16 June 27- July 3, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times b e s T o f m i a m i ® 2 0 2 4 signing posters and artwork for parties and musicians across the country continue to draw in crowds. Now based in New York, where he holds down residencies at Newtown Radio and regular gigs at the city’s hottest clubs under the name Liquid J, he frequently visits Miami and continues to serve clients here. We expect his design for the “final” Miami Ass Party (Best of Miami’s Best Party 2024 winner) to become a collector’s item someday. BEST PHOTOGRAPHER Ian Patrick O’Connor instagram.com/ianpatrickoconnor When it comes to photography, framing is argu- ably everything. Miami-based photographer Ian O’Connor is a master when it comes to placing his subjects in just the right spot before he cap- tures the moment on film. His subjects are fa- mously inanimate objects like colored paper, bouncing balls, or tree trunks. His works are not only visibly beautiful, but their power goes be- yond what you see to make you feel something. Well-respected and well-known, you’ll probably run into O’Connor at any given art opening around town supporting his community. One of his photographs from his “Transcend” series is up at Miami International Airport as part of its permanent collection. BEST FASHION DESIGNER Dope Tavio dopetavio.com instagram.com/dope_tavio Not everyone can pull off a Dope Tavio creation, but that’s kind of the point. Created by designer Octavio Aguilar, the line juxtaposes the casual ease of streetwear with the complexity of the avant-garde. Filtered through an influential com- bination of ’90s club kid and early hip-hop, Agui- lar’s genderless garments stun and elate. Worn by stylish divas like Erykah Badu and Janet Jack- son and drag and burlesque performers Raja Gemini and Carmen Carrera, Dope Tavio is cus- tom-made and one-of-a-kind. Aguilar earned a stamp of approval from legendary stylist and Sex and the City costume designer Patricia Field, who stocks Dope Tavio in her fashion-art hybrid ARTFashion Gallery in New York City. Featured at New York Fashion Week and in countless edi- torials for glossy magazines like Vogue and L’Officiel, Aguilar is a master of wearable art. BEST ART FAIR NADA Miami Ice Palace Film Studios 1400 N. Miami Avenue Miami, 33136 newartdealers.org With the best art out of all the major fairs and the most enjoyable, laid-back atmosphere, NADA Miami was the place to be during Miami Art Week in 2023. The fair, run by the New York- based New Art Dealers Alliance, offers the best balance between high quality and reasonable prices — for those actually buying art — and its support of rising Miami galleries is also notable. This past year, KDR, homework, and PRIMARY all exhibited at the fair, while previous partici- pants, Dále Zine, debuted their mini-truck mo- bile bookshop two years ago. BEST ART GALLERY KDR 790 NW 22nd Street Miami, 33127 305-392-0416 kdr305.com Moving her home-hosted gallery to a dedicated space on the growing art corridor of NW 22nd Street in Allapattah has only boosted Katia Da- vid Rosenthal’s largesse as the most dominant dealer in town. The move made national news, securing her gallery as a “must-see” in Miami. Her slate of artists includes some of the most fun, funky, and buzzed-about in Miami, includ- ing Joel Gaitan, Susan Kim Alvarez, and Alejan- dro Piñeiro Bello, all of whom earned museum showings last year with art that impressed as much as it amused. BEST MUSEUM NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale 1 E. Las Olas Boulevard Fort Lauderdale, 33301 954-525-5500 nsuartmuseum.org It may come as a shock, but South Florida’s best museum is, in fact, not even in the Miami-Dade County. Between shows that explore important artists and movements like color-field painting (“Glory of the World”) and ones that showcase the largesse of the region’s local artists (“Future Past Perfect”), NSU Art Museum in downtown Fort Lauderdale shines. It offers the type of am- bitious programming that other area institutions should strive for.
