BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors

Manuela Mozo

Executive Director of UNTITLED, ART Miami and San Francisco

Manuela Mozo, Executive Director, UNTITLED, ART. Photo: Liz Ligon
Manuela Mozo, Executive Director, UNTITLED, ART. Photo: Liz Ligon

Tell us a little bit about the history of UNTITLED, ART.

Jeff Lawson founded UNTITLED, ART in 2012 with the vision to build an architecturally designed pavilion on the beach, and we were the fair first to do so in Miami Beach. The driving concept was to create a curated fair, one which curators vetted the galleries' proposals.

In 2017, after two years of research and development, UNTITLED, ART San Francisco, was launched. January 2020 marks our fourth edition, presented at Pier 35 in the Embarcadero. Each year we see a significant increase in audience attendance, collector development, institution engagement at both our fairs.

How do you, as fair director, ensure that the event stays contemporary and current in the fast-paced world that is the art market?

The pace is challenging, but we have a small but extremely dedicated and close-knit team with a wide range of experiences that inform all of our discussions. As an independently owned company, we can make decisions quickly and move in new curatorial directions more freely.

UNTITLED, ART San Francisco 2019 Pier 35
UNTITLED, ART San Francisco 2019 Pier 35
UNTITLED, San Francisco, 2018, Palace of Fine Arts. Courtesy of Non Plus Ultra
UNTITLED, San Francisco, 2018, Palace of Fine Arts. Courtesy of Non Plus Ultra

Is there something in this year's program that you are particularly looking forward to?

This year in Miami Beach, we have a strong focus on South Florida and the Everglades. Guest curator, Jordan Stein, is presenting the work of an everglade's self-taught artist, Dick Jay. Also, EXILE Books, an experimental artist's bookstore and project space and the Center for Subtropical Affairs, an ecological learning center in Little River that provides jobs and career training in sustainable development to the community will feature a new publication "Flora" which will illustrate local medicinal plants that can be found in Miami's tropical climate.

Exhibiting and presenting programming is Artists in Residence in Everglades (AIRIE), which operates a unique residency in the Everglades, bringing artists, composers, curators, writers to the National Park for a month-long live/work stay. AIRIE also presents public programs, exhibitions, and events that stress the importance and impact of the Everglades through arts, music, and literature.

We also have several other Special Projects and presentations around themes of South Florida and the climate crisis, which is rapidly threatening Florida's coastal areas.

In San Francisco, we will present a curated program of galleries highlighting artists that are included in the Soul of a Nation exhibition, which will be on view at the de Young Museum. UNTITLED, ART will also increase its presentation of works by artists that came to prominence during the second half of the 20th century.

UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach 2018, interior View
UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach 2018, interior View

What do the artworks being presented at this year's UNTITLED, ART reveal about the current trends and market?

Exhibitors continue to bring a wide range of diverse artists, including artists of color, women artists, and other marginalized groups, but also more practically, 50% of our exhibitors are presenting solo or dual artist presentations. Many artists are exploring social, political, and climate-related issues, as is the case with Jordan Stein's presentation of self-taught, Everglades based Dick Jay.

What advice do you have for the collectors that will be attending the fair this year?

Come with curiosity and engage the dealers in conversations about their artists and their programs. And always - wear comfortable shoes, eat and stay hydrated! Lastly, enjoy the beach.

UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach 2018, sky view of tent
UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach 2018, sky view of tent

In addition to UNTITLED, ART, what exhibition or event is on your "must-see" list?

Despite the challenge of having enough time during Miami Art Week, I feel it is vital to engage with local galleries and art institutions as much a possible.

I'm a huge fan of curator Larry Ossei-Mensah, and I'm looking forward to seeing his exhibition On The Road II at Oolite Arts. The exhibition is loosely inspired by Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road - but in reality, it is Larry's life motto.

I'm also very much looking forward to Cecilia Vicuña's exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami.

In San Francisco, I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to see the Soul of a Nation exhibition at the de Young Museum. This exhibition feels long overdue and is an incredibly valuable contribution to the current dialogues around representation, artist of color, American history, and political issues moving forward.

More Information on UNTITLED, ART

Insiders (67)

Wilhelmina Jewell Strong - Sparks

Founder of BiTHOUSE Projects - BAAR Art Journey

MATTHIAS ARNDT

Collector behind the ARNDT Collection

Sandra Guimarães

Director of Museum of Contemporary Art Helga de Alvear

Grazyna Kulczyk

Founder of Muzeum Susch

THE FAIREST

Interview with Georgie Pope and Eleonora Sutter, Co-founders

Kamiar Maleki

Director at VOLTA

Gallery Weekend Berlin 2022

Tokini Peterside

Founder and Director, ART X Lagos

Poka-Yio

Founding Director of the Athens Biennale

Boris Ondreička

Artistic Director of viennacontemporary

Maribel Lopez

Director of ARCO

David Gryn

Founder and Director of Daata

Fondation Beyeler Audiovisual Broadcast

Fondation Beyeler and Nordstern Basel present Dixon x Transmoderna

Gary Yeh

Founder of ArtDrunk and Young Collector

WATCH: The Best of the BMW Art Guide

Where will you travel next to explore art?

Maike Cruse

2020 Gallery Weekend Berlin

Touria El Glaoui

Founding Director of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair

Johann König

Messe in St. Agnes

PArt - Producers Art Platform

A crisis initiative to help artists directly affected by the pandemic

Barbara Moore

CEO of Biennale of Sydney

Unique Collector’s Item

by Independent Collectors

Alix Dana

Fair Director at Independent

When Collectors are Able to Commission

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Juliet Kothe and Julia Rust

Initiators of Collection Night, Berlin

Marie-Anne McQuay

Curator of Wales in Venice, 58th Venice Biennale 2019

Dorothy and Herb Vogel

Two extraordinary art collectors

Heather Hubbs

Director at NADA

Every Art Collection Needs Space

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Collecting Art with François Pinault

Rudolf Stingel at Palazzo Grassi

A Common Ground

by Silvia Anna Barrilà

Caroline Vos

Director at Amsterdam Art Weekend

Hidden Collections

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Nicole Berry

Executive Director of The Armory Show

Daniel Hug

Fair Director at Art Cologne

The Role of the Art Fair

by Silvia Anna Barrilà

Peter Bläuer

Director at LISTE

A Brush Against Nature

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Ilaria Bonacossa

Director of Artissima

Excessiveness, the Latent Danger of Collecting Art

by Independent Collectors

Jo Stella-Sawicka

Artistic Director at Frieze

Florence Bourgeois

Director at Paris Photo

Where Artists Can Work More Playfully

by Christiane Meixner

Specifically Commissioned

by Silvia Anna Barrilà

Important Museums and Private Collections

by Christiane Meixner

Susanna Corchia

Director of the Barcelona Gallery Weekend

Emilia van Lynden

Artistic Director at Unseen, Amsterdam

Carlos Urroz

Director at ARCOmadrid

Shoe Smudges Streaked Across the White Walls

by Christiane Meixner

Amanda Coulson

Director at VOLTA Basel

Douwe Cramer

Director at Singapore Contemporary

Art and Architecture – Attractive Allies

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Jo Baring

Curator of Sculpture Series, Masterpiece London

Bidders and Buyers

by Christiane Meixner

Anne Vierstraete

Managing Director at Art Brussels

Nanna Hjortenberg

Director at CHART

The Crucial Role of the New

by Independent Collectors

Makers and Believers

On Art History’s Most Famous Patrons

The Past is Back

And collectors are buying it up

Are Artists the Better Curators?

On the diminishing boundary between professions in the art world

The Digital Museum

On the importance of the museum’s web presence

The Man in the Middle

On the curator’s private and public engagements

A Private Matter?

On the importance of physical space for the value of art

Off the Wall

How museums contribute to the worth of artworks

Where to Go Next?

The fragmentation of Manhattan’s gallery scene

To Buy or Not to Buy

Collectors on their experiences of letting an artwork slip away

How to Pass On a Passion

On long-term challenges for new private museums