December Art and Wine Event Explores the Connections Between Organic and Construction

December 1, 2012, 6:00 p.m.

As the eyes of the art world descend upon Miami just days before Art Basel 2012, a special art opening and wine tasting event will take place at Wine by the Bay in Downtown Miami. “Transitions” examines the connections between organic and construction through the works of three artists: Miami-based, Japanese-Argentinian artist Valeria Yamamoto; Colombian sculptor Claudia Hakim; and Iraqi-German painter Fahar. A similar connection can be derived from the terroir of the California landscape where wines reflect the personality of the state while drawing inspiration from afar.

The evening is the ideal opportunity for connoisseurs of both wine and art to converge and interact. Discover the complexities of some of California’s best wines through the expert guidance of Wine by the Bay owner/gallerist Stefano Campanini and his knowledgeable staff. Special guests, Mara Sartore and Matteo Bartoli co-founders and publishers of My Art Guides will enlighten guests about the art presented and their experiences working at the most notable art fairs in the world: Venice Biennale, Art Basel Switzerland, Art Basel Miami Beach, and organizing international events such as The Dali Universe, Edge of Arabia, and Circuito Off (Italy’s most important video festival.)

“I see wine as art and select wine much like the way that I do art,” comments Stefano Campanini.   “This unique event allows the community to have their first taste of Art Basel in Downtown Miami. We’ll open some spectacular wines for the evening so that collectors of wine and collectors of art can meet – or be the same person.”

About the Artists:

Valeria Yamamoto is a Japanese-Argentinian artist born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, who now lives and works in Miami. She holds a BFA at Florida International University. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States in both galleries and museums that include the Frost Art Museum, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, and Art Vision Gallery. Her sculptural work encompasses a wide range of materials and formats ranging from small, fragile pieces made of unfired porcelain and eggshells to a six-foot tall sculpture built with cement. Most of Yamamoto’s sculptures are inspired by a study of organic forms found in the natural world, or as a reaction to her environment.

Claudia Hakim was born in Bogota, Colombia and began her artistic career in the late 1970’s. Her work has been exhibited throughout South America, and in the United States, India, and England. Inspired by fabric weaving, jewelry, and textiles, she transforms basic elements into superlative large sculptures with the use of rings, bolts, screws, nuts, springs, metallic sheets, and steel mesh. Rajeev Lochan, a professor and director at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi India commented about her work: “The need to express herself through a textile language, in which she makes the eastern expression of her lineage and the Andean richness of her living environment manifest, the artist is able to establish an unsettling grammar of geometries and suggestions that bring to mind an untold number of associations with some of the large art movements in the 20th century.

Fahar was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1964. His artistic career has taken him from Kuwait, through the United Kingdom, into Vienna, and finally, Karlsruhe, Germany where he has resided for the past nine years.   Always experimenting with a variety of painting techniques, Fahar has used household sponges as a unique form of canvas.   Describing his own artistry, he comments: “Sponges absorb liquid and color in ways similar to how people, especially children, absorb thoughts and feelings.   Each painted sponge has its own color that is affected by light and dark, as well as the other colors that surround them – much as we are colored by the world that surrounds us.”

The Opening Reception/Wine Tasting Event takes place on Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. everyone is welcome at this free event, but space is limited so RSVP is required to [email protected] or 305.455.9791.

Wine by the Bay Presents
888 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33132
305.455.9791
www.winebtb.com