New Work Miami 2010 at MAM

By Abel S.

altThe time has come to stop referring to our city as an “up and coming” epicenter of the arts and acknowledge that Miami has paid its dues and earned its place as a well established and ever-evolving art site. What better way to celebrate our growth than with a three-month recognition of our city’s artistic community at the Miami Art Museum? Running since July of 2010 and through the months to come, curators Peter Boswell and Rene Morales of MAM invite you to New Work Miami 2010.

This summer, the MAM is home to new and recent works by 35 artists from the Miami area. Guests of New Work Miami 2010 are greeted by a dedicated mural from renowned artist Michelle Weinberg, introducing the audience to the halls of the recently unified 5,000 square foot Plaza Level Gallery.

Paintings, sculptures, drawings, photography, video, environmental installations and occasional performances, live and breathe seeming translations of the artists’ hearts with most of the works depicting images of the Miami lifestyle.

A series of photographs by Christopher Stetser document the imagery of our home, with the object of capturing moments of scenery that is in constant change.  An installation by Kevin Arrow of recycled slides and vintage viewers, projecting a nostalgic compilation of images, occupies an alcove of the exhibit drawing the spectator in to a darker place.

Also a part of New Work Miami 2010 at the MAM, a series of performances and live installations will enrich sporadic summer evenings with “Miami Art Museum After Hours”.

Artists like Odalis Valdivieso, Amalia Caputo, and Eugenia Vargas take part in “Afterhours” presenting works like Talking Head Transmitters. Talking Head Transmitters, or THT, is an experimental low-frequency art radio, airing on 1610 AM. Ideas, art, and social and cultural issues, are just a few of the topics discussed on THT air. Creators Valdivieso, Caputo, and Vargas ask to have the following questions answered: “As artists, what is our role in society? As individuals, what is our civic duty? And what is the role of the listener?”

Tom Austin of the Miami Herald describes the show as: “an attempt at escaping the traditional constraints of gallery space, with ambitions to go global in our global-pixelated world,” describing the impressive variety of installations and scheduled performances taking place during the three-month run – and it’s true; Boswell and Morales have definitely taken things into their own and very capable hands by scouring Miami galleries and artist studios to present our community with what can only be described as a flawless exhibition of all that is both new and familiar to us.

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