Miami’s International Airport is busier than usual this week as 50,000 people make their way to the tenth edition of Art Basel/ Miami Beach—America’s biggest art fair (Dec. 1-4). In fact, the excitement starts at the airport, with Monday’s dedication of Christopher Janey’s Harmonic Convergence.

The main event, of course, is ABMB, with more than 260 galleries participating (a number of the 16 satellite fairs are equally, perhaps even more, engrossing). Hopes for serious sales are high after the recent highly charged contemporary auctions in New York, but with a finicky market, there’s no certainty.

What is certain is that this will be a very exciting week in Florida, with works by world-famous art stars and emerging talents, ranging from Louise Bourgeois’ Spiders to Soundsuits by Nick Cave (the artist not the musician) to political satire by Brazilians Vik Muniz and Cildo Meireles. VandM reached out to several of our favorite dealers and here we present necessarily limited, highly selective—and most intriguing—preview.

In upcoming days, we’ll offer reports from Art Basel and other satellite fairs, so please stay tuned.

By Suzanne Charlé, Heidi K. Lee and Basak Tan

Georg Herold, Untitled, 2011
Lath, canvas, lacquer, thread and screws
88 5/8 x 39 3/8 x 130 3/8 in
Sadie Coles HQ (© the artist, courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London)