Among works attracting much attention were the kinetic paper sculptures of Li Hongbow seen in Beijing earlier this year at the Red Gate Gallery and presented at Art Miami by the Klein Sun Gallery of New York. Li, influenced by his fascination with the traditional Chinese decorative art known as paper gourds, meticulously crafted re-creations of porcelain masterpieces from thousands of layers of thin stacked paper pieces.

Young performance artist-turned-painter Zhang Yu’s works for the Beautiful Asset Project, on display at SCOPE Miami Beach, also created buzz. Her magnificent renderings of facial features in oils recall the best of the Renaissance masters. Food and animals, love and lust are always present in this promising young artist's growing body of work.

And the best is about to get even better.

Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine announced the complete gutting and overhaul of Art Basel Miami Beach's Convention Center home, which he promised would be completed by next year's expo.

Fair-goers can also look forward to the opening of the new Institute of Contemporary Arts, which will feature 20,000 square feet of exhibition space and a 15,000 square feet sculpture garden in the heart of the Miami Design District. No wonder Chinese visitors are not only snapping up prime art but also prime waterfront real estate in the city.