In 2008, during the annual Art Basel Miami Beach, curatorial impresarios Aaron Bondaroff and Al Moran decided to throw their own party across town. They filled a warehouse with art by friends like Ryan McGinley and Dash Snow, stocked up on beer, invited bands, and dubbed the spontaneous soirée It Ain't Fair. Though the art market had just crashed, the work they exhibited sold briskly. So the duo formalized their partnership as OHWOW—an acronym for "Our House West of Wynwood," where they'd held the event, and a description of the reaction they hoped to elicit. Their concept was simple: "We were surrounded by these really talented people," Moran says. "If one of them wanted to tell a story, we wanted to be the vehicle for it."
Now, on the eve of the fourth It Ain't Fair (on view December 1–4 in Miami's Design District, it will feature work by Daniel Arsham, Aurel Schmidt, Agathe Snow, and others), OHWOW has become a critical platform for connecting artists with art lovers, through exhibitions, performances, parties, books, and limited-edition objects. Last year the group opened shops designed by architect Rafael de Cárdenas in New York's West Village and in Miami Beach, and in March, they added a 4,000-square-foot gallery in Los Angeles. "It's an attitude," says artist Luis Gispert, who will show at the new space in April, of OHWOW's appeal. "These aren't people with M.B.A.'s. These are creative people."
— Rachel Wolff
Also on Details.com:
10 Can't-Miss Events at the 10th Annual Art Basel Miami Beach
An OHWOW Artist's Send-Off to Merce Cunningham
The Insider's Guide to Art in Los Angeles
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