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Art Basel Miami Beach Kicks Off With VIP Preview

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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) -- It's private preview day of Art Basel 2018.

The 17th edition of the world-renowned art fair. This year under the roof of a brand new Miami Beach Convention Center.

At the helm for this American Fair, Noah Horowitz.

"It's the largest most important art fair of its kind in the American market. We've been here 17 years we have 268 galleries from over 35 different countries. We have guests from over 70 countries. It's an amazing event," said Horowitz.

Inside, hundreds of collectors, galleries and art aficionados filled the halls that feature world-class contemporary art, as well as, work from up and coming artists.

Norman Braman has been the chairman of Art Basel Miami Beach since day one.

"The fair is wonderful, the facilities are first class. I never in my woodiest dreams anticipated coming out as well. Incredibly enough the one week has made Miami a 12-month art mecca," said Braman.

Works by Picasso, Warhol, and Lichtenstein are everywhere.

Art is in the eye of the beholder some to love, some to question, but all to take in. Art lovers came dressed up for the day. Some dressed as art while others dressed for comfort.

All with style.

Those who came to actually buy were on a mission.

"We collect very slowly and very precisely and so we know what we want, so everywhere we will be active and maybe finding something. Then we go around and see if there is something new that catches our eye," said Javier Mora, a collector.

CBS4's Lisa Petrillo asked collector Marvin Ross Friedman how he navigates it all.

"You start at one end and decide. It's a terrific opportunity to see great art at one time and it's very enjoyable," he said.

Isabelle Bscher from the Galerie Gmurzynska from Zurich discussed prices from her gallery with Petrillo.

"We have pieces here from like $100K to multiple millions of dollars," she said.

One piece by Robert Motherwell is priced at $5 million.

Petrillo and her cameraman spied an Art Basel regular, the elusive Leonardo DiCaprio back again and incognito.

Art Basel 2018 is where Miami Beach and the world shine together in the international spotlight.

On preview day, only pre-qualified buyers can enter and that usually means plenty of celebrities as well.

Thousands of art lovers are expected to roam the halls of Art Basel Miami Beach through the weekend.

Starting Thursday, doors will open to the public at 3 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, doors will open at noon and close at 8 p.m. On Sunday, the last day of the show, doors will close at 6 p.m.

Click here for more info.

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