In Art Basel Miami Beach’s Nova sector, dedicated to works created in the past three years, artists examine the pressing issues our world faces

‘A changing world’: Nine artists question the way we live

Art Basel and skateboarding might not have much in common. But in Miami Beach, these seemingly distant worlds will meet, thanks to self-taught Japanese artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/29814/Haroshi" target="_blank">Haroshi</a>. Haroshi uses discarded skateboards to produce sculptures that address materialism and spirituality, but also pay homage to a passion shared by millions. His pieces will be exhibited by Tokyo gallery&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1415/Nanzuka" target="_blank">Nanzuka</a>, one of the 29 participants in this year’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/miami-beach/exhibitors#9814" target="_blank">Nova sector</a>, which focuses on recent work by a fascinating array of artists.Reprocessing is also key to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/10336/Maha-Malluh" target="_blank">Maha Malluh</a>’s practice. Born in 1959 in Saudi Arabia, the artist is a keen observer of the changes that have transformed her country in recent years. Malluh salvages mundane items linked to vanishing traditions –such as baking trays, plates, or prayer cassette tapes – and assembles them into objects embodying the pull and push between past and present. A selection of her works will be shown by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/2023/Selma-Feriani-Gallery" target="_blank">Selma Feriani</a>, the first-ever Tunisian gallery to have participated&nbsp;in Art Basel.

Vietnamese-American artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/15569/Tiffany-Chung" target="_blank">Tiffany Chung&nbsp;</a>tackles one of today's most pressing issues: migration. Chung’s drawings, paintings, and embroideries often take cartography as a starting point to reflect on the immeasurable impact of displacement. Using extensive research and her experience as a Vietnam War refugee, she muses on forced uprooting and its dramatic consequences in a thoughtful body of work, to be shown by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1456/Tyler-Rollins-Fine-Art" target="_blank">Tyler Rollins Fine Art</a>.Mexico City and Los Angeles gallery&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/2323/Gaga" target="_blank">Gaga</a> has also chosen to focus on the shifts that continuously transform society.&nbsp;Artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/19595/Mathieu-Malouf" target="_blank">Mathieu Malouf</a>’s mordant references to pop culture encapsulate our growing tendency towards a shallow nihilism; New York City-based collective&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bernadettecorporation.com/" target="_blank">Bernadette Corporation</a> investigates contemporary forms of communication from a Nietzschean perspective; and Mexican artist&nbsp;<a href="http://www.houseofgaga.com/59_Fernando_Palma_Rodriguez.php" target="_blank">Fernando Palma Rodríguez</a> combines custom software and robotics to address ways of fighting the erasure of indigenous communities.

Belo Horizonte native&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8672/Pedro-Motta" target="_blank">Pedro Motta</a> employs absurdity in his examination of our inability to fully control our surroundings. The photographer subtly modifies images of landscapes, manually or digitally introducing disturbances into idyllic scenes. Rio de Janeiro gallery&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1272/Silvia-Cintra-Box-4" target="_blank">Silvia Cintra + Box 4</a> will bring them to Miami Beach, alongside a new body of work by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/13204/Chiara-Banfi" target="_blank">Chiara Banfi</a>, another young Brazilian talent. Banfi’s series of vinyl covers, wrapped in green leaves and displayed on shelves, sheds light on our contradictory fetishization of objects and nature alike.

American artist&nbsp;<a href="http://joshlilleygallery.com/artists/derek_fordjour" target="_blank">Derek Fordjour</a> uses the thrill of transgression to interrogate dynamics of human interaction. His practice often references situations in which rules are being tested and distorted, such as team sports or games in general. Presented by London’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/2737/Josh-Lilley" target="_blank">Josh Lilley</a>, Fordjour delves on the implications of disobedience and risk, applying a visual restlessness to his work that mirrors the excitement we experience when breaking the rules.

Discover more artists and galleries participating in this year’s Nova sector<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/galleries?showIds=651&amp;sectorIds=-9" target="_blank">&nbsp;here</a>.Top image: Tiffany Chung,&nbsp;reconstructing an exodus history: boat trajectories, ports of first asylum and resettlement countries (detail), 2017. Courtesy of the artist and Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York City.

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In Art Basel Miami Beach’s Nova sector, dedicated to works created in the past three years, artists examine the pressing issues our world faces
