On the Friday night of Miami Art Week, there were parties. Lots of them: after all, the post-Thanksgiving contemporary art bonanza is the final great shmoozefest of the year, where fame and influence collide with the art world in a cannonball run of stone crab dinners and champagne-soaked receptions. But there was only one place in town that brought together rising figurative painters and pioneering graffiti writers, NBA all-stars and skateboard legends, celebrity chefs and chart-topping rappers, fashion heroes and bi-coastal gallerists eager to blow off steam after a long day at the art fairs: GQ’s Miami Art Week celebration, hosted by GQ global editorial director Will Welch and Velocity Black.
DJ Kitty Ka$h kicked things off as guests pulled up to DAR MIAMI 1446, a one-week-only installation designed by contemporary Moroccan pop artist Hassan Hajjaj. Hajjaj transformed a gallery space on Lincoln Rd in the heart of Miami Beach into a Souk-like warren of wallpaper-lined rooms as spaces of hospitality and discovery, and, well, you could feel it. While hungry art advisors loosened their ties and grabbed passed bites by Michelin star chef Rose Previte, Stefon Diggs seemed to be hungrily eyeing the art on the walls. As Big Sean and Kaytranada led the charge to the dance floor, pioneering graffiti god Futura 2000 was lounging with his crew—except when he had to leap up to clink glasses with his many other friends and admirers, Eric Koston among them. Then it was time for DJ Pee Wee (a.k.a eight-time Grammy winner Anderson .Paak) to take the stage. Clad in a glorious leopard print blouse, grin plastered to his face, Pee Wee brought the house down with a virtuosic all-vinyl set, supplemented by a verbose live trumpet performance. On the dance floor, straight-from-the runway fits collided with glamorous Miami sleaze. On the sidelines, Swae Lee made the rounds while Devin Booker dapped up Verdy. At the bar, gallerists toasted the day’s sales (yes, art has been moving this year!) with shots of mezcal.
Well past closing time, Pee Wee was still rocking. But before signing off, he revealed a trick up his leopard print sleeve when Mario—Mario!—hopped on stage and grabbed the mic for a righteous impromptu duet. Of all the parties on Friday night in Miami Beach, there was definitely only one place where you could close out your night scream-singing the words to “Let Me Love You” alongside an all-star art week cast. Scroll down for the full scene report.
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