See Photos From Artnet and Maestro Dobel Tequila’s Miami Art Week Event Celebrating Mexico’s Contemporary Art and Design Community

Artnet hosted a dinner with Maestro Dobel Tequila at Ocho, the rooftop bar of Soho Beach House Miami, during Art Basel. Photo: Edin Chavez.

It took a while, but soon enough, the traffic up Collins Avenue started flowing as freely as the Dobel cocktails at Ocho, the expansive rooftop bar atop Soho Beach House Miami, on the evening of November 30. Guests came to toast the second consecutive year of a partnership between Artnet and Maestro Dobel Tequila, forged in support of Mexico’s Pocoapoco, an arts residency and cultural organization that aims to foster creativity and community in Oaxaca and beyond.

The fête also celebrated the recent launch of Maestro Dobel Artpothecary, the innovative tequila-maker’s platform for collaborations with Mexico-based visionaries in art, design, and hospitality. Its creative director, Alejandra Martinez—also the founder of the Mexican contemporary art platform Anónimo Colectivo—paired Artpothecary participants with a range of practitioners who are pushing the boundaries of their respective fields, by way of Mexico.

Artnet and Maestro Dobel Artpothecary commissioned a series of “Exquisite Forms” artworks, which were projected onto the walls. Photo: Edin Chavez.

Six pairs of artists and designers—Orly Anan and Eduardo Sarabia, Alexander Díaz Andersson and Julian Mayor, Carlos Betancourt and Luvia Lazo, Hector Esrawe and Brian Thoreen, Brian Butterfield and La Metropolitana, Jacqueline Lessa and Francisco Pardo—recently connected for a special series of Creative Conversations, currently running on Artnet News.

Meanwhile, each of them also collaborated on an “Exquisite Forms” artwork, a contemporary spin on exquisite corpse. Beloved by the likes of Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dalí, the Surrealist game sees its players take turns contributing sketches to a collective drawing.

All six “Exquisite Forms” were exhibited via projection at the event, as cocktails were served. (One favorite: the Maestro Dobel Elote Margarita, featuring Dobel’s Humito Smoked Tequila, Nixta Corn Liquor, agave syrup, lime juice, and cacao Angostura Bitters.) The works are also being published with their corresponding Creative Conversations.

Each dinner course was paired with a Maestro Dobel Tequila. Photo: Edin Chavez.

After a welcome from Artnet News editor in chief Andrew Goldstein, Martinez took the stage. She described the Maestro Dobel Artpothecary as a “beautiful platform for surprises” and a “gateway for Mexican talent to get together and express their messages and their creativity.”

Guests sat at elongated tables with floating candles to enjoy dinner courtesy of Jorge Vallejo, the chef of Mexico City’s renowned Quintonil (currently number 27 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list). Each of its three courses was paired with a different spirit from Dobel, the makers of the original Cristalino tequila. Vallejo introduced the menu, which took “Modern Mexico” as its theme, with the first “¡Salud!” of the night.

An elegant starter of stone crab in a green “mole” with lime kaffir, Thai basil, and blue corn tostadas was served with Maestro Dobel Silver, while Maestro Dobel Reposado was paired with a second course of rib eye, eggplant purée, caramelized onion, and “chile pasado” sauce. Then, trumpet-shaped glasses of Maestro Dobel 50 were poured alongside a dessert of crème fraîche, passion fruit, and caviar.

And finally, everyone hit the dance floor—with none other than artist-turned-DJ Eduardo Sarabia at the decks.