MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA.- From 1 to 4 December 2005, Florida, USA will be home to Art Basel Miami Beach, the International Art Show. This is the most important art show in America and the favorite winter meeting place of the international art world. 195 galleries from the USA, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa will take part. Picked by the Selection Committee from a record number of 620 applicants, they will present works by over 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Of those exhibiting last year, 99% have reapplied. Special sectors will feature young galleries showing works in exhibition spaces created out of shipping containers. There will also be presentations of new art works, video and sound lounges and art projects intended for public spaces. Making its debut at Art Basel Miami Beach is «Art Kabinett», where participating galleries can present a curated mini-exhibition in a self-contained cubicle within their booth. Another new feature will be the proposed platform for performances. Following its success last year, the special «Art Nova» sector will be massively extended. For the first time, exhibitors will have 54 booths (2004: 23 booths) at their disposal. The admission of 55 new galleries will strength all the sectors, making the list of parti-cipants at this year's Art Basel Miami Beach more illu-strious than ever. An exciting program of special exhibitions, visits to private art collections, crossover events and «Art Basel Conversations» with international art world celebrities will complete the varied presentations awaiting visitors to Art Basel Miami Beach.

The fourth edition of Art Basel Miami Beach takes place from 1 to 4 December 2005 in Miami Beach, Florida (USA). On the eve of the opening, guests from around the world are invited to the glamorous Vernissage. At the International Art Show, all areas of art (painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, editions, performance, digital and video art) will be on

show and can be purchased. Prices start at a few hundred dollars for multiples and works by young artists, and soar into the millions for museum-quality masterpieces.

Its prominent list of participants makes Art Basel Miami Beach the most prestigious art show on the American continent for 20th century classics and for contemporary art. The art show features 195 leading galleries (the full list is at www.ArtBasel.com/Galleries) from 30 countries. Of the galleries, 41% come from the USA and Canada, 49% from Europe, 7% from Latin America, 3% from Asia and one from the African continent. This spring, the Selection Committee, (members are listed at www.ArtBasel.com/Organisation), met in Miami Beach to make their selection. From a record number of over 620 applications from every continent it picked 195 of the leading galleries. Of last year's participants, 99% reapplied for this year. The 55 newly admitted galleries make this year's list of participants more star-studded than ever. The field of contemporary art galleries has been reinforced by:

Collective exhibit - Nordic galleries: I8 galleri (Reykjavik), Galerie Anhava, (Helsinki) and Galleri Bo Bjerggaard (Copenhagen), Collective exhibit - Editions: Paragon Press (London) and Carolina Nitsch Contemporary Art (New York), Christine Burgin (New York), Jablonka Galerie (Cologne), Galerie Neu (Berlin), Sonnabend Gallery (New York), Zeno X Gallery (Antwerp), Jack Shainman Gallery (New York), Sicardi Gallery (Houston) and Hackett-Freedman Gallery,
(San Francisco). Galerie Nordenhake (Berlin) is returning after a brief break.

Last year, Art Basel Miami Beach welcomed 30 of the best-known galleries for 20th century classics, including such legendary art dealers as Acquavella, Richard Gray, Gagosian, Pace Wildstein, Mary-Anne Martin, Landau, Juda, Thomas and Waddington. They are now being joined by Rachel Adler Fine Art (New York), Valerie Carberry Gallery (Chicago), Maxwell Davidson Gallery (New York), Cecilia de Torres (New York), Galería Elvira González (Madrid), Salander - O'Reilly Galleries (New York), Galleria Tega (Milan), Riva Yares Gallery (Scottsdale), Howard Greenberg Gallery, (vintage photography, San Francisco), Michael Werner Gallery (New York) and Galerie Jablonka (Cologne). Following a brief pause, Galerie Jan Krugier & Ditesheim (Geneva) will once again be present. All will be showing rare works of 20th century art. A deliberate decision was made to reinforce the representation of American and Latin American modern art in order to present visitors with a selection that differs still more from the works shown at Art Basel.