2010

It’s always exciting to witness the success of new art spaces in Miami, as it is this continued dedication of gallerists, artists, collectors, and supporters of the arts, that ensures the endurance of our hard earned reputation as a city. Karina Belilty is active in the conservation of this reputation with the sensation of her one-year-old Wynwood gallery, KaBe Contemporary.

Miami is in a constant state of change. In any given week it’s not surprising to see a handful of establishments, young and old, close their doors for good while fresh-faced additions emerge to take their place. Among the city’s galleries, change often occurs gradually, organically and reasonably. When new ones, like Imago Art Gallery, begin exhibiting there is not always the … +

Luis Cruz Azaceta is an award-winning artist whose works have been exhibited and included in numerous collections worldwide. Being a Cuban-born who left the island in his early years to settle in NYC made him also and expat teenager. I believe that young Luis didn’t have much of an idea of how this particular event would shape his future then – neither … +

From December 1, 2010 through January 31, 2011 more than fifty world-class modern and contemporary art pieces will be dotting downtown Miami, as Gary Nader hosts the first edition of the Miami  /Miami Beach Biennale of Sculpture. The exhibit is the latest major local public art project – chosen to coincide with Art Basel, said Nader, but structured to extend the “official” … +

Every artist must start somewhere. We all admire the prodigy who can produce the Great American Painting at a young age, especially if there was minimal training, but that’s a rare occurrence. The vast majority of artists – from every field – need years of coaching to truly find their focus. It’s at this point, when young artists get serious about their … +

The 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.

Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center of the Performing Arts opened the XXV International Hispanic Theater Festival (IHTF) this summer season, presented by Teatro Avante and American Airlines.

Although I cannot take credit away from the great contemporary playwrights and directors of our time, I think we could certainly agree that more often than not, a play’s success depends on the quality of its actors just as much as on the quality of its writing.

Within all of us lies the desire for knowledge, and as art enthusiasts, our desire for knowledge is often accompanied with one for beauty.

It would be naïve of us to think that Art can only be found in the most conventional places.

Miami is certainly the place to be for emerging conceptual artists vying to share their vision and ultimately make a name for themselves in the eye of the hurricane.

At St. Cristopher’s by the Sea Church in Key Biscayne a palpably excited audience sits still in the dark. A group of singers slowly descends onto the stage – with candles in their hands, they create a surreal, angelical glow. Like Seraphims, the fiery angels of the highest order who sang praises to God, the choir presents the listeners with ardent renditions … +

When asked to consider the state of cinemas in Miami, the first thought that comes to mind may be a strong visual like the following: a crowded theater of noisy adolescents, feet firmly planted against the rear of your seat, reveling in the ear-shattering, violent explosions of the latest Hollywood blockbuster, probably directed by Michael Bay.

For the past twenty years, the Center for Visual Communication has been at the forefront of bringing experimental and contemporary visual art to South Florida. The CVC has showcased numerous exhibits that have combined bold and daring concepts – mixing live dance with live painting, for example. It emphasizes visual arts and new media, but remains open to those artists who put … +

On a blazing hot day this past August, the Miami Beach Botanical Garden felt like an oasis of cool. Yes, some of it had to do with the fabulous foliage of one of our best preserves for tropical vegetation – flowers were blooming and the distinct aroma from the Ylang Ylang tree perfumed the air. But it was those large, inflatable sculptures … +

Hollywood producers have done the subject of Iraq and the War on Terrorism to death over the past years.

The National Art Exhibition by the Mentally Ill (NAEMI) holds its 22nd edition this month. Proof that art is often found in the unlikeliest of places, this organization focuses on presenting the work of the mentally ill to South Florida audiences with a mission that is stated on their website:

Manny Lopez of Zu Galeria Fine Arts on Miami’s Calle Ocho has taken it upon himself to promote the literary arts in our city through a series of nights in which he dedicates his space to intimate Poetry Readings.

Haven’t we grown tired yet of paying $9.00 to see blockbuster after blockbuster of explosions, AK-47s, and end of days scenarios?

There is something unavoidably charming and analog about Jen Stark’s work. The tactile, precise-yet-handmade quality of her paper sculptures and animations is something that feels somehow influenced, in part, by her visual generation.

While out walking a Second Saturday last March on NW 2nd Avenue in the middle of the street, I could see Marilyn Minter’s crazy-beautiful video on the back wall of David Castillo’s gallery.