Gallery, with an unbelievable piece by Lebanese artist and theorist Walid Raad …

All in all, Basel seemed a success though I didn’t have that much time to reflect as I had to turn my attention fast to the opening in New York of our Susan Hefuna show, the acclaimed Egyptian German artist, but more on that in my next blog!