Art Basel Night draws many art lovers to Grove

At times it seemed like a solo event, but other times Monday's Art Basel Night in Coconut Grove had thousands of people in the galleries. It was amazing how many people came out on a Monday night.


It seemed to be contained to one area of the Grove, for some reason, visitors did not head toward Commodore Plaza or past CocoWalk, most stayed at the Mayfair area and mostly in the Atrium where the new Coconut Grove Arts Festival Gallery opened along with the original Coconut Grove Arts Festival Gallery. There were the large John Angee sculptures and the After Party at the back of the Atrium, with two bands and lots of liquor.


The new Arts Festival Gallery seemed to draw the most people. At one point you could not move around for all the people. Young and old came out and enjoyed the art.


The free trolley was fun and lots of people took advantage of that. The trolley picked up and delivered at each gallery location. Above Donna Sweeny and Kent Tate hop on for a spin.


Melonice Robinson drove the trolley all night. At right, Armando Paz and his sister Raquel with Kati McCain enjoyed the art, music and people watching. One great thing about these large Grove events is that so many locals come out to enjoy and it's like Old Home Week with all the familiar faces out and about.


Art imitating life: The Max Gallery on McFarlane Road had a lot of great new art.


There was lots of Florida Highwaymen art featured at many of the Galleries. From the 1950’s through the 1980’s a group of 26 African-American artists painted beautiful landscapes that displayed the serene, undeveloped Florida landscape of their time, they were known as The Highwaymen. Many of the artists were present themselves. Above, a whole wall features Highwaymen art at the new AC Fine Art Gallery.


Charles Walker, one of the Highwaymen, displayed his art at the Artway66 Gallery. Above with Charles is his wife Gertrude Walker and daughter Charlene Walker. Gertrude owns the Gertrude Walker Gallery in Fort Pierce., which features Charles' wildlife landscapes and marine art. Charles was born in Fort Pierce and was known for his wildlife art well before he was known as one of the Highwaymen. He was inducted into the Florida Artist Hall of Fame in 2004.


Artway66 had a nice crowd, they usually bring in lots of people for their mix of eclectic art. This Saturday during Gallery Walk, they'll present their usual art along with the ballet and other performances.


Fred and AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt flank Nicky Prince at the new Arts Festival Gallery.


The trolley rolled late into the night. It was a nice addition to the Grove and would be a great regular thing to have on Gallery Walk nights and perhaps every weekend. Again, aside from the lack of visitors to the Commodore Plaza end of the Grove, the Mayfair Atrium event was a huge success. People partied late into the night at the After Party at the Atrium.