The VICE Guide to Miami Art Fairs - Gardar Eide Einarsson

Gardar is my favorite artist. I know I already said that about everyone else I interviewed, but it’s really Gardar. I’ll tell you why—he’s hilarious. Sure, he looks scary with his tattoos and stuff, but underneath it all he’s just having a laugh.

Vice: Level with me, are you going to Art Basel?

Gardar Eide Einarsson:

Ahh, maybe.

That’s what everyone’s saying!

If I go it’ll only be for a couple of days.

Just to install your work?

Yeah, I have stuff with my galleries [Nils Stærk, Standard, and Team] and I’m in Nate Lowman and Shamim Momin’s group show.

“The Station.”

Yeah. Plus all my friends from Norway are gonna be there.

That’ll be difficult with for you, with the whole not-drinking be-healthy thing you’ve got going right now.

I know, dude, but maybe I’ll just go and have a little vacation from that whole rigmarole.

How’s that rigmarole going?

It’s going super good! I’m jogging and everything!

How many days a week are you jogging?

Like four days a week.

How long for?

Not long, dude, about 45 minutes, about two miles.

That’s a pretty long jog.

Well, not really. It’s awesome, though, I run down by the East River and there’s all these Chinese dudes running with me down there and they run in suits and penny loafers!

Wait, you mean like business suits?

Yeah, like mismatched pants and jacket combos.

You’re kidding?

No, and they run in penny loafers. It’s really good for your back to run in penny loafers.

That’s what I keep hearing. Anyway, back to the Miami thing, you don’t know if you’ll go?

Well, I might. My friend Matias…

From Norway?

Yeah, Matias and I cook this traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner every year, and we do it in different places, so I thought Miami might be a good place to do it.

Club (Destroy This Mad Brute), 2008, painted bronze, courtesy of the artist and Team Gallery.

Well, that’ll be nice!

Yeah! I’ve only been down there once and it was close to Christmas, after the art fair, and I thought it had kind of a weird Christmas vibe.

How so?

Well, I remember being on this one street and it was full of junkies in swimming trunks wearing Santa hats.

Wait, this was after the fair? Did you go to the fair?

No, I came the day after the fair, the fair was over, and there were all these meth addicts in Santa hats and swimming trunks.

So you actually haven’t been to the fair?

No.

I guess you should go then.

Yeah, I guess, but I think it’s a little bit of a weird thing, as an artist, to be running around to parties all the time.

You mean it’s a little bit… ah…

Gay?

No, I mean do you think all the partying is detrimental to, or detracts from, the actual art fair?

Well, that’s the egghead explanation. My answer can be that it’s just gay.