Celebrities Converge On Miami As Art Basel Begins
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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) -- It might look like a line for a Black Friday sale but it's actually quite the opposite as hundreds of the uber wealthy piled into the Miami Beach Convention Center Wednesday for a VIP preview of the 14th edition of Art Basel, where there is anything but bargains.
"Very few cities have this opportunity for someone to see artists who are very young, to people like Picasso and Kandinsky who are the great masters of the 20th century," said Marc Spiegler, Global Director of Art Basel.
Art collector and real estate mogul Jorge Perez, shopping today with Perez Art Museums curator Tobias Ostrander, joked, "Tobias is the only person who costs me more money than my wife!"
This year, the more than 260 galleries are showing under just one roof. Everywhere you look, from the bizarre to the beautiful, you will find art.
Among the well-healed attendees showing up ready to browse and buy are the celebrity A-listers like veteran Leonardo DiCaprio or first-time fair-goer actress Angie Harmon, who lost her voice but not her eye for art.
"This is just blowing my mind. Everything is so beautiful here, it's my first time. I'm so excited to be here, I can't stand it," Harmon said.
Actor Sylvester Stallone, an artist and collector himself, was also happy to be back at the fair.
"This is an avalanche of creativity like I haven't seen. How do you go through it? Honestly, I already bought four things. I have to go back to work," Stallone told CBS4's Lisa Petrillo.
And Miami's own director Brett Ratner enjoyed the sights.
"I never dreamed being a kid hanging out on South Beach and seeing what was going on here, that it would become this. It's amazing," Ratner said.
Although it has kicked off, Art Basel does not open to the general public until Thursday.
Each year the event draws more than 50,000 visitors with more than 260 galleries on exhibit.
CBS4's Lisa Petrillo will have full coverage on Art Basel. Follow her here.
Click here to read more about Art Basel.
