Creatives, art aficionados, celebrities, and more flock to Art Basel in Miami Beach every December for a weekend of fashion, food, entertainment and, of course, art. With hundreds of installations, galleries, and artists to see come plenty of chic celebrations. Some are open to the public and some are extremely exclusive, but every installation and celebration is full of inspiration you can apply to your own events. From Art Basel parties and installations to events inspired by the works of the greats, scroll to see nine ways that life — and events — imitate art.
Basel-Like Bashes
A Forest From the Future
THE TEMPLE HOUSE played host to one of our favorite installations from last year’s Art Basel. Artist Studio Swine created an immersive, multisensory installation which drew inspiration from the culture of Miami Beach. Whimsical, modern trees of white pipes and glowing bulbs were placed around THE TEMPLE HOUSE’s large event space. The trees generated bubbles that evaporated into a scented mist upon contact with skin. Guests used gloves sponsored by clothing brand COS to interact with the installation — a trendy fashion collaboration that’s perfectly at home at Art Basel.
When in the Wynwood Walls
MC&A planned a corporate event turned colorful wonderland in the Wynwood Walls of Miami with a spotlight on both fresh florals and food. Joy Wallace Catering stepped up their creative cuisine, serving homemade cocoa waffle ice cream cones, vegetarian tacos, and even a “spud mash” bar. We appreciate all of the art-inspired touches, including spin-art on plates and creative food displays, like this ladder installation.
Inspired by Miami
Vibiana’s Vibrant Makeover
This neon art gala at Los Angeles’ Vibiana was fully inspired by the flair and vibrancy of Miami. Planners at Bob Gail Events used lush green hedges by Lilla Bello, a splatter painted stage, and bright rentals from Blueprint Studios to recreate Miami’s Wynwood Walls.
San Fran’s Got the Funk
San Francisco is a city full of funk and this character is captured at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. This bright, bold event calls to mind the colorful walls of Wynwood in Miami, with its street-art-meets-masterpiece style. We personally love this installation where it looks like the backdrop is melting into the floor. Planned, designed, and rentals supplied by Blueprint Studios, it is no surprise this event caught our eye.
Modern Masters
Flashy Like Flavin
The 2019 Whitney Art Party at the Whitney Museum of American Art was a gorgeously iridescent affair. TINSEL Experiential planned and designed the gala in an artistic way, blending works of famous artists with trendy touches. The bubble gum pink photobooth by The Bosco calls to mind the work of Dan Flavin, who is well known for his neon art installations and his exploration of illuminated architecture.
Daring Haring Designs
Keith Haring’s “Acrobats” was the perfect pattern to incorporate at this modern Washington, D.C. Bat Mitzvah. Haring is a modern pop art and graffiti artist, whose work was popularized in urban NYC. Magnolia Bluebird design & events planned the hip celebration at the Newseum where tons of art references — like Campbell soup cans and Pollock-like splatter paint — filled the space. Syzygy tied all of the colorful masterpieces together with an incredible ombré lantern installation and bold furniture, while the AV and lighting pros at Frost DC provided appropriately dramatic uplighting and spotlights.
Koons for the Kids
You’ll likely recognize this balloon dog figure popularized by contemporary artist Jeff Koons. We absolutely adore this kid friendly — yet extremely high-brow — Bat Mitzvah theme, planned and designed by the creatives of Anthony Taccetta Event Design. A red and yellow color palette brightened the Tribeca 360 space, which was filled with Koons-inspired structures. We love how this floral installation incorporates two of Koons’ most famous works, balloon animals, and the large scale “Puppy” at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
An Ode to the Icons
A Dalí Dreamscape
Surrealism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement theorized by André Breton, but it is more widely recognized through the dreamlike work of Salvador Dalí. The Haggerty Museum of Art channeled Dalí’s bizarre imagery of the random for their opening gala, planned by Lindsay Ruch, at the We Energies Building. Creative stylist Faith Wooden created the gala’s centerpieces with decorative objects from Relics Vintage Rentals, incorporating much of the mustached artist’s symbolism: clocks, winged objects, butterflies, and contorted facial features.
Pop Art Parties
We would be doing a disservice to the art world had we not included an event surrounding the luminary behind Pop Art, Andy Warhol. Though we’ve seen many events nodding to his work, this gala, planned and designed by TINSEL Experiential at the Whitney Museum of American Art, was actually celebrating the artist’s retrospective exhibit “Andy Warhol — From A to B and Back Again”. We love how vibrant poppy florals made up the gala’s centerpieces, an obvious reference to Warhol’s “Poppies” series. Classic rentals by Party Rental Ltd. filled the rest of the tablescapes.