© August Sander, *The Pastry Chef*, 1928, gelatin silver print, 10 1/6 x 6 ¾ inches, Collection Martin Z. Margulies, Miami

Written by Linh Dinh
Edited by Ben Blavat

Art Basel at Miami Beach will open its doors to visitors this December, marking the first in-person fair at Miami Beach since 2019. As one of the leading global art fairs in the Americas, Art Basel will bring together 253 galleries from 36 countries and territories spanning five continents. Of these galleries, 43 are first-time exhibitors. Altogether, Art Basel will present broad collections of work in a number of mediums, from painting and digital art to photography and sculpture.

© Werner Mantz, *Detail Kalkerfeld Settlement*, 1928, gelatin silver print, 8 7/8 x 5 inches, Collection Martin Z. Margulies, Miami

In conjunction with these events, Miami-based art collector Martin Z. Margulies will put part of his personal collection on display. Margulies has been collecting artwork for over two decades and is the founder of the Warehouse, a nonprofit institution home to seasonal exhibitions of his work. The Warehouse also serves as a springboard for students and visitors, hosting diverse art education programs.

© Albert Renger-Patzsch, *Winter Landscape near Kaiserwerth*, 1930, vintage gelatin silver print, 6 ½ x 9 7/8 inches, Collection Martin Z. Margulies, Miami

Within Margulies’ extensive collection lies the series New Vision: European Photographs 1923-1955, which will be on view in Miami. The photography series includes a range of work with a central focus on the First and Second World Wars. Although the New Vision movement extended to numerous regions, the collection centers on Germany, France and Russia. The emergence of the New Vision photography movement, also known as Neues Sehen or Neue Optik, began in the 1920s. Many artists began reclaiming the mechanisms of image-making in a newly industrialised society. Directly influenced by the principles of the Bauhaus, artists of this time experimented with a number of elements: form and composition, lighting and negative space, and photographic processing. The coming decades saw a surge in experimental photography, and unconventional techniques came into the limelight.

These methods sought to separate photography from painting by challenging the status quo. The Margulies collection features work by many German artists, including New Objectivity photographers and members of the Bauhaus. Featured artists include Albert Renger-Patzsch, August Sander, Werner Mantz, Hugo Schmölz, Adolf Lazi and Ruth Hallensleben. The artists skillfully apply perspective and composition from a playful experimental mindset, providing a unique glimpse into an age full of change and adaptation. Art Basel Miami Beach is open Nov. 30 to Dec. 5. The first two days are private, and the remainder is open to the public. Select photographs from New Vision can be viewed online.