Surface Heat: How One Evening at Art Basel Proved the Power of Art-Led Corporate Experiences
When global law firm DLA Piper approached Seen to create an art experience during the biggest week in the international art calendar, we didn’t propose a safe cocktail hour with background music. We pitched something bolder: a curated exhibition of five Miami-based artists, installed on reclaimed shipping crates, for one night only at the Faena Forum - one of Miami’s most iconic cultural venues.
The result was Surface Heat, an evening that transformed a corporate reception into a genuine cultural moment, giving DLA Piper’s clients and colleagues something they’d never forget.
The Brief
Art Basel Miami Beach draws 75,000 visitors and generates over $547 million in economic activity every year. During Art Week, the competition for attention is fierce - every major brand, gallery, and institution is hosting an event. DLA Piper wanted something that would stand apart: an experience that felt culturally authentic, intellectually engaging, and worthy of the setting.
They needed more than décor. They needed a curatorial vision.
The Concept: Celebrating Miami’s Own
Each year, hundreds of international artists descend on Miami Beach. Yet the vibrant creative community that calls Miami home year-round often goes overlooked. Surface Heat turned that dynamic on its head by spotlighting five exceptional artists who live and work in the city—each channeling the intensity of the southern sun and the warmth of Miami’s creative culture.
The five featured artists were:
Edison Peñafiel : Visceral installations exploring migration, identity, and the tension between surveillance and control
Brandon Clarke: Mixed-media works that deconstruct the traditional canvas to reveal hidden layers of meaning
Morel Doucet : Ceramics and illustrations investigating climate-gentrification in Black diasporic communities
Anastasia Samoylova: Photography bridging observation and studio practice, fresh from a major exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Clara Varas : Painting and assemblage exploring displacement, the meaning of home, and life between Cuba and Miami
These aren’t emerging unknowns. They are internationally recognized artists with work in major museum collections and exhibitions worldwide. The caliber of the roster gave guests a privileged window into Miami’s creative depth, curated specifically for the occasion.
The Installation: Art on Its Own Infrastructure
What made Surface Heat distinctive wasn’t just the art, it was how it was displayed. Rather than traditional gallery walls, every work was mounted on reclaimed shipping crates sourced from Atelier4, the same materials that have transported artworks to and from Miami for decades. The crates became a metaphor for the exhibition itself: acknowledging the global infrastructure of the art world while building a platform for local voices.
Installed inside the curved reception hall of the Faena Forum, the effect was immediate and striking. Guests moved through the space the way they would through a gallery—pausing, looking closely, starting conversations with the artists themselves.
More Than an Exhibition: A Full Evening Program
Surface Heat was designed as a complete experience, not just a backdrop. The evening included a curated fireside chat with three of the five artists—Anastasia Samoylova, Edison Peñafiel, and Brandon Clarke—moderated by Seen’s founder, art historian and curator Carrie Scott, offering guests an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the creative process and the Miami art scene.
Seen also produced a custom Art Basel guide for DLA Piper’s guests, available through the firm’s app, featuring a curated map of must-see moments across the fair’s biggest edition ever, 287 galleries from 44 countries. The guide gave guests confidence to navigate Art Week like insiders, extending the value of the evening well beyond the reception itself.
The experience extended beyond the evening itself. Seen’s founder, Carrie Scott, personally led a VIP tour of Art Basel Miami Beach for a selection of DLA Piper team members, guiding them through the fair and contextualizing key pieces within the broader conversations shaping the art world and the art market in 2026. It was the kind of access and expertise that transforms a visit to Art Basel from overwhelming to genuinely enriching, and reinforced Seen’s role as a trusted cultural partner, not just an event producer.
Why It Worked
Corporate events during Art Week are everywhere. What distinguished Surface Heat was its commitment to substance over spectacle. Every element: the curatorial thesis, the artist selection, the installation design, the programming, was purposeful. The evening gave DLA Piper’s guests something they couldn’t get anywhere else that week: a genuine encounter with art and artists, thoughtfully framed and beautifully delivered.
For DLA Piper, the result was a client event that elevated their brand as a culturally engaged, forward-thinking firm, and created the kind of memorable, conversation-starting experience that strengthens relationships in ways a standard reception never could.
“We could not have pulled this off without [Seen’s ]expertise. Our vision was to elevate the experience, and [Seen was] instrumental in making this happen.”
What Seen Delivers
Seen is a platform that creates exceptional, art-based experiences for professional and corporate audiences that center artist voices. We collaborate with established and emerging artists, galleries, and cultural institutions to design bespoke events, from private exhibitions and immersive installations to art-led client receptions and entertainment experiences all in pursuit of elevating creative health.
Surface Heat is an example of what becomes possible when a corporate partner trusts a creative team with real curatorial freedom. The investment pays off, not just in the room, but in the stories guests carry with them long after the evening ends.
Interested in bringing an art-led experience to your next event? Explore what Seen has to offer.