While Harlan and Abner killed it at Scope, I took a day to explore the rest of the art happenings. (Well, a few of them as it was pretty intense.) We had a great time dining al fresco with our buddies Richard and Dan of Mauger Modern, who also killed it at Scope with their “Noses and Nudes” booth, featuring Manolo Chretien’s circular photos of plane noses and Jeff Robb’s incredibly sexy/haunting nude lenticulars. We stumbled upon them at the beach just as they were taking this photo- I love it!

We had a great time at the Emmanuel Perrotin opening which seemed like an outdoor wedding. We sat at round tables, sipped champagne, and I tried to have a dance off with Kris Kuksi, who was showing with Joshua Liner Gallery. Their booth at Scope was solid, like a mini version of the New York gallery, also showing Tony Curanaj and Ian Francis, in addition to a giant Dennis McNett sculpture that greeted visitors.

We dined (and were plied with whiskey) daily on Brooklyn’s Roberta’s food, which had an inside café and an outdoor BBQ and bar. ReBaroque sound frames, who I will be working with in 2011, represented via Anonymous Gallery, and Scope visitors were plugging in their iPods to the soundframe and jamming in the front of the fair. Invisible Heroes wowed visitors (and me) with their Flying Saucer pieces- how’d they do that??

Aside from countless sandwiches as La Sandwicherie (how I miss thee) and cheap drinks at The Deuce, we checked out the Basel Vernissage, where we caught up with Camille Rose Garcia, who had pieces up with Michael Kohn Gallery! Congrats!

As we mentioned before, lots of our friends were busy with Primary Flight. Will Barras and London Police had a giant mural, as well as Remed, Remy, Lister and a zillion other amazing artists. Speaking of Lister, I stopped by his pop up, I really dug the bearded head sculptures that sat on the floor. For some reason there was a Hello Kitty merch truck parked outside….I love Hello Kitty (former raver guilt) so I was happy with it.

It seemed a lot of galleries were trying pop ups this year, which sounds fun but just creates even more places to have to go to. A group even formed a new “fair”- well more like an exhibition called SEVEN and included Bravin Lee, Pierogi, PPOW and others. Honestly, I wasn’t really into the location for SEVEN. It felt too much like an empty building with art put up in it. I know that is precisely what it was, but a good fair/museum/exhibition uses the space in a way that the visitor doesn’t notice, or the art supercedes it. Anyway, admittedly I didn’t stay long (I was just too arted out for the the salon style hanging), but it was an interesting idea.

The last day I checked out the Aqua Fair, which went back to its roots and was just a hotel fair (last year and the year before they were in the Wynwood District), with highlights from 339 Gallery, a photography gallery in Philadelphia which occupies an old soda fountain I used to frequent for chocolate Cokes (I swear they are good) a few years back. Also really enjoyed these sewn pieces all made of thread at LA’s Art Slant room.

The parties were the usual grandeur- Scope’s party was all the rage, with the liquor flowing, bands playing, and girls swinging on giant swings all night. Shepard Fairey DJed the Fountain fair party, where G Love and Special Sauce also played- now that was a blast from 1996! Metric played on the beach for Art Basel, and Mr. Brainwash had a rager at his pop up. There is always too many things to do.

The last day was for business and the beach, but sadly was too cold, so I spent the last day sitting outside at the Standard with the Maugers and then possibly the most fun- bowling, where one game I bowled a 28. No lie. I’m awesome.
Thank you Miami for all the success, booze, friends, stories, and sandwiches. We’ll see you next December, and not a moment before.

Dennis McNett was born in 1972 and grew up in Virginia Beach, VA. He moved to New York in 2001. He has been carving surly block prints for over 18 years. His encouragement as a kid came from his blind grandfather, who told him over and over again that his drawings were good. Later influences came from the raw high-energy imagery pouring out of the early 80′s skateboard and punk rock scene. His graphic aesthetic and love for narrative work has been translated in many ways.

His work ranges from larger than life Viking ship performances/parades in Philly, resurrecting Nordic giants on West Broadway in Manhattan, Dragon slayings in Oklahoma, masks, installations and sculptures to unique hand-carved wood cut pieces, traditional relief prints, and graphics. Participating in both the fine art and design worlds, Dennis has been fortunate enough to create series’ for Anti-Hero skateboards, design shoes for Vans, have work fill the windows of Barneys, NY, and participate in the Deitch Artparade. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Juxtapoz magazine, Thrasher and Complex Magazine.

He wants to live until he dies. Breathing is good. Bon Voyage Dennis!