I was invited to curate an exhibition at the Ink Miami print fair during Miami’s Art Basel in 2014. I was given a suite dubbed the Pulp Lounge and was charged with curating one work from each of the thirteen exhibitors. As I started my research of the exhibitors’ websites I wrestled with trying to come up with a cohesive theme for selecting works. I had limited time to coordinate with exhibitors as to what works they were bringing. I wanted to make it as simple as possible. I did not like trying to select works from the websites, I wanted to hand pick the works onsite and take them for my show. That’s when I conceived the art heist scenario but I didn’t want visitors to believe there had been an actual theft, it had to be over the top and funny so I came up with the title “The Ink Panther” and switched from curator to performance artist.
I created fourteen monogrammed art-handling gloves like those left by the Phantom in the Pink Panther Movies. I took one piece from each room allowing the exhibitors to help decide which piece could be taken. In return I left a glove and a clue that could be displayed at their discretion that indicated a piece was missing from their collection. In the Pulp Lounge I hung all of the stolen artworks in the main living space and created an installation in the bed room that was filled with clues as to the identity of the thief: Vincent J. Kral. The title cards for each work also read as clues telling where each piece was taken from and provided the name and room number of each exhibitor. The performance aspect began as I wandered the fair as Inspector Jacques Clouseau complete with the trench coat, hat, and a large magnifying glass. I spoke with patrons in character and explained that I was on the case and would have it solved by the end of the fair. This performance piece was important because it became the solution to my curating predicament and added an amusing way for patrons to explore the fair. Click any image below to view image gallery.
I created fourteen monogrammed art-handling gloves like those left by the Phantom in the Pink Panther Movies. I took one piece from each room allowing the exhibitors to help decide which piece could be taken. In return I left a glove and a clue that could be displayed at their discretion that indicated a piece was missing from their collection. In the Pulp Lounge I hung all of the stolen artworks in the main living space and created an installation in the bed room that was filled with clues as to the identity of the thief: Vincent J. Kral. The title cards for each work also read as clues telling where each piece was taken from and provided the name and room number of each exhibitor. The performance aspect began as I wandered the fair as Inspector Jacques Clouseau complete with the trench coat, hat, and a large magnifying glass. I spoke with patrons in character and explained that I was on the case and would have it solved by the end of the fair. This performance piece was important because it became the solution to my curating predicament and added an amusing way for patrons to explore the fair. Click any image below to view image gallery.
Press Release:
INK MIAMI Art Fair
Modern & Contemporary Works on Paper
December 3-7, 2014
at the Suites of Dorchester
Collins Avenue and 19th St.
PREVIEW BREAKFAST & PERFORMANCE DECEMBER 3, 9:00 AM
Premier Sponsor: XL Group Insurance
Presented by the International Fine Print Dealers Association [IFPDA]
New York, NY 11/24/14 – The 2014 INK Miami Art Fair previews on Wednesday,
December 3 at 9:00 am with a performance and site specific exhibition curated by
Vincent Kral in the Fair’s new Pulp Lounge. Kral’s performance piece, “The Ink
Panther” will begin during Wednesday’s Preview Breakfast and continue
throughout the day in various sites throughout Miami.
INK Miami Art Fair returns for its ninth year as the celebrated salon-style fair at the
Suites of Dorchester, just two blocks from the Miami Beach Convention Center. XL
Group Insurance returns as the Fair’s Premier Sponsor. INK Miami draws a
sophisticated, knowledgeable clientele that responds enthusiastically to its
juxtaposition of fresh, newly editioned projects with unique modern masterworks
on paper by internationally acclaimed artists.
Vincent Kral’s site-specific exhibition of artworks “stolen” from each Ink Miami
exhibitor’s suite will be located in the Fair’s Pulp Lounge in Suite 164. His performance
piece, “The Ink Panther” will incorporate monogramed art-handling gloves and clues left
by the notorious “Phantom” to help Vince, performing as Inspector Jacques Clouseau,
engage the Fair’s attendees in solving the case by locating the exhibiting dealers who
were the source for each artwork exhibited in the Pulp Lounge. On Sunday, December
7th Vincent will again appear as the “Inspector" to return the stolen works to their
respective exhibitors at 3:00 PM.
Vincent J. Kral is a Tampa-based artist who exhibits throughout the United States.
Participating in more than 50 exhibitions during the past decade, Kral uses video, audio,
and sculptural installations to engage the viewer. Kral has a BFA in Studio Art with an
emphasis in Electronic Media from USF in 2007.
EXHIBITORS Aaron Galleries, Chicago | Childs Gallery, Boston | Dolan Maxwell,
Philadelphia | Graphicstudio/U.S.F., Tampa | The Old Print Shop, New York | Ruiz-
Healy Art, San Antonio, TX | Leslie Sacks Fine Art, Los Angeles | Segura Arts Studio,
South Bend, IN | Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati | Stoney Road Press, Dublin | Tamarind
Institute, Albuquerque | Tandem Press, Madison, WI
Location Suites of Dorchester, 1850 Collins Ave. (at 19th Street), Miami Beach, FL 33139
INK MIAMI Art Fair
Modern & Contemporary Works on Paper
December 3-7, 2014
at the Suites of Dorchester
Collins Avenue and 19th St.
PREVIEW BREAKFAST & PERFORMANCE DECEMBER 3, 9:00 AM
Premier Sponsor: XL Group Insurance
Presented by the International Fine Print Dealers Association [IFPDA]
New York, NY 11/24/14 – The 2014 INK Miami Art Fair previews on Wednesday,
December 3 at 9:00 am with a performance and site specific exhibition curated by
Vincent Kral in the Fair’s new Pulp Lounge. Kral’s performance piece, “The Ink
Panther” will begin during Wednesday’s Preview Breakfast and continue
throughout the day in various sites throughout Miami.
INK Miami Art Fair returns for its ninth year as the celebrated salon-style fair at the
Suites of Dorchester, just two blocks from the Miami Beach Convention Center. XL
Group Insurance returns as the Fair’s Premier Sponsor. INK Miami draws a
sophisticated, knowledgeable clientele that responds enthusiastically to its
juxtaposition of fresh, newly editioned projects with unique modern masterworks
on paper by internationally acclaimed artists.
Vincent Kral’s site-specific exhibition of artworks “stolen” from each Ink Miami
exhibitor’s suite will be located in the Fair’s Pulp Lounge in Suite 164. His performance
piece, “The Ink Panther” will incorporate monogramed art-handling gloves and clues left
by the notorious “Phantom” to help Vince, performing as Inspector Jacques Clouseau,
engage the Fair’s attendees in solving the case by locating the exhibiting dealers who
were the source for each artwork exhibited in the Pulp Lounge. On Sunday, December
7th Vincent will again appear as the “Inspector" to return the stolen works to their
respective exhibitors at 3:00 PM.
Vincent J. Kral is a Tampa-based artist who exhibits throughout the United States.
Participating in more than 50 exhibitions during the past decade, Kral uses video, audio,
and sculptural installations to engage the viewer. Kral has a BFA in Studio Art with an
emphasis in Electronic Media from USF in 2007.
EXHIBITORS Aaron Galleries, Chicago | Childs Gallery, Boston | Dolan Maxwell,
Philadelphia | Graphicstudio/U.S.F., Tampa | The Old Print Shop, New York | Ruiz-
Healy Art, San Antonio, TX | Leslie Sacks Fine Art, Los Angeles | Segura Arts Studio,
South Bend, IN | Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati | Stoney Road Press, Dublin | Tamarind
Institute, Albuquerque | Tandem Press, Madison, WI
Location Suites of Dorchester, 1850 Collins Ave. (at 19th Street), Miami Beach, FL 33139
