Digital artist Beeple Studio reveals "Regular Animals," a series of robotic canine creatures with heads resembling Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Pablo Picasso at the 23rd edition of Art Basel Miami Beach. Courtesy Art Basel Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Every December, the art world - and the brands and celebrities devotees who encircle it - gather in Miami for a nonstop week of 20-plus fairs, more than 1,200 gallery showings, product launches, collaboration celebrations and wild parties. This year's Miami Art Week (through Dec. 7) came out of the gate with a bang during Art Basel Miami Beach's preview day (Dec. 3, open to the public Dec. 5-7) - the week's most high-profile fair, celebrating its 23rd year - with its top galleries reporting robust sales. According to The Art Newspaper, within the first three hours, Hauser & Wirth reported sales 40 percent higher than its total from day one of last year's fair. Related Stories Lifestyle David Hockney's Most Iconic Double Portrait Is Going Up for Sale at Christie's Lifestyle The 90-Year-Old Art Legend Who's Become Hollywood's Court Painter The attention-grabbing moment to kick it all off came with the debut of the Zero 10 digital art section featuring digital artist Beeple's "Regular Animals," a series of robotic canine creatures with heads resembling Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Pablo Picasso. Each beast is constantly taking pictures of its surroundings and interpreting the scene through the AI lens of its character. The content is then "expelled" as keepsake certificates-each robo-billionaire, valued at $100,000, sold instantly. What Hollywood is Buying Now Art advisor to Hollywood's A-list, Ralph DeLuca, who is also Sotheby's vice chairman of popular culture, is optimistic about the Miami fairs due to the incredible sales at New York's recent auctions, which brought in over $2 billion. "I have buyers coming. I did business for the fair before [it started]. I have stuff in private viewing rooms. I have stuff on hold. [At the November art auctions in New York, there was a] strong result in historical material with good pedigree-even young and emerging had a bump," DeLuca says. "A lot of work is sold on arrival. Super young and blue-chip are selling. It's the middle that is a little more of a slog." DeLuca's clients are gravitating toward emerging or established artists with "great paintings in the primary market where we get access without agita or fresh to market, blue chip material by major artists with the correct pedigree." In terms of content, he says, pretty paintings are back and size matters. "Connoisseurship is starting to wake up and people are realizing they should buy great art that they actually want to live with. Treating it purely as an asset and keeping it in storage, especially with living artists, may not be the best path. Giant art is struggling unless it's an artistic masterpiece. I definitely see a trend towards smaller gems." Miami Models Hollywood Leading Art Week's out of fair experiences, Capital One and The Cultivist, a membership club which curates art experiences for brands and consumers, recreates the Golden Age of Hollywood at the "Mirage Factory" by L.A. filmmaker, photographer and sculptor, Alex Prager, set inside an old theater on Lincoln Road. The surreal, cinematic installation reenvisions L.A. in both full scale and miniature with an artificial orange grove, a tiny Hollywood Boulevard complete with the now-decommissioned Arby's sign and a garden party in the hills under the glow of Griffith Park. Prager collaborated with Hollywood blockbuster miniature maker Christopher Warren from Blind Beagle VFX to create the sets. "I was coming out of the fires where I was affected and many people I know were affected. Joey from The Cultivist called me asking if I wanted to do a project with Capital One," Prager says. "I was reflecting on how Los Angeles started, how we've always had these disasters and there is this idea that the city is totally corrupt-there's a madness-but there's still an underlying feeling of what if and this possibility of magic. It permeates the city in such a way-like no other city. It was never supposed to be a city because there is no water." Throughout Art Week, the Mirage Factory's events include a Capital One cardholder dinner with L.A. chef Dave Beran from the Michelin-starred Dialogue and Pasjoli, a VIP dinner (Shay Mitchell, Cait Bailey, Casper Jopling, Franklin Sirmans, Evan Ross, Es Devlin, Yvonne Force Villareal, Marlies Verhoeven, Stefano Tonchi, David Maupin, Sam Falls and Tavares Strachan attended) with a performance by Diana Ross and a Martinis at the Mirage private event, with a performance from Ellie Goulding. The surreal vibes extend to The Mirage Swim Club, located at th