This NYT's story on the New Yale University Museum galleries and director Jock Reynolds is a must read. Sure it starts of as your basic "New Wing Building" article but the way it then focuses on Reynolds is inspiring. Imagine that? ...a museum director with a great eye and extremely tactical use of empathy. Then there is the fact that he seems to take the high road with a big picture approach. I'd call it a low key but pervasive and serious approach. What a fantastic steward. Which, makes me ever so more curious about how the Portland Art Museum's next move will be executed. 2017 is the museum's 125th birthday and plans are somewhat quietly under way. The deciding factor will be how Portland's patrons respond? Every trustee at PAM (or any other art institution) needs to read this article and take it to heart. Quality of intention and display are one and the same, becoming the most self-evident thing a museum can offer.

These offices in Spain are simply gorgeous. The sky and earth seem to be sharing a dream together. What an exceptional design, recalling Mies' Barcelona pavilion and Farnsworth house with a dash of Robert Irwin and Michael Heizer and Judd's 100 Mill Aluminum pieces a as well.

Art Basel Miami Beach happened... Artinfo has some images. It doesn't look that different from previous years. Always an important event to be sure but somehow it punctuates how something different seems to be on the horizon. This interview with Todd Levin gives some perspective on the art market's yearly beach party.

Just back in last night after 8 nights in fabulous Coral Gables, Miami and Miami Beach for Art Basel events. It was 73 degrees at 3am last Saturday night. My partner and I have been every year since 2005. We can say that this year is different than any of the others, and better in many ways. Miami is at a cultural crossraods. Miami�s artworld realizes it needs to become highly professionalized with a major grad school program that can create a critical intellectual mass which would shape, sharpen and elevate their commercial gallery scene. The one dealer in Miami who is in Miami Basel every year and who is on the selection panel is moving out of the Wynnwood gallery district in Miami, because its art walks are not about art but partying. Miami�s small museums have benefitted greatly from Art Basel coming to town. Initially these museums responded with a major international exhibition that opened during Miami Basel, now they have serious business year round programming. The Knight Foundation just gave out $23 million to Miami arts institutions, large and small, including alternative spaces. This would include the consortium of Miami artist run spaces that have just moved into a 20,000 sq. ft. space in downtown Miami. OHWOW, which came to Miami from NYC and opened an artist space 10,000 sq. ft. space in Miami, is now a commercial gallery in LA. This year they did a group show of artists on the rise at a large space on Washington Avenue in SOBE. OHWOW has said this will be their last It Ain't Fair show in Miami, but they will be doing a different type of show both there as well as worldwide. They moved to LA because LA many more of the elements that allow for a true global art scene. This of course would include two new downtown LA warehouse sized exhibition spaces opening in LA � one by Laura Owens, the other by Night gallery. As you know several of Miami�s top artists have relocated to LA, and one of them also has plans for a warehouse space in downtown Los Angeles.

There was a new layer of major competition in the satellite fairs that will determine whether there is a shift from the older fairs to the new ones in terms of power, influence and prestige. Miami Projects a new fair which broke away from Pulse - looked great; so did Scope (which had a new 100k sq. ft. sized space). Untitled looked strong too sitting right on the beach. NADA had three wings of the hotel they are in as they did last year, with one wing being some of the best new art I�ve ever seen in Miami, ever. This was my first time ever experiencing this at NADA. The Context fair looked strong � it�s part of Art Miami, which is the second largest fair in terms of total galleries. Art Miami featured a booth by some top tier international galleries such as Haunch of Venison from London/NYC. Art Miami also purchased the Aqua Art Fair that was the hottest of the Miami Beach hotel fairs a few years ago. It will now be a feeder into Context and Art Miami, as well as other fairs that are under the Art Miami umbrella.

The private collections (Rubell/de la Cruz/Margulies/CIFO) all showcased large, focused volumes of several individual heavy hitters works that are new acquisitions or not recently showcased during Miami Art Week (which the locals call it as they themselves make huge efforts to get a foothold into the Miami Basel artworld.) LA was extremely well represented in these collector showcases. A multitude of Miami galleries and international galleries with a Miami outpost participated in the more than two dozen satellite fairs. Miami really is the best place in the US to see art from the art world sections of the globe�s art all in one local. CIFO in particular shows historical and contemporary South American Conceptual Art � almost none of which I have ever seen anywhere else.

Then there are the free concerts. After dinner we caught Indy filmmaker Robert Rodriguez�s band playing Saturday night in the Miami Design District. It was a sensational event in which he launched his own cable channel for film. During the week it was also announced that the 2013 Rubell collection will showcase contemporary art from China in all of its 27 galleries that are 45,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space in total (same size as the Margulies warehouse).

Miami is being groomed by interests in South America, NYC, and other places. Brazil is its China. Major restaurants are coming to town from Europe, South American and NYC. The famed Lucali pizza from Brooklyn is expanding to Miami, as well as a world-class NYC mixology cocktail bar. There are 21 new condo projects being built in Miami just now.

In Miami�s Wynnwood gallery district, there are hundreds of Street Art murals, many of which are superb. The big deal about Wynnwood during Basel is that there is free live music and more for about 15 to 20 blocks every night from say Wednesday through Saturday night. It�s mostly locals but is one of the most high energy street block parties every. Thousands of people come and have dinner or drinks and take in the awesome Miami street vibes.

In 2013, the Miami Art museum opens. There is no doubt that this will be the signal event at Miami Basel 2013, as Miami wants to show the world that it is a first class city of culture. Miami has grown up because of Art Basel and the international collector set spending over $500 million in this one week not on art, but on hotels, rental cars, dining, and parties. Now put this in context and realized that WrestleMania Miami will draw three times as many as the 45,000 Miami Basel visitors.