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Editor’s Picks – Miami Art Week

Editor’s Picks – Miami Art Week

Anna Mikaela Ekstrand
Art

Ayana Evans Barnes Foundation, Miami Art Week, Performance is Alive

Slick and Gritty – Pajama Party, Screening, and Panel @ Performance is Alive, Satellite Art Fair (Friday, 7pm-10pm)

Last year, the performance artist Ayana Evans, your editor-at-large, performed in Miami. This year she returns with a different agenda; to give voice to to her community of performance artists. Part of Performance is Alive’s four day performance program, Evan’s program titled “Slick and Gritty” features a panel discussion followed by a screening of performance works and video art by 17 performance artists. Since performance art at art fairs is a recently new phenomenon, panels, like this one, are a fantastic opportunity for fair-goers to learn more about performance art and its practitioners. Oh and, mimosas will be served during the panel discussion and everyone is encouraged to wear pajamas. Why? Because performance art is disruptive, in a good way.

Satellite Art Show, Room 102, (December 8th, 7pm-10pm) The Ocean Terrace Hotel | 7410 Ocean Terrace, Miami, FL 33141.

Previous: Ayana Evans. Photograph courtesy of the artist. Above: Tsedaye Makonnen, “African Body Snatchers” performance, 7th Annual Chale Wote Street Art Festival in Accra, Ghana, 2017. Photographed by Seun Adatsi.

Prizm Perform @ Prizm (Thursday 5-8pm)

Now in its fifth year, Prizm was founded with the goal to expand the spectrum of international artists of the African Diaspora during Miami Art Week and to give voice to Miami’s artists of African descent. Prizm Perform presents three performances that fall within the scope of “Universal Belonging,” the fair’s annual theme that explores global diasporic experiences. Tsedaye Makonnen‘s piece “When Drowning is the Best Option” focuses on the African refugee crisis. By telling contradictory migrant stories, in ”Gatekeepers,” Helina Metaferia speaks to the complexity of migration and national borders. Nyugen Smith and Marvin Fabien present a multi-sensory performance derived from their on-going dialog related to the impacts of hurricanes and climate change in the Caribbean and parts of the United States.

Prizm, December 7th, 5 pm – 8pm, 145 East Flagler Street Miami, FL 3313.

Cynthia Talmadge, 56 Henry, Miami Art WeekCynthia Talmadge, “Formerly Pi Beta Phi,” 2017. Sand on board, 27×21. Photograph courtesy of the gallery.

Cynthia Talmadge @ 56 Henry (Booth 8.14), NADA

56 Henry presents a solo booth featuring a selection of Cynthia Talmagde’s sand paintings. In her melodramatic works, the artist employs a version of pointillism, traditionally used to render landscapes and the effects of light on bucolic subject matter, but she repurposes the technique with sand instead of paint. In ”Leaves of Absence,” the artist’s last show with the gallery, she presented the viewer with what she imagined to be a patient’s room at Harvard Medical School’s psychiatric facility. Perversely, she recreated a pristine bedroom that resembled a dormitory belonging to a sorority girl – pink details and a tote bag on the floor. In Miami, instead of sharing her imagination her canvases show renderings of existing street corners,  architectural details, and pop culture. It is their pristine characteristic that makes them ironic. I’d choose a sand painting over a sand castle any day.

NADA Miami Beach, December 7 – 10, 2017, Ice Palace studios, 59 NW 14th St, Miami, FL 33136.

Ridley Howard, Art Basel Miami, NADA, Miami Art GuideRidley Howard, “Dream Painting, Pink, Red, Blue,” 2017, 60×48 in. Photograph courtesy of the artist.

Ridley Howard @ Fredric Snitzer, Art Basel Miami and Marinaro Gallery, NADA

Ridley Howard‘s scenes of people and places have a surreal quality to them, their flattened appearance is reminiscent of film stills, photographs, or dreamscapes. Despite his use of soft colors and gentle lines his subject matters are often serious. And, all his works are distilled versions of reality, both people and places. In a sense, they are the personal made impersonal. Adding to the mystery in his work, two of the paintings that Howard will have on view in Miami are in dialogue with each other, at different fairs. Howard was studied in Athens Georgia and is now based in Brooklyn where he lives with his wife, fellow painter, Holly Coulis.

Art Basel Miami Beach, 1901 Convention Center Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139. NADA Miami Beach, December 7 – 10, 2017, Ice Palace studios, 59 NW 14th St, Miami, FL 33136

Peter Tunney Sinking of Taj Mahal Miami Art WeekPeter Tunney, “The Sinking of Taj Mahal,” Faena Beach. Photographed by @olive_allen.

“The Sinking of Taj Mahal” Peter Tunney @ Faena Hotel

Earlier this year, Peter Tunney picked up monumental pieces from the demolition site and bankruptcy sale of the infamous Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. The casino, first names Trump Taj Mahal, was opened by Donald Trump in 1990. Tunney has collected monumental pieces from the façade and rooftop of the building, giant chandeliers, a two-ton ornate concrete elephant, and towering letters that will all emerge out of the sand. Tunney’s installation of gold-colored plastic, glass, concrete, and steel in ruins is a bold statement on our contemporary time.

Faena Beach, 24 hours. 3201 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140. The second part of the exhibition, “Excerpts from the Taj Mahal (The Truth Always Happens)” is on view at Peter Tunney’s studio. 2520 NW 2nd Avenue (Enter through the Wynwood Walls).

Jacob Felländer, Installation view. Photograph courtesy of MoCA.

Jacob Felländer: How to Unlock a Portal @ MoCA

Using a combination of virtual reality, paintings, sculpture, and photography the Swedish artist Jacob Felländer challenges the perspective of his viewers. His manipulation of photography also challenges the medium itself. The exhibition marks the artist’s U.S. debut.

 Museum of Contemporary Art, Artist Reception Dec. 6, North Miami, 770 NE 125th St., North Miami.

John DunkleyJohn Dunkley, “Banana Planation,” ca. 1945. Mixed media on plywood, 28 x 16 1/2 in. Image courtesy of PAMM. 

John Dunkley: Neither Day nor Night @ PAMM

This exhibition presents paintings from the 1930s and ‘40s alongside a smaller selection of carved-wood and stone sculptures by John Dunkley. The artists is widely considered to be one of Jamaica’s most important historical artists. Dunkley’s paintings are defined by their distinctive dark palette, detailed imagery—often landscapes––and psychologically suggestive underpinnings.

Pérez Art Museum Miami, Tuesday, December 5, 10am–6pm; Wednesday, December 6, 10am–5pm; Thursday, December 7, 10am–5pm (Free admission); Friday, December 8, 10am–6pm; Saturday, December 9, 10am–6pm (Free admission); Sunday, December 10 – 10am–6pm. 1103 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132.

Kelsey Montague creates wings for charity. Photograph courtesy of the artist.

Kelsey Montague x Gran Centario present #GCPutWingsOn

Gran Centenario, a Mexican tequila producer, has commissioned two murals by the street artist Kelsey Montague . For each Social Media post hashtagged #GCPutWingsOn, they will donate $10 to benefit charities supporting victims impacted by the earthquake in Mexico City. By creating interactive murals of wings: butterfly wings, bird’s wings, angel’s wings, and sometimes, winged insects, the street artist allows people to, through interaction, become a part of her art works. Don’t forget, #GCPutWingsOn.

Nautilus South Beach hotel, 1825 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139. Art Basel Miami Beach (under the tent), 1901 Convention Center Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139.

Design – Experience New Things

es devlin, miami art weekEs Devlin, Maze. Photograph courtesy of the artist.

Es Devlin “Room 202” @ The Miami Beach EDITION

Featuring a series of mirror mazes, soundscapes, and videos spread across 7,000 square feet the immersive installation, at The Miami Beach Edition hotel, will be one of Miami’s largest. As the award-winning British set designer Es Devlin has worked with Beyoncé, Kanye West, and Jay Z, it is an impressive commission. For Louis Vuitton, in Rio de Janeiro, she created a meandering catwalk – she specializes in kinetic sculptures. Not sure if checking in or checking out will be the best option, but definitely looking forward to seeing the installation.

The Miami Beach EDITION, 2901 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140.

“New Spring,” COS x Studio Swine. Photograph courtesy of Studio Swine.

COS x Studio Swine present “New Spring”

“New Spring” was first conceived for Milan Design Week in April and became an instant hit. Its creators’ the Japanese architect Azusa Murakami and the British artist Alexander Groves, who together form the London-based design firm Studio Swine, are known for innovative experimentation with materials. The interactive sculpture was shaped like a tree and emitted mist-filled blossoms. Fittingly, as the piece was commissioned by the fast-fashion brand COS (part of the H&M family), the blossoms temporarily lived on when they met with textiles (special gloves were supplied) but burst and evaporated upon contact with skin. Inspired by Miami and the everglades, a brighter and bigger re-imagined version of the piece will be housed in the historic art deco building Temple House. I want to touch those blossoms, don’t you?

Temple House (official satellite of Design/Miami), 1415 Euclid Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139.

 

Pierre Yovanovitch from his OOPS series. Photograph courtesy of the gallery.

Pierre Yovanovitch @ R & Company, Design/Miami

The interior designer Pierre Yovanovitch is celebrated for restructuring historic spaces to fit contemporary lifestyles by blending art works, architectural elements, vintage furniture, and his own designs. Before he founded his Paris-based interior design firm he worked as a menswear designer for Pierre Cardin. Earlier this fall R & Company premiered Yovanovitch’s first publicly available line of furniture – OOPS. With a commitment to craftsmanship and eclecticism, the pieces incorporate wood, painted steel, enameled ceramic, stone, lacquer, glass, leather, cotton, flax and hemp in decoratively appealing ways.

Design/Miami, Meridian Avenue & 19th Street
Miami Beach, USA.

Outlier Fair – The Matriarchy Rises

Yoko Ono Wish Tree, Miami Art WeekYoko Ono, “Wish Tree.”

Fair.

Fair., an attempt to bring intellectual fodder to counter Miami Art Week’s market-driven frenzy. The curators of Fair. Zoe Lukov, the director of exhibitions at Faena Art in Miami, and Anthony Spinello, founder of Spinello projects describe the projects three organizing principles as “fair market, fair play, and fair trade.” To challenge the commercial art fair model, nothing is for sale and the admission is free. More interestingly, the fair features only women and, in a statement, Lukov called the fair “just one more step forward in the dismantling of the patriarchy.” Four monumental billboards by the Guerilla Girls, Yoko Ono’s “Wish Tree,” and a performance by Nathalie Alfonso headline the exhibition. Down with the patriarchy.

Fair. Dec 7-10, 11am – 7pm. Admission is free. Brickell City Centre 701 S Miami Ave. Miami FL 33131.

Parties – Shake it Like an Art Star

Andy Warhol: The Impossible Collection, published by Assouline books. Photograph courtesy of the publisher.

A Warholian Factory Style Full Extravaganza

The release party for Andy Warhol: The Impossible Collection published by Assouline at the Surf Lodge Pop-up at W Hotel will be a star-studded blow-out.  The book is priced at $845, so expect the party to be equally lavish. The evening consists of a dinner and after-party with a special performance by Young Paris and DJ set by Mia Moretti.

PAMM Presents Amanda Bradley. Photograph courtesy of the museum.

Miami Museums Do the Best Parties (Thursday 9pm-midnight)

Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) celebrates Miami Art Week with its signature Thursday night event. Taking over PAMM’s terrace overlooking Biscayne Bay, DJ Maseo of De La Soul will headline a one-night-only performance. The evening will also feature a performance by Afrobeats musician Young Paris, music by heavy band Holly Hunt, and spoken word by poet Aja Monet.

 

Related articles:

How to Effortlessly See the Best Miami Art Week Has to Offer, 2016

Artist Plans for 2016: How to do Miami Art Week Correctly as an Outsider, 2015

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