There are always a few breakout stars at these art fairs, the newcomers and veterans who seem to pop up around every corner, and this year it was fun to see lots of Mel Bochner, the classic Conceptualist who has been messing around with language since the ’60s and writing up a storm in recent years. The artist, whose show “Strong Language” opens at New York’s Jewish Museum in May, was everywhere, from Art Basel Miami Beach to Art Miami to Miami Project: questioning, badgering, explicating, and messing with the viewer. All through his art, that is.
Here’s a sampling of word-art chatter from Art Basel Miami Beach: