Further Questions for Bridget Finn

In 2023, when Bridget Finn was named the director of Art Basel Miami Beach, the art world’s flashiest event, it was a mid-career capstone for a professional known for fostering creativity in inventive ways and unusual spots.

Now just 41, Finn found early success in New York working at the powerhouse gallery Mitchell-Innes & Nash, then, in 2008, cofounding a groundbreaking experimental space in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood called Cleopatra’s, which presented avant-garde art for a decade. “No rules, no adults,” she says of the vibe; it even had a Berlin branch for a while.

She took a left turn in 2017, returning to her hometown of Detroit to cofound the cutting-edge contemporary Reyes Finn gallery, where her jam-packed openings drew hundreds of people and contributed to the city’s ongoing revitalization. At Art Basel Miami Beach in 2021, she showed Maya Stovall’s pointed, race-related neon works to much acclaim. (Sadly, Reyes Finn closed its doors last year.)

Speaking with Further over coffee in Paris this October, where the preceding Art Basel iteration was taking place in the Grand Palais, the New York–based Finn was looking forward to a “tremendous” show in Miami, which runs December 4 through 8 with nearly 300 galleries represented. She also shared some essential advice on how to maximize a visit to Miami beyond the well-worn paths.

I think all of our shows are deeply reflective of the places that they are in. Miami is this cultural intersection for North, South, and Central America. That’s always been the most important thing, the lifeblood of the show. In Positions, the section for younger galleries, 70 percent of the exhibitors are from Central and South America.

I think I’m the only one! Honestly, I’m so grateful for that experience. I think perhaps [our exhibitors] share insights with me because I have been in it with them for so many years — there’s a frankness.

I spend an enormous amount of time in conversation with our exhibitors and their artists, collectors, and cultural partners, constantly thinking about how we can refine the fair experience to meet the diverse needs of galleries at various stages of their growth. This has been my top priority, along with identifying ways to create a more equitable path to participation for small and midsize galleries.

The Miami gallery scene brilliantly blends established and emerging spaces. I’d start with Fredric Snitzer, because he opened in 1977. He is an O.G. — I think of Fred a little bit as the mayor of Miami Beach. He has ushered in a lot of younger dealers. Fred is now located in what is known as the Miami Arts District. He’s showing in the fair too, with the work of local artist Hernan Bas [who had a solo show at the Bass Museum last year].

Take David Castillo, in the Design District, who’s also participating in the fair. It’s a very pro-Miami program, and he shows a lot of artists who have a politically charged practice, like Vaughn Spahn, Pepe Mar, and Xaviera Simmons.

Don’t forget Spinello Projects, in the Allapattah/Wynwood area, which works primarily with living artists. Every time I go to Spinello, I’m discovering something I haven’t seen before — I’m always on a schedule, but Spinello takes like three times the amount of time I budgeted. At the fair, the gallery is going to present a solo project by the Argentinian-American artist Nina Surel. It’s a huge ceramic wall tableau, 3,000 pounds of clay, which will be a vibrant, very beautiful figurative piece.

Exactly. Go to see all the private collections, but make sure that you go for a run or even just take a dip in the ocean, too. That’s one of my favorite parts of being in Miami Beach.

Ted Loos has been covering arts and culture for more than 30 years. A longtime and frequent contributor to the New York Times, Loos also writes for WSJ. Magazine and is a contributing editor at Galerie magazine. He is based in New York City and the Hudson Valley.