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Haiiileen: From the Club to the Museum

Standing at Five foot two with freshly manicured nails and salon dyed hair, artist Aileen Quintana, also known as Haiiileen, is an unlikely fabricator. Nevertheless, the First-generation Cuban-American and Miami, FL native has not only survived in the male-dominated, labor-intensive practice but thrived-- all while looking good. Even when basking in the heat of a 4x8-foot industrial oven, Haiiileen is not intimidated, a remarkable feat for an artist with only two years of experience in sculpture. It is this bravery, toughness, and overall sheer hustle that best explains Haiileen’s success in recent years, propelling the sculptural newcomer onto the national stage with commissions for III Points, Space Miami, SoHo Beach House, The City of Miami Beach, Art Basel, Frost Museum of Science and more.

Known for her kaleidoscopic, iridescent and larger than life installations, Haiiileen focuses in light as a medium in her work, manipulating it in a fashion that allows for the creation of what the artist calls a “neo-abstract alternate reality.” While much of her choice media is new and constantly evolving, Haiiileen has long been involved in creative assembly. “My life has always been about production” the artist explains, as she cut her teeth overseeing creative direction, styling, and virtually every facet of over five-hundred fashion shows around the world. In addition to fashion, and fabrics design, her work in makeup, earning international recognition from the likes of Covergirl, YSL, Sephora and more, provided a well-established foundation for a future in sculptural design. Interestingly, some of her former, traditional techniques in makeup have translated to her sculptures, emphasizing contours and highlights.

Despite her prominent career, Haiileen’s bold transition to multi-dimensional arts has provided an immense sense of creative freedom, a good gamble for the artist fresh off the heels of her first institutional solo exhibition at the Young at Art Museum. Entitled “Lightscapes” the presentation is comprised of three large-scale acrylic light sculptures (Amaziiing, Haii, and Aqua) and a fabrication lab, a nod to her ongoing investigation of scientific inquiry in her practice. Sponsored by Faulkner Plastics and Glowback LED Lightingfuture chrome, the overall exhibit explores themes of electricity, positive and negative wavelengths, light frequencies, and light theory.

Similar topics will be investigated in Haiiileen’s newest commission for the 2019 edition of iii Points. Her most complex and technologically driven piece to date. The artist explains it as “a study and sculptural representation of White Light and the patterns it transcends.” Having partnered with the innovative festival from its inception, the festival brought huge attention and mass audiences to her work. While the praise was quick to approach, so did the challenges of being positioned in an auditory focused setting. “Most people come to music festivals for the musicians, the art is kind of secondary” she explains. Notwithstanding, it is these very circumstances in which Haiiileen's thrives, building immersive experiences that authentically enhance the festival experience while symbiotically taking benefit from the experimental setting of iii Points. Overall, Haiiileen’s continued, rapid rise, accompanied by her ongoing refinement of craft, and continuously boundary-pushing works prove she is worthy of the hype.

Event Recap: Gustavo Oviedo's "ISLANDIA" Book Release

This past weekend, Multi-disciplinary artist Gustavo Oviedo unveiled "ISLANDIA," a self-published edition cataloging ten years worth of nautical expeditions, murals, and studio practices. Curated into 100 full-color spread pages, the publication is equally documentary and autobiographical as Oviedo releases a glimpse both into his artistic practice and the constant evolution of South Florida's aquatic environments. From underwater video stills to images of completed multi-media works, the entirety of Oviedo's process is showcased, seemingly framing each step as its own piece of a broader documentary archive.

The release took place at Wynwood's Rácket, which was transformed into a gallery for the occasion, featuring site-specific murals and some of Oviedo newest multi-media works, alongside the artist's notable nautical videos. Altogether the exhibit provided a well-curated collection of the artist's practice to celebrate and complement the launch of the publication. A limited edition of "ISLANDIA" is now available for purchase. Contact gustavo-oviedo.com for more details.

'Nicolas Lobo: Cash Me Out' at Nina Johnson

The first documented time a bitcoin was used in purchase was to buy a couple of Papa John’s® pizzas. In 2010, Florida programmer Laszlo Hanyecz payed a U.K. coder 10,000 bitcoins to buy them. Today, one bitcoin is worth $1,160.04¹. That’s a $11,600,400 pizza, or $1,933,400 to $1,450,050 a slice, depending on how you cut it.

This landmark moment in cryptocurrency history not only showed the capabilities of the new digital banking system, but also served as a realization to Miami-based artist Nick Lobo of the quick mechanization of our traditional monetary economy and its impact on our fast-food industry. Lobo’s interest in these topics culminate in his newest exhibition at Nina Johnson entitled “Cash Me Out”.

The celebrated artist, whose shows include those at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, CA, and The Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia, PA is known for his use of chemical, often caustic media used to portray themes based on contemporary lifestyle trends and corporeal systems of consumption. Past works have included installations filled with “Niagara”, a once a sought-after aphrodisiac drink in the early 2000s, and a concrete-casted outsized pill shape bearing the Versace logo—a reference to a legendary strain of the drug Ecstasy.

For “Cash Me Out” Lobo references one of the earliest forms of expedited food service; the pizza delivery. While heavily debated, many trace the first pizza delivery to 1889 when King Umberto and Queen Margherita had the privilege of getting a pizza delivered by Raffaele Esposito, the most famous Pizzaiolo (pizza chef) in Naples, Italy. Since its humble beginnings, pizza, the means used to pay for them, and the way consumers receive them has been drastically altered. Today, Apps such as Ubereats®, and Delivery Dudes® provide pizzas of a wide variety a click away. Pizza Hut® even boasts a new promotion in which pizzas can be ordered using a specially designed pair of sneakers. Combining the automated efficiency and consistency of both the delivery and taste of the product has been nearly perfected using proprietary machinery, unique to each brand's identity. Overall, the pizza serves as the perfect case study in analyzing modern food production and digital trade.

While pizza is the most obvious reference in the show, as the backgrounds of Lobo’s wall mounted pieces are carbon fiber pizza boxes, he also explores other artificially engineered foods. Using fries, noodles, peach rings, onion rings, Lucky Charms®, Lifesavers® and more, Lobo investigates the textures and iconic shapes of these foods by using them as stamps, impressing them upon terra-cotta disks. These snacks are especially appropriate as they have been modernized using freeze-drying, dehydrating, flash-frying, and preservative techniques. Although the actual foods are absent, many are quickly recognized, while others create more organically appearing abstractions. Additionally, some of the disks are painted black, white or greyish hues, softening the bridge between the aesthetic of the organic clay and the woven carbon fiber. Accompanying the plates are fragments of pressings taken from ATM interfaces and keypads, which tie together Lobo’s themes of commerce and culinary engineering in unique compositions.

The resulting pieces highlight the stylized nature of these products, yet retain a sense of organic sculpture. The individual disks can be likened to satellites or petri dishes of bacteria and other biological matter. The works as a whole can be seen as a scientific sampling study and research survey. Nevertheless, they present the ambitions of industrially perfected foods despite their rather meek status among American culture. “Cash Me Out” cleverly challenges the relationship between value and engineering, showing that service and craftsmanship are not always tied to monetary reward or societal praise. Rather, the media (bitcoin or dollar) which we designate to these items can regulate their worth throughout time.

¹ Bitcoin / USD exchange rate on April 3, 2017

Images by Nina Johnson

Nick Lobo’s “Cash Me Out” is now on view at Nina Johnson 6315 NW 2nd Ave Miami, Florida 33150


Josh Sperling "Man Child" at Bill Brady Gallery

Although relatively new to the local gallery landscape, Little River’s Bill Brady Gallery brings years of experience to its fresh South-Florida space. Having spent 20 years in NYC’s East Village as ATM Gallery, and more recently in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, building his namesake gallery, Bill Brady’s current iteration brings some of the most exciting emerging and mid-career artists to Miami. To date, the gallery has presented shows by Tomoo Gokita, Greg Bodin, Josh Reams, and Tony Matelli, many of whom showing for their first time in Miami.

For their newest exhibition, Bill Brady has tapped Josh Sperling, an emerging Brooklyn-based artist. Sperling received his BFA from SUNY Potsdam NY and has since held solo shows at, Retrospective Gallery, Hudson NY, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York NY, and has a forthcoming show at Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France in 2018. Despite his many recent presentations, “Man Child” is his first show with Bill Brady.

Comprised of eight wall-mounted CNC shapes, the new pieces add pleasant splotches of color to Brady’s white cube space. Upon closer inspection, the irregularly shaped canvases present textured surfaces that mix and intermingle with their bright geometric counterparts. Each piece builds on the next through Sperling's use of clean lines, overlapping shapes, and gradual use transparency. They can be likened to an 80’s or 90’s graphic aesthetic.

The dynamic works challenge the traditional use of rectangular canvases not only in their unconventional shapes, but also through their three-dimensional and architectural relief qualities. Sperling executes this effect by stretching canvas over interlocking and stacked segments, nearly sculptures in their own. The practice recalls artists before him whom have also made paintings as objects, such as Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Mangold, Imi Knoebel or Frank Stella. Sperling’s renditions of these ideas, though rooted in older themes, appear excitingly fresh and make for a must see.

"Man Child" is now on view through March 25 at Bill Brady Gallery 7140 NW Miami Court Miami, FL 33150. Images by Bill Brady.


Yann Gerstberger's Travis at Michael Jon and Alan

Depicting cranes, flies, and water-side dwellings, Mexico City based artist Yann Gerstberger’s newest suite of works seemingly appropriate regional elements for his second solo show in Miami with Michael Jon and Alan. While the Central American and southern U.S. influences are quite evident in their initial appearance as native rugs or tapestries, Gerstberger’s use of modern approaches create quite complex compositions upon these surfaces. Entitled “Travis,” the show exhibits seven of Gerstberger’s most recent pieces, distinct in their topical hues--serving as another fitting connection to the collection’s presentation in Miami.

However, despite the freshened palate, Gerstberger’s works remain easily identifiable due to his recognizable blend of familiar media combined with a unique use of cubist and primitivist styles. Like in past iterations, these pieces show a healthy mixture of intermingling, overlayed and juxtaposed organic forms of varying colors and patterns, open to interpretation. The few exceptions being the architectural rendering of a simple hut and the contour representations of various birds. The imagery overall can be most likened historically to Picasso and Miro or more recently to 80’s and 90’s era graphic designs.

Aided through the animalistic references and staccato patterns, the collection also displays a keen sense of movement, representative of both his subject matter and weaving process. The tapestries themselves, being bound by both naturally and synthetically dyed cotton yarn and sewn onto reclaimed vinyl, present Gerstberger’s Mexico as newly industrialized country that remains rooted in tradition. The resulting pieces are simultaneously contemporary and indigenous.

Through his limbo between primitive and modern styles, concrete and abstract depictions, contemporary and native practices, Gerstberger’s invites his audience to both visually dissect and weave together the notable characteristics of the region's changing visual identity. It is these dichotomies that construct Gerstberger’s rich imagery and make his newest exhibition “Travis” a must see.

Images by Michael Jon and Alan

Matthew Ronay: "When Two Are In One"

Among the hundreds- if not thousands of cultural showcases taking place during Miami Art week, ongoing exhibits at the Pérez Art Museum maintain their position at the helm of Miami’s art offerings. Celebrating artists in various stages of their careers, one of the most exciting presentations is that of Brooklyn based sculptor Matthew Ronay. In his newly commissioned installation for the Pérez Art Museum Miami’s Patricia Papper Project Gallery, Ronay presents “When Two Are In One.” Well known for his sculptural work, Ronay creates beautifully crafted objects from wood, fabric, and clay, ranging in scale from small freestanding and wall-based sculptures to immersive installations. Using distinct forms and colors, Ronay draws on both totemic and the surreal qualities of objects, conjuring traditions of non-western art making and American folk art, as well as spirituality and psychedelia. For his newest suite of works, Ronay has diverted from a usual use of a muted palette in exchange for more riotous colors that vibrate with energy. The glowing forms, along with their indigenous references, share notes with the work of artists such as Ugo Rondinone, whose landmark, land-art piece “Miami Mountain” was also showcased during Miami Art Week. Though smaller in construction, Ronay’s totems still maintain a keen sense of excitement. Also, more ornate in their construction, Ronay’s sculptures move beyond language and image as they straddle between forms of animalistic yet amorphous imagery. The resulting sculptures highlight Ronay’s themes of modernist abstraction and ritualistic objects. In all, as PAMM explains, “When Two Are In One gives primacy to the viewer's experience, and reward close observation of the textured and vivid surfaces, orifices, and protrusions that comprise his otherworldly forms. A must see during Miami Art Week.

Matthew Ronay: “When Two Are In One” now on view at The Perez Art Museum Miami until January 15, 2017. All images installation views: Matthew Ronay: “When Two Are In One” Pérez Art Museum Miami, 2016. Photo(s): Matthew Ronay


A Balancing Act

In her first exhibition in Miami, New York based Sarah Oppenheimer presents “S-281913,” a site specific installation commissioned by the Perez Art Museum Miami. Bridging art, cognitive science, and philosophy, the Yale educated Oppenheimer creates striking perceptual effects through modifications to gallery environments using both additional and pre-existing architectural elements. For her newest work at PAMM, Oppenheimer used familiar materials such as glass and metal mechanisms to accentuate the Herzog and deMeuron designed gallery and its setting encompassing the Biscayne Bay. Comprised of two glass parallelograms dramatically suspended from the ceiling and penetrating the floor beneath, Oppenheimer's work in itself activates the mostly barren gallery as it reflects and refracts its surroundings elements. From certain angles, the rotating glass pieces that comprise the work appear transparent, redoubling a sense of emptiness in the gallery. From other vantage points, they present an overload of visual information in their reflections, optically reorienting the gallery’s ceiling or floor from a horizontal plane to a vertical one; the result emphasizes aspects of PAMM’s architectural infrastructure that often go unnoticed, particularly its unique lighting system. Furthermore, Oppenheimer invites her audience to touch the pieces, rotating them on their axis and observing their changing reflections. PAMM explains; “Oppenheimer’s interventions heighten our awareness of the complex mental and bodily processes at work in the ways we understand and experience the spaces we inhabit. At a moment in history when this experience is increasingly mediated through the blue light that emanates from our phones, computers, and TV screens, her work reminds us that even our most fundamental perceptions require constant, critical questioning.” As Oppenheimer's pieces continue to travel the world, being exhibited internationally, her commision for Miami “S-281913”, can be considered her most exciting work to date and an honor for Miami.

Sarah Oppenheimer: S-281913 Now on view at The Perez Art Museum Miami, Sept. 30, 2016 – April 30, 2017. All images installation views: Sarah Oppenheimer: S-281913, Pérez Art Museum Miami, 2016. Photo(s): James Ewing


Review: Emmett Moore presents "Fracture" at Gallery Diet

In his second solo exhibition at Gallery Diet, Miami-based designer Emmett Moore displays a fresh suite of works that build on his exploration of modernist and minimalist sculpture. With a strong influence from Miami’s architectural landscape, comprised of elements such as breezeblock screens, geometric dividers, and hurricane shutters, Moore celebrates a uniquely “Miami” aesthetic that has become to define a large portion of his pieces in recent years.

Presented as “Fracture”, the title of the exhibition refers to the surface fragmentation of forms, while also hinting phonetically to the combination of fractal and architecture. Not only does Moore reference “Fracture” through the visual breakage and distortion of traditionally linear-graphed elements, but also does so metaphorically in creating a collection of non-functional works, a notable departure for the designer who holds a strong background in furniture design.

Such fragmented imagery is deployed through a duet of wall-mounted concrete panels of red and blue hues, poised at the center of the exhibit, that creates a folded, three-dimensional composition. A larger rendition of Moore’s folded concrete panels takes on an umber tint across the room. Moore also presents a rival quintet of white mortar tile grids that have been carefully interrupted at certain angles, to appear fractured, but are fit seamlessly together in a system of junctures and unions. Both series are created with a unique blend of materials that includes cement, water-based resin, fiberglass, and colored dye.

Not being limited to the the gallery’s wall space, “Fracture” showcases two freestanding sculptures created to mimic steel awnings, Moore’s most direct reference to Miami’s climate specific infrastructure. Assembled without its vital cloth mesh, the pieces recall dilapidated storefronts found throughout Miami and highlights the irony in an architectural element that has been created to withstand regional weather, yet has been destroyed by the very elements it was created to combat.

Despite the absence of Moore’s distinct functional pieces, he has succeeded in presenting a body of work that emphasizes design and architectural value, reminiscent of collections by Eugenio Espinoza and Frank Stella. As Gallery Diet explains:

“Fracture displays Moore’s flexibility as a producer of objects. Hesitant to differentiate between art and design, he recalibrates structures in a way that is not immediately recognizable. This show expands his scope as it finds him focusing on architecture in addition to the design objects he is best known for... Fracture explores how systems—industrial, geometric, utilitarian—are formed, break down, and can be transformed into something new.”

Altogether “Fracture” represents a progression in Moore’s examination of Miami’s design, architectural, and visual landscape as its is manipulated through his own actions and those aided by geographical atmospheric conditions.

Fracture now on view at Gallery Diet, 6315 NW 2nd Ave Miami, Florida. Images Courtesy of Gallery Diet, copyright Gesi Schilling.


"No Man's Land" at The Rubell Family Collection

In a male dominated Art World it is especially difficult for women to rise up among the crowd. From the very inception of the gallery and museum platform, women have been underrepresented, not only in history's list of significant figures, but in today's realm of gallery representation and sales figures. According to a recent ArtNews study, less than thirty percent of Museum exhibitions are allotted to women, while only three out of ten artists with gallery representation are female. In addition, sales prices for women's’ art fall far behind those of male artists. For example, Picasso’s “Woman of Algiers” set the record for the most expensive piece ever sold at $179 million dollars in a May Christie's auction, while the most ever paid for a female’s piece was $44.4 million dollars for a Georgia O’Keefe painting.

Though these inconsistencies remain very much in effect, in conjunction with this years' Art Basel many galleries and art institutions have adopted female-forward exhibitions to pay these women the respect they deserve. Among these institutions is the world-renowned, Miami-based Rubell Family collection. Known for their thematic exhibitions displaying a broad spectrum of significant works from around the world, The Rubell Family have put together yet another extensive exhibition, solely highlighting the works of female artists. In their 45,000 square foot museum the newest exhibition entitled “No Man’s Land” features over 136 pieces by 72 different female artists from their 6,800 piece collection. Among these artists are well known female pioneers such as Yayoi Kusama, Jenny Holzer, and Barbara Kruger, in addition to fresh names including Katherine Bernhardt and Mary Weatherford.

While the names and ages of these artists certainly range, the pieces themselves also varied in media and production. Some of the pieces such as Jennifer Rubell’s 12th annual food-based installation “Devotion” was assembled and performed on site, while Solange Pessoa’s “Catedral” took 13 years to construct. Nonetheless, each piece complemented each other as they were carefully arranged in both solo-artist room displays and larger grouped exhibition spaces. Large upstairs paintings of partially naked women by well-established artists such as Marlene Dumas, Cecily Brown and Lisa Yuskavage sit comfortably alongside intriguing works by lesser known painters, including Amy Bessone and Miriam Cahn without dropping a beat. Other noteworthy displays include Cady Noland’s installation, “This Piece Has No Title Yet” comprised of boxes, flags and hundreds of stacked Budweiser six-packs as well as Mai-Thu Perret's “Apocalypse Ballet” sculptures, featuring neon Hula Hoops. The exhibition also included what may have been the most talked about piece during Art Basel Miami Beach- Artist Jennifer Rubell's “Lysa III”; a female mannequin mounted on her side in an odalisque position, retrofitted to crush walnuts between her legs as patrons crank her left leg. The result created a poignant- yet humorous commentary that created a buzz among fairgoers and exploded onto social-media throughout the week.

Overall, the Rubell’s succeeded in creating yet another significant and exciting exhibition, regardless of gender, providing viewers with pieces by both familiar names and newcomers. The survey not only proved itself significant in its caliber of artists and pieces, but served as a strong vocal response to the inequality of our current art market, galleries, museums, and contemporary fairs, ultimately proving that these women can hold their own during the world's busiest art week.

The Exhibit is currently on view at the Rubell Family Collection 95 NW 29 ST, Miami, FL 33127, U.S.A. through May, 28 2015


Magnus Sodamin: Calm Before the Sun

As the countless gallery shows and satellite events put out their best in conjunction with the fourteenth edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, local favorite creative platform Primary, has made sure to set itself apart from the pack with its newest exhibition. In an unprecedented partnership between the cultural placemaker Goldman Properties, Primary presented a solo show by Magnus Sodamin at the globally recognized Wynwood Walls.

Goldman, known for their work revitalizing neighborhoods such as SoHo, South Beach, and Wynwood, invited Primary to the Wynwood Walls as part of their annual Art Basel festivities, comprised of live mural painting, artist talks, print singings, and of course contemporary art exhibits. The Miami-based creative platform responded by taking over the existing gallery space, completely transforming it, and presenting Magnus Sodamin’s “Calm Before the Sun”

“Calm Before the Sun”, referring to the tranquility before a sunrise as seen from the water, remarks on Sodamin’s attention towards the passage of time, the natural environment of South Florida, and how it affects our moods or visual perceptions. These themes, along with Sodamin’s signature abstract imagery of light, space, time, flora, and fauna take the shape of intimate round and rectangular canvases of varying size, that hang from the galleries trusses. In addition to the floating pieces, the Manhattan-born, Miami-based artist wasted no surface, painting the entire gallery from wall to wall, floor to ceiling with drips, swirls, and splats of different colors, providing a complementary background to the bright pieces. Finally, the installation is accented by black and fluorescent lights that continuously interchange, producing different moods and visual perceptions of the immersive installation. The combination of all these components create what seem as an alternative environment of portals floating in space and time.

In all, the installation marks Sodamin’s second successful solo show of 2015, an impressive run for the artist, allowing him to expand his trademark imagery and broaden his viewership. While accompanied by all the international artists inside the Wynwood Walls, Sodamin created forceful centerpiece that not only shows his equal prowess among the world’s best, but Miami’s home growth as an art powerhouse on the national and international circuits.

The exhibit is currently on display at The Wynwood Walls, 2516 NW 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33127 through January 31, 2016


Santiago Rubino: Light Out of Darkness

With a delicate aesthetic, blending notions of fantasy and scientific reason, Argentinian-born, Miami-based, Santiago Rubino, presented his newest series of work in “Light out of Darkness”. The illustrator, known for his distinct monochromatic figurative portraiture and enchanting landscapes featured fresh new works at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood. With an emphasis on scale, Rubino’s exhibition highlighted many small, intimate pieces that further explored the delicacy of his practice. While also being accompanied by some larger scale works, the show presented a full spectrum of his pieces, with each one maintaining a distinct energy or mood. Overall, the subject matter of these new pieces further explore Rubino’s fascinations in nature, life science, and human condition. He makes note of these themes through depictions of microscopes, chemical compounds, and various other fauna set in both concrete and abstract locations. With these elements, gesturing to ideas of science fiction, architecture, regality, varying civilizations, and ancient mythology, Rubino’s portrayals create work that distinctly exists as its own in both craft and cultural value. In all, the culmination of Rubino’s ideas along with his razor-edge execution and immaculate detail created an elegant and timeless aesthetic for “Light out of Darkness”.

The exhibit is currently on View at The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood


Gustavo Oviedo I The New Past

Diver, researcher, and multidisciplinary artist, Gustavo Oviedo, presented his newest survey of work at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood entitled: “The New Past”. Oviedo, known for his methods of researching, recording, and retrieving objects from ocean, displayed the culmination of his many years of work through both sculpture and two dimensional pieces. These pieces included antique bottle displays, postcard arrangements, photo collages, and more. While focusing on nautical landmarks, and the geography of Miami to Key West, the displays together not only represent the vast biome of South Florida, but also show Oviedo’s personal narrative through his examination and documentation of the region. Such stories are told through the use of maps, prints, tickets, lighthouse replicas and other native memorabilia. As a result, Oviedo simultaneously accounts and recounts the changing landscape of our state, nodding to the idea of a New Past. In addition, While many of the found objects in Oviedo’s exhibition provide evidence of human encroachment on natural sites, there is an equally distinct representation of nature's effects on these object through weathering, rust, and growth of algae. The forgotten man made metals, glasses, and plastics face the retaliation of the elements as they slowly attack their compositions or appearances. In all, these discarded relics of the past allude to ideas of future pollution and changes in landscape due to human activity, furthering the idea of a New Past. Gustavo Oviedo’s “The New Past” colorfully and masterfully highlights the historical and geographical significance of this region as we know it.

The New Past is currently on view at the Art and Culture of Hollywood through January 24. 1650 Harrison St. Hollywood, FL 33020.


Gallery Diet Deputes New location with Nicolas Lobo: A Modulor Broth

After eight successful years in the Wynwood Arts District, the pioneering art force Gallery Diet, has moved into a new location situated between Little Haiti and Little River. The former Wynwood mainstay, known for its promising exhibits of cutting-edge work, has transitioned into a four building compound comprised of a 1940’s era storefront-turned-church, a two-story residential house, a separate loft space, and foot outdoor sculpture garden allotting 1,500 square feet of exhibition space.

Without skipping a beat, Gallery Diet, helmed by Nina Johnson-Milewski, unveiled its new space with an exciting solo show by renowned Diet artist Nicolas Lobo. Los Angeles born, Miami-based Lobo inaugurated the current gallery with his newest body of work in “A Modular Broth”. Based on his familiar ideas of re-identifying and developing figurative practice, Gallery Diet describes his new six foot tall works as a practice to: “manip-ulate the parameters of Le Corbusier’s Modulor Man to reconsider how the human form’s material tolerances quantify both industrial and personal space in ways unimaginable at the start of the Modernist Project.”

These panels Lobo displays represent the body in crisis as it adapts and responds to either trauma or therapy. Lobo, known for his diverse range of media, realizes these ideas through his precise and erroneous alterations of HazMat absorbent cloth, Kevlar, Velcro, carbon fiber, and other media. The results yield six foot autonomous objects that reflect the ideas and makeup of bas-relief sculptures while redefining the body as more of an abstract set of quantities rather than an individual sum. Overall, Lobo succeeds in altering the perception of figurative practice and human condition through his attractive makeups of placate, playful patterned panels and arranged, idiosyncratic casted bricks.

The exhibit is now on view until November 26, 2015. Gallery Diet 6315 NW 2nd Ave


Karen Starosta-Gilinski's Unfinished Gem: Intrinsic Beauty

Venezuelan born, Miami based artist Karen Starosta-Gilinski debuted her most recent body of work in a solo show entitled Unfinished Gem: Intrinsic Beauty at Primary. The show, comprised of multiple acrylic pedestals and mounted wall units, displayed various pieces of found objects placed within similarly collected glass jars. After three years of collecting, Starosta-Gilinski’s exhibition highlights bits of oxidized metals, screws, pieces of chain, feathers and other errant items that had once served a purpose, but were later lost or abandoned as scrap. Starosta-Gilinski explains that by taking in these objects and displaying them on pedestals or wall mounted cabinets she creates a boutique-like setting, respecting the pieces as valuable commodities, and ultimately restoring the lost value of these objects. While many of the pieces are created by objects found while going about her daily life, Starosta-Gilinski often finds a personal connection and biographical importance in the pieces. Many of the jars contain traces of their label or expiration date, marking a specific memory or moment in her life. These objects, and their accompanying memories, have also been placed in shelves and pillars used to further classify and archive the pieces. Primary explains, as a result of her practice, Starosta-Gilinski creates a deep tension between the abundance of objects in consumer society and the few of them that personally touch an individual. Overall, Starosta-Gilinski’s first solo show with Primary represents a development in her practice and art as a whole as she once again presents her work in an intelligent manner with a sleek aesthetic and multi-faceted meaning.

This exhibition marks a temporary return for both Karen Starosta-Gilinski and Primary to the Miami Design District. The exhibition is currently on view until November 7, 2015.


Daniel Arsham: The Future was Written

Amidst a successful and globetrotting career in the contemporary art world, acclaimed sculptor and local hero Daniel Arsham returned to his former home of Miami to produce yet another bold and exciting exhibit. Following his historic installation “Welcome to the Future” at Locust Projects less than a year ago, Arsham created another exciting installation featuring his iconic calcified objects of various rare earths, organics, and other synthetic materials in an entirely new way. Curated by newly appointed Perez Art Museum Director Franklin Sirmans, Arsham presented “The Future was Written” in honor of YoungArts Awareness Day. Set in the YoungArts Gallery at the Bacardi Building, Arsham piled 2,000 of his signature “future relics” made of white chalk in rooms surrounded by black walls. He then, unlike any traditional exhibit, invited his audience to pick up items, search through the piles, and use his pieces to create chalk drawings of their own on the surrounding black walls.The objects in the exhibit included antique cameras, hands, Mp3 players, masks, phones, microphones, casted faces, and others. Arsham explains that these items are all used as methods of communication or used to convey a message. It was then up to the audience to use these tools to leave their own mark. The writings, drawings, characters, and tags quickly accumulated, filling up the installation space. Attendees watched and participated in the devolution of each object as they marked, drew and wrote. As the drawing grew grander the used objects began to creak, break, and disintegrate. All together the idea of creating while destroying followed perfectly with Ashram's well known themes of futuristic deconstruction. On the second floor Arsham presented some more of his sculptures, but placed in a more traditional gallery setting. These objects ranged from guitars and basketballs to phones and American flags. The exhibit, accompanied by a Salon featuring the artist himself, created a grand spectacle in honor of Arsham’s installation and homecoming.


Blueshift Project's Made in New York

Blueshift Projects, a new contemporary art space in the heart of Wynwood debuted It’s new 6,000 square foot gallery with a group show entitled Made in New York. The exhibit curated by Robert Dimin showcased the works of eight New York artists. Artists included: Genesis Belanger, David Brooks, Jen Catron, Paul Outlaw, Caitlin Cherry, Nick Doyle, Irini Miga, Dana Sherwood, and Justin Hill. For the exhibit the gallery space was filled with larger than life sculptural works that were both exciting and whimsical.

Upon first entry into the gallery the viewer is quickly drawn to David Brooks’ gigantic sculpture of two sixty foot cherry pickers with its basket filled with palm trees. The palm filled boom lifts take on the shape of two intertwined, mechanized palm trees. David uses the these cherry-picker trees to draw attention to, and talk about the encroachment of urbanization on natural habitats. David has installed these sculptures in different locations in New York and has now brought his eye catching pieces to Miami.

In addition to David’s Palms, pieces like Caitlin Cherry’s sculpture of a pool titled Mute City, Big Blue, Port Town brought some Miami aesthetic to the New York show. Caitlin created a pool embellished with tiles and included a painting submerged in it’s water. Blueshift Projects explains, “ A pool is mysteriously both a sign a wealth and above-ground-lower-middle-class monstrosities. Its scale is key to its message of abjectness, using humor to soften its message.”

Other eye catching pieces included Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw’s sculpture Goya Attempts to Teach the Masses Using Goats as Visual Aids touches on themes of morality as they replace fiberglass horses of a merry-go-round for taxidermy goats.

Dana Sherwood’s presented Banquets in the Dark Wildness, an antique metal food cart fitted with a composition of baking tins, cooking tools, and videos. Irini Miga, Nick Doyle, and Genesis Belanger kept the flow of energy throughout the gallery with their contemporary sculptures.

Art Wynwood: SOLO Miami

Art Wynwood, the Presidents Day Weekend fair by the people behind Art Miami, Context, and Aqua art Fair during Art Basel returned this year to showcase the latest and greatest Urban, contemporary, and street art, celebrating the growing neighborhood of Wynwood. In conjunction with the fourth edition of Art Wynwood, the fair brought new and exciting additions to its 30,000 annual visitors. Along with its special projects like the Pop-up GO Shop presented by Wynwood Walls and Cash Cans and Candy by Austrian gallery, Galerie Ernst Hilger, Art Wynwood debuted a new, special section entitled SOLO Miami. Under the direction of Grela Orihuela, SOLO Miami brought together five of Miami’s most exciting, internationally reviewed and regarded galleries, each showing one artist presented as a solo booth. The select galleries and artists included: Primary Projects, showing Autumn Casey, Emerson Dorsch with Brookhart Jonquil, GucciVuitton with Peter Goodrich, Fredric Snitzer Gallery showing Mauricio Gonzalez, and Spinello Projects presenting Farley Aguilar. Together the prominent galleries displayed the cities great home base of art and its reach on the national and international circuit.

Autumn Casey's sculpture

Downtown Miami gallery Primary Project’s booth caught the eyes of many fairgoers with its exciting and daring pieces by Autum Casey. The artist also exhibited a solo show in the gallery this past fall titled Agalma. Autumn, who is also the lead singer of a band has become a strong force in the Miami art scene with her sculptural work and has seem to become Primary’s go to girl. Her booth included works following with her themes of childhood, memory, strength, and fragility. Altogether a great collection.

Wynwood gallery Emerson Dorsch gallery displayed the works of Brookhart Jonquil, an artist who has previously had three solo exhibitions with the gallery. Brookhart displayed some of his signature reflective mirror pieces for his booth. Each mirrored sculpture created an interesting illusion of space and depth.

Anthony Spinello’s Spinello Projects brought together another exciting exhibit, presenting the works of acclaimed Nicaraguan artist Farley Aguilar. As usual with Spinello he put together an elegant booth showcasing the artists signature portraits of colorful men, women and children. Farley’s unique works caught the eyes of many collectors and quickly sold out the entire booth.

Kashink for Art Basel '14: OUTSIDE/INSIDE

French street artist Kashink was in Miami for the thirteenth edition of Art Basel Miami Beach. Kashink, famous for her portraits of men, cakes, and exploring the boundaries of gender put on a solo show in Wynwood for this years fair. In town for Art Basel Kashink first came to Miami in 2013 when she was invited by the Wynwood Walls to paint for their exhibit “Women on the Walls” an all female street exhibition during Art Basel ’13. Now Kashink is back displaying her newest works in this solo show. After a busy year of painting all over the world it is very impressive that Kashink was able to put together this show for Art Basel completely independently without any representation by a gallery or local help. Her show entitled “OUTSIDE/INSIDE” explores the boundaries of her street vs. studio work. The show also highlights the ideas and methods used to create each piece marking an importance on the process in addition to the piece itself. Though many galleries today display street art work, Kashink further explores this idea in her show by painting many of the pieces on view outside and then bringing them inside to a gallery setting. Painting outside allows Kashink to implement more “street” techniques and methods such as using large rollers or wheat pastes which she is not able to use in her Paris studio. Kashink also does the opposite, creating paintings inside her studio and then going out into the streets and creating larger murals inspired by or even including the studio painting. The results of these methods are on display as five “experiments”. Each a different piece or collection or pieces created in their own unique way accompanied by a ten minute video explaining and showing the process. All together a great show.

Pictures from the show:

Experiment number One

Experiment number Two

Experiments Two and Three

Experiment number Three

Experiment number Four

Experiment Number Five

A view of the exhibit

Paintings by Kashink

A skateboard painted by Kashink

Two paintings of Kashink's popular men

One of kashink's cakes with her print specially released for the show

More Skateboards painted by Kashink

Some of Kashink's street art outside the gallery

A view of the show

Kashink In front of her mural

The Show was located at 3615 NW 2nd Ave in a building that she painted during her first visit in 2013

Daniel Arsham's Solo show "Welcome to the Future" at Locust Projects

To coincide with the yearly Art Basel festivities and shows, local gallery Locust Projects put on their finest for this year’s fair. Not only did they have a solo show by world renowned artist and sculpture Daniel Arsham, but also hosted an interactive art on the move exhibit by Ron Terada that included free limited edition records places in taxi cabs for visiting or local riders. They also showed an exhibit by Simon Vega called Sub-Tropical Social Sculptures in the back room of the gallery, while also exhibiting at the NADA art fair. Though all four were great the talk of town during Miami art week was Daniel Arsham’s solo show “Welcome to the future”. The Miami native, New York based artist displayed one his most exciting shows to date for his Miami homecoming. With so much anticipation for the show the gallery hosted a local opening during the November Second Saturday gallery walk and later an official opening during Art Basel. Getting together the show was a huge undertaking for Locust. They have been trying to do the show for two years and finally got all the permitting and worked it out for Art Basel ‘14. When entering the gallery you are greeted by mysterious large chunks of concrete of various sizes layed out about the foyer. With some pieces laying on top of each other and placed differently the pieces looked as if they were some sort of ancient ruin or demolished historic structure. After entering the main gallery behind a black curtain it is apparent where the cement pieces came from. Right in the center of the gallery Artist Daniel Arsham dug a three foot deep, twenty-five foot in diameter hole in the gallery’s floor. With the dug out flooring, Arsham used the pieces placing them in the gallery’s foyer, alluding to the idea that the hole was an excavation site of a historic ruin. Inside the giant twenty five by three foot crater Arsham carefully placed over three thousand of his famous cast sculptures. Daniel uses different and interesting materials in his pieces such as diamond dust, crystal, and volcanic ash to create these calcified objects. Daniel filled the hole with all sorts of items from the twenty and twenty first century including keyboards, guitars, tires, steering wheels, telephones, film reels, and boom boxes. He placed these objects in a color gradient placing darker items made of volcanic ash against the rim of the crater and then placed lighter grey and eventually white pieces in the middle. The crater symbolizes the crosses in time between past and present creating a unique observation into the juxtaposition between destruction and excavation. The site recalls past scenes like the city of Pompeii, which was buried under layers of volcanic ash but it slowly being discovered by archeologists. More recently Arsham explains how this piece also mirrors his personal experience of surviving the Miami mega hurricane Andrew by hiding in his house closet. The scattered pieces of broken objects in the hole look like many of those found all over Miami after Andrew swept through. The combination of the pieces inside ranging from old telephones to boomboxes to Blackberry phones melt all these ideas and scenarios into one piece, combining past with present, yet creating it’s own distinct futuristic feel. The era of the piece can only be described as some sort of futuristic decay, fitting as in Daniel’s show he “Welcomes (us) to the Future.” The show was a wild success. Creating a buzz online, the Kickstarter campaign used to fund the project became part of the Art Basel crowdfunding initiative and was fully funded and then some. While they initially hoped to raise 7,500 dollars, the project raised 12,231 dollars by December third. The popular fundraiser made Kickstarter’s Project of the day in December. Images from the openings scoured all over Instagram and later Instagram itself posted a picture of the show on their own page. With rave reviews and pictures all over social media the online advertisement drew in crowds for their Art Basel opening as well as throughout the week. The Show also caught the attention of famous musicians Usher and Wiz Khalifa who made sure to stop by the local gallery while they were in town for the big events. Locust Projects really worked hard this December putting on four excellent exhibits showing the art world that Locust along with other Miami galleries can also show among the world's bests.

Pictures:

Yuri Tuma's Solo Show "Departure" at Butter Gallery

Brazilian born, Miami based artist Yuri Tuma can be considered a digital architect. Yuri, known for his sleek photographs of modern architecture puts a digital twist on his photos which completely re imagines the buildings as new renditions. He uses his camera and also his phone camera to take pictures and later design them into his recognizable kaleidoscope images or fine art. Along with buildings Yuri also creates stunnings works from images of flowers and leaves creating patterned abstractions. In Yuri’s 2010 body of work “Garden” we see how he uses a mirroring effect on pictures of plants to create surreal gardens. Now in 2014 Yuri displays his newest series of digital abstractions in his solo show “Departure” at Butter gallery located in the Gesamtkunstwerk building west of Wynwood. In his newest show Yuri steps outside of his comfort zone by not displaying photographs of architecture or multiple image montages. Instead the direction for the show was to focus on lightness, darkness, heaviness, color and shape. With “Departure” Yuri wants the viewers to leave what they know about photographs behind and look at them differently. All the pieces displayed were infact photographs, while to most do not look as if they are, changing how we think about photos. In the Projekt Raum of the gallery are monochromatic pieces of orbs and striped shapes. accompanied by a painted patterned wall the room created a strong presence in the simplicity. By having a few groupings of pieces on each wall all in black and white and together with the wall connected all the artworks seemingly creating one large piece of its own out of the entire room. In Butter Gallery’s main project space Yuri displays a completely different set of works. As opposed to the Projekt Raum this space focuses on colors and softer edges. On a large wall of the main gallery four large works of spirals are groups together in a quad, each on in a different color range. The soft colors and lines accompanied by the bright colored lights created an airy and light body. Each room had its own distinct identity, though each opposite in color, and darkness both seemed to have a commonality of round shapes. The juxtaposition between the dark Projekt Raum of monochromatic works of hard lines and patterns to the main gallery space of airy colored large spirals created a balance of light, heavy, and dark works. The two rooms show us two of Yuri’s directions in approaching these photographic works, creating another unique series. Altogether the show leaves an impact on the viewer to reexamine what we know about photographs and teaches us to break down images by line, color, shape, and more in order to reconstruct them, just as Yuri Tuma does.

Pictures:

Works on display in the Projekt Raum

More Works on display in the Projekt Raum

The patterned wall

The portion of the show in Butter Gallery's main gallery

Information on the show

The four main spiral works on display in the main gallery

The colored lights in the main gallery space