Though the masses won’t be admitted until tomorrow, press and VIP filled the aisles of the Art Basel Miami Beach fair today, and ARTINFO came upon a number of celebrities in the mix of prospective preview day buyers. Perhaps most notably, P. Diddy had his eye on a large painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, “Ruffians” (1982), at Tina Kim/Kukje Gallery’s booth, and later bought an Ivan Navarro sculpture from Paul Kasmin’s booth.
We also spotted actor Owen Wilson roaming the aisles in the esteemed company of mega-collector Jose Mugrabi, and Chelsea Handler and Andre Balazs — both of whom were at last night’s White Cube party — chatting with Pace Gallery’s Marc Glimcher.
We also came across Will Ferrell sporting a trucker hat and looking a little overwhelmed by the fair’s offerings while he perused the Two Palms Press booth. We tried to chat with the “Anchorman” star, but he trudged on to the next booth saying: “I’m trying to keep up with my group.”
— Ann Binlot, Julia Halperin, Benjamin Sutton
(Photos via @AnnBinlot.)