British photographer and visual artist Miles Aldridge’s Miami journey started in 2011 with an Art Basel pop-up in Miami Beach’s Casa Tua. More than a decade later, the collaboration is still going strong, bringing his saturated, highly stylised palate to the intimate Miami dining lifestyle destination.

“My first project was an exhibition at Casa Tua restaurant 10 years ago, an exhibition which kick-started a long relationship with both the restaurant and the city,” recalls Miles Aldridge, reminiscing on the project that started his decade-long affinity and working relationship with Miami. “I did not know Miami at all but it was exciting to be there for Art Basel Miami Beach as there were lots of parties and events including many at the club at Casa Tua.

The original exhibition in 2011 showcased his work commissioned by the late, great, Franca Sozzani, and subsequent exhibitions have since taken place, all showcasing the photographer’s signature and distinctive point of view: elaborate mise-en-scènes, often centred on the flawed beauty in a domestic setting, in brilliant colours. The latest collaboration is taking place at Casa Tua for guests to enjoy while dining, relaxing and experiencing its public spaces, which Aldridge believes, is the perfect setting to enjoy his art. “It is an exciting time to be in Miami because of the influx of so many creative people from the art world,” he adds.

Tell us about the collaborations with Miami’s restaurants. 

Casa Tua founder Miky Grendene invited me to exhibit again during Art Basel Miami Beach and as we had such a good experience previously, it was a no-brainer to accept this invitation. I was happy to exhibit at Casa Tua particularly as this is a restaurant that every gallerist and collector visits during Art Basel. Every evening there are several parties for different galleries: for example, when I had my exhibition private view upstairs in the club there was an exhibition downstairs for Gagosian and the two parties mixed very easily.

Casa Tua is such a beautiful restaurant with the perfect clientele from Art Basel so in this respect, the setting was very sympathetic to the images and vice versa creating a perfect environment for the photographs. As I use food a lot in my imagery, there was a nice back-and-forth between my images and the people enjoying their dinners.

Do you think collaborating with hospitality projects to showcase your work is making art more accessible?

Seeing the art in the setting of a beautiful restaurant like Casa Tua is a great way to showcase art as it gives a sense of how the images may look in a home, which is ultimately where they will be hung. The collaboration with Casa Tua is a great example of how art and hospitality can live together.

How did you select the images to be shown at Casa Tua? 

I worked on a selection of 25 artworks with Miky Grendene which would fit the spaces in terms of scale and themes therefore we chose images often to do with eating and other images which have an architectural dimension so that the architectural space of Casa Tua and that of the artworks complemented each other.

How does Miami as a city inspire you? 

My experience of Miami is always during Art Basel, so coloured by the numerous parties and events that go on during this busy and creative time. For me, it is a time of meeting friends in the art world and making new acquaintances both at the art fair and at Casa Tua.