BEST ART BASEL MOMENTS BY MALINKA MAX
WRITTEN BY COSMOPOL CONTRIBUTOR MALINKA MAXPHOTOGRAPHY BY ALENA GRAFF - GRAFF STUDIOS INCEditor's Note: Malinka Max is a multifaceted woman whose refined sense of style and social skills have located her in the top level of event coordination. Cosmopol Magazine is an honor to have her as a contributor.Art Basel, December 2016This year, the first few hours of Art Basel were less frenzied than in the past. As the market’s bubble was inflating, it was the dealers that benefited. After all, people in attendance this year were there to buy, not browse. Furthermore, the parties, events and overall experience were at its very best - in true Art Basel fashion.The grand opening of Faena Forum was one big feast for the eyes. The latest piece of the four-block conga line of buildings dreamt up by Alan Faena, paid for by Ukranian billionaire Len Blavatnik and promoted by local favorite Tara Ink, was simply mesmerizing.Faena Forum is a new home for many magnificent performances to keep your eye on. During Art Basel, Madonna danced on the tables, Sean Penn gave inspiring speeches and Bon Jovi rocked its stage with his ever-classic “Jersey Girl”. If you were wondering what was happening in the penthouse of Faena, Galerie Gmurzynska hosted a “little soiree” in celebration of its booth which was brilliantly designed by Claude Picasso. Next door, Madonna had her bath filled with an exuberant amount of Dom Perignon for everybody to enjoy.On Tuesday, we were at the Dior boutique in the Design District to celebrate a momentous occasion: the limited edition “Lady Dior Art Bags”. Interestingly enough, all the bags were designed by male artists: Ian Davenport, Mat Collishaw, Jason Martin, Marc Quinn, Daniel Gordon, ChrisMartin, and Matthew Porter. Noted guests where Petra Nemcova, Laura Love, Alena Graff, Chelsea Leyland, and yours truly. We browsed a new collection of accessories, dubbed “LadyArt”, bearing price tags in the range of $5,000 to $12,000 that were exclusively available at Dior’s Miami store during Art Basel Miami (December 1 – 4). At a later time, this line will appear in pop-up boutiques in Los Angeles, South Korea, London, China, Paris, and Dubai.Thursday night at the Luxury Living event we were wowed by Burning Man artist Laura Kimpton as much exuberant amount of Perrier Jouet champagne and spoonfuls of first-grade caviar provided by Tita Italia.On Friday, as part of the week of art, fashion and music that makes up Art Basel 2016,streaming service of TIDAL joined forces with Moschino and its Creative Director, Jeremy Scott, for a blowout bash at Delano Hotel. We caught performances by Jhené Aiko and Young Paris, both of whom were styled by Jeremy Scott himself. But who made a spectacle you ask? It was the unknown lady who jumped in the pool head first, then swam up to Young Paris and dragged him in the water in full couture. Hashtag: got to love Miami. This was available to subscribers of TIDAL via Livestream. Guests also included Russell Simmons, Big Sean, Gucci Mane, Kehinde Wiley, Karreuche Tran, Sasha Lane, and Rose McGowan, among others.The one to watch this year at Art Basel was “Opera Gallery”, one of the world’s leading dealers in modern and contemporary art with an international presence in 12 cities worldwide. The gallery had an impressive front row booth at the renowned fair - Art Miami. Without any parties, receptions or fuss, they quietly made over $5,000,000 in sales, with one of the masterpieces by Spanish sculptor Manolo Valdés went in a flash at mere $1,000,000. Their impeccable 1,500-square-foot gallery space, just next door in Design District Palm Court, is showcasing modern masters as well as contemporary works by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Marc Chagall, Keith Haring, among others. We were told that two more locations will be open in New York and Aspen this summer, and are not to be missed by art collectors nor enthusiasts.Meanwhile, as we rest up for the Christmas holidays, we can’t wait to see what the next Art Basel will bring and how many parties a day we will be able to attend, how much amazing art we will be able to intake and how many champagne glasses we will be able to drink!You can know more about Malinka's new ventures in art here:https://www.malinkasworld.com/Also in these websites, you can see her capabilities in event coordination and other skills:http://malinkaproductions.com/http://www.malinkamax.com/Alena Graff is an awarded and talented photographer, all the pictures in this article are made by her. You can meet her here:https://graffstudios.com/http://alenagraff.tumblr.com/