What's Up Miami?

The Naked Truth at Pan American Projects

2012-02-12T17:19:00.002-08:00

Yesterday, during Miami Art Walks, PanAmerican Art Projects presented its next exhibition "The naked truth: Nudes and Erotica in Art," a collective exhibition that explores the portrayal of nudity, sex and eroticism in art.

Traditionallyone of the most popular themes in art history has been the female nude and in this exhibition we can see it in the works of JulioGirona, Roberto Diago Sr., Roberto Fabelo and Mariano Rodriguez, Joaquin Blez, Andrea Cote and Luis Martinez-Pedro.

Other artists participating in this exhibition are TraceySnelling with her voyeuristic videos and William Cannings who continues with this idea of legs coming out ofthe wall implying the nakedness of their owners.

LeónFerrari is participating with two pieces, an appropriation of a sensual double photographicimage, and one of his mannequins.

Anotherartist in the exhibition is Servando Cabrera Moreno, who was very well knownfor the erotic content of his paintings and drawings; Wifredo Lam represented by one of his paintings of women from the 1940’s known as femmes; Carlos Enriquez' exhibits L’Ecuyer, a classicwork in which the transparencies reveal a hidden eroticism.

There is a very explicitly erotic section in the gallery wherefor the first time, an important group of drawingsinitially conceived to be published as illustrations for a book of poems by PietroAretino are being displayed behind a velvet curtain for added privacy.

At the gallery's Project Room, a provocative video entitled Big Bang by Spanish artist Cristina Lucas presents a very literal illustration using a woman's vagina to write the words Big Bang and describe the woman's role of gestation to represent the creation of the universe and to implicitly understand that we all come from sex.

Exhibit runs through March 31, 2012.

Pan American Projects, 2450 NW 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33127

Miami Art Walks: February Second Saturday Wynwood

2012-02-12T07:57:00.000-08:00

Via Miami Art Walks

This months's Second Saturday Art Walk in Miami included visits to different galleries in Wynwood such as the Dorsch Gallery, Helene Lamarque, Unix Fine Art, Pan American Projects, GAB Studio and De la Cruz Collection in the Design District; Unix Fine Art presented "Desired Obtain Cherish," "Cope2," and Miguel Paredes; Galerie Helene Lamarque presented New Sculpture and Photography "Shifting Dress Code," a series of new three-dimensional photographs entitled "Shifting Folds," by French feminist artist Orlan; also at Helene Lamarque are Claude Viallat's recent works, one of France's major figures of French painting.

Dorsh Gallery presented Magnus Sigurdarson, "1001 Dreams of Occupations,"What's in for me? second solo exhibition, Carlos Rigau "Magnetic Poetry," and Kyle Trowbridge "The Politics of Time."

Also on 23rd Street in Wynwood, GAB Studio Art Gallery presented Miami-based artist Rebecca Barba who exhibited his expressionistic paintings along with a collective exhibition of artists which included Carlos Cesar Alves, Fernando Tejeiro, Jaime Adrover and Ross Ford among others.

And lastly, in the Design District, Miami Art Walks paid a visit to De la Cruz Collection where Funner Projects was having a Maintain Right Performance.

This article was also published in Examiner.com

Rebecca Barba

Mercenary Square, a New Underground Forum Space To Open in Little Havana

2012-02-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

This article was initially published in Examiner.com & Eclectic Network Magazine

Next week, there will be a new addition to Miami's underground multicultural scene in Little Havana with the inauguration of Mercenary Square on Friday, February 17th, 2012 from 7 to 11PM on SW 12 Avenue.

An off-the-grid forum space, Mercenary Square will inaugurate with a solo exhibition entitled "Ahol: Full-Time, " by South Florida-based artist Alouishous San Gomma also known as Ahol Sniffs Glue.

Ahol is known by his popular murals covered with drowsy eyes in the walls and street corridors of Miami in places such as The Margulies Collection, Butter Gallery but most recently his inclusion of his iconic "eyes" chosen as the symbol for the Wynwood Art Fair in October 2011.

His works are the product of his reflection about the difficulties of the urban Miami working class community trying to make ends meet and questioning the current urban environment which deprives the good and positive qualities of its people.

In this inaugural "Full-Time" solo exhibition, the Hialeah talent will focus on the harsh necessity of working in two jobs trying to earn a decent living.

"Ahol’ssolo show marks a striking departure for the artist," said art critic Carlos Suarez de Jesus.

"For the past few years, Ahol has been working with at least two jobs including his Thursday night famous party --Shake-- at the Vagabond but at the same time he has been feeling crushed by cubicle life far from the urban walls he prefers to paint," added Suarez de Jesus.

Suarez de Jesus also said that Ahol has been feeling drained by demands of producing regularly and routinely panels of his "eyes" like if he was on "an assembly line at a chorizo factory."

"His works are considerably more complex, varied in execution and of a much more profound conceptual nature," said Suarez de Jesus.

In "Full-Time" Ahol will be exhibiting a multi-media installation created in collaboration with Julian Yuri Rodriguez, sound sculpture works, some drawings and photos.

The site-specific video work skews consumerism,mass media marketing strategies and the evaporating boundaries between highbrowand lowbrow culture. It also references the performative nature of street muralpainting within the office-like confines of a storefront in the migrant neighborhood.

MercenarySquare was initiated by artist and critic Carlos Suarez De Jesus with the hopesof introducing emerging and underrepresented artists to Little Havana and SouthFlorida audiences in an unexpected venue with a distinct urban barrio flavor.

For the inaugural evening soiree, complimentary cocktailswill be served courtesy of Don Abuelo Rum from Panama. Theevent will be capped by live performances by Sound Selectors: Otto Von Bass Warrior, Mr. Feathers andJose Blue Jeans.

An AfterParty following the reception beginning at 11PM will continue the celebration for Mercenary Square Opening Reception at The Vagabond locatedat 30 NE 14^th Street, Downtown Miami.

This event is made possible thanks to DonAbuelo Rum, The Vagabond, The Barlington Group, Artdealermiami.com, ArtspaceMAGQ and Irreversible Magazine.

Mercenary Square, 537 SW 12^th Avenue,Miami, Florida 33130.

Free Admission. Exhibit runs through March 11, 2012.

United States Artists Projects Microphilanthropy for Artists

2012-02-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

Katherine DeShaw

This article was initially published in Examiner.com

Next Thursday, February 23, 2012, The Girls' Club in Fort Lauderdale will present "USA Projects Microphilanthropy for Artists Lunch Talk" with Katherine DeShaw, Executive Director of United States Artists, USA.

USA is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to investing in America's finest artists and to illuminating the value of artists to society.

USA Projects is the first microphilanthropy site dedicated exclusively to artists living and working in the United States, where anyone can discover original projects from some of today’s most innovative artists and make tax-deductible donations to support their work.

With a funding success rate of over 75%, USA Projects has raised over $1.4 million in funded projects thanks to the pledges of more than 8,000 unique donors, who have helped hundreds of artists realize original projects with funding goals ranging from $2,500 to $50,000.

Through the USA Fellows program, which annually awards 50 unrestricted grants of $50,000 to outstanding performing, visual, media, and literary artists across the country, USA has put $15 million in the hands of artists in the six years since its founding.

Bring your lunch on Thursday and join DeShaw as she shares information about the USA Projects Microphilanthropy for Artists initiative during a special presentation at The Girls' Club.

This event is free and open to the public, click to RSVP.

The Girls’ Club is located at 117 NE 2nd Street Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Art & Theater in Coral Gables: Bolívar Belongs to Us All

2012-02-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

This article was also published in Examiner.com and Eclectic Network Magazine

On Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 the most successful Colombian theater company, El Aguila Descalza and Venezuelan-born, Miami-based artist Evelyn Valdirio will present "Bolívar Belongs to Us All," an exhibition that brings together two artistic standpoints of the Venezuelan patriot and statesman.

The event will be hosted at Evelyn Valdirio's home in San Miguel Avenue, Coral Gables where she will be showcasing her most recent artwork using different formats.

The artistic soiree will also introduce with a special presentation of El Aguila Descalza's most recent DVD production entitled "La Patria Boba," or "Dumb Homeland," by Colombian actors Carlos Mario Aguirre and Cristina Toro.

Dressed as Simón Bolívar and Manuela Sáenz, the artists will feature a fragment of "La Patria Boba," which will be presented at the Trail Theater in Coral Gables along with the release of their new play "No Vuelvo a Beber," or "I Will Never Drink Again" on Friday, February 17th, 2012.

The controversial figure of the emblematic patriot, has given room to multiple versions of his relevance in Contemporary history. This encounter is a provocation to continue the endless discussion about the relevance of this character, who remains with a protagonist role from differing and antagonized thought processes.

El Aguila Descalza stages a busy Bolívar handing out resumes after losing his job as the Liberator, while the Venezuelan artist paints him amongst those oil well flares Manuela Saenz´s lover never got to witness.

The furniture to be showcased during the event is by Venezuelan designer Alirio Gutierrez & Evelyn Valdirio for Arias & Spaces.

1224 San Miguel Avenue, Coral Gables, Fl 33134
February 23, 2012 at 7PM
For more information: info@aguiladescalza.com.co

Photographer Cheryl Maeder Launches GardenWalls

2012-02-08T15:27:00.000-08:00

Gardenhouse recentlty annnounced the launch of GardenWalls, a newly designed line of wall murals by West Palm Beach-based artist Cheryl Maeder.

"GardenWalls grew out of our clients’ design requests to further marry their indoor/outdoor Gardenhouse home furnishings," said Maeder.

With this new line of fresh and modern interior design, Maeder plans to captivate a new market of clients interested in decorative art.

Gardenhouse décor organically combines indoor and outdoor living into a cohesive balance and these stunning murals are made to create the perfect backdrop for their decorative line. GardenWalls are custom designed to fit any wall size.

For more information contact Cheryl Maeder at (415)845-6832 or email gardenhousedecor@bellsouth.net

This Week: Guided Tour at CIFO Art Space with Eugenio Espinoza

2012-02-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

This article was also published in Examiner.com and Eclectic Network Magazine

Tomorrow, Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 7PM CIFO Art Space in Midtown Miami will have a guided tour with Venezuelan artist Eugenio Espinoza.

Espinoza will take the public through a guided tour of the exhibition "Frames and Documents," with a presentation by CIFO's Director & Curator, Jesus Fuenmayor.

Eugenio Espinoza was born in 1950, in San Juan de los Morros, Venezuela.

From 1966 to 1974, he studied at the Escuela de Artes Plasticas Cristobal Rojas and the Instituto de Diseno Newmann-Ince in Caracas. From 1977 to 1981, he lived in New York where he studied at Pratt Institute, New York University and the School of Visual Arts.

In 1972, Espinoza exhibited cut and folded canvases at the Museo de Bellas Artes and his "Impenetrable" at the Ateneo de Caracas. In 1985, he represented Venezuela at the Bienal de São Paulo.

His works are included in exclusive international private collections and in the collections of the Galeria de Arte Nacional, Museo de Bellas Artes, and Museo Alejandro Otero in Caracas; Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, São Paulo, Museo de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and at the Miami Art Museum, U.S.

Espinoza was awarded the CIFO's Achievement Commission in 2007 and a Pollock-Krasner Foundation 2010-2011 Grant.

CIFO Art Space
1018 N. Miami Ave., Miami, FL 33136
Admission is $7
*Free for students with valid ID
RSVP to rsvp@cifo.org

A Miami Artist Launches Fundraiser Event To Benefit Florida AIDS Walk

2012-02-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

Grabriela McAdams

This story was also published in Examiner.com & Eclectic Network Magazine

In December 2011, Miami-based makeup artist Gabriela McAdams decided to organize and launch an event entitled ARTE/AMOR for 2012 to benefit the Florida AIDS Walk.

An inspiration which came from her willingness and desire to help others through the sales of artworks from her artists' friends including her own creation, McAdams wanted to donate the most possible to benefit the South Florida nonprofit organization.

"I have never organized anything like this before but I thought that I could definitely establish a plan, learning on the go and it has been such a great experience the whole way through," said McAdams.

Alex Heria

Soon enough her idea was revealed and up in the air, McAdams started to receive support from friends in unexpected ways. She first invited artists to participate through Facebook and posted an ad in the Miami New Times.

"I also contacted artists directly whom I admire; I had pretty much the same approach to getting sponsors for the event," added McAdams.

100 percent of the monies raised will be donated to Florida AIDS Walk and thus matched dollar-for-dollar by the M•A•C AIDS Fund.

Sergio Cervantes

Mark T. Smith

Artists donating to the March fundraiser event include Sergio Cervantes, Ricardo Serpa, Mark T. Smith, Jorge Heilpern, Patrick Calhoun, Gina Martynova, Rachel DeJohn, Kourtney Brown, Alex Heria, Kazilla Williams, Marshall Arisman, Anica Shpilberg, Barbara M. de Varona, Jonathan Stein, Gaston Eliasgali, Ian Glending, Sean Murdock, Cecilia Lueza, Humberto Vento, Kat Danilova, Alejandro Takechel, Natalie Hernandez, and Diana Contreras among others.

Sponsors include Eclectic Network, What's Up Miami, Mia Jewels, Exhale Spa Miami, Asprey, Artist and Craftsman Miami, Broward Design Center, Teasy.com, Duffys, The Four Seasons Miami, Terribly Girly, Zadok Gallery, Independent Print and Design, Sullo Salon and Spa, ID Art Supply, Ayama Yoga among others.

Marshall Arisman

There will be a special performance session by PyroFusion dancers who will be donating their talents to perform for such a noble cause.

ARTE/AMOR Fundraising Event at Cafeina Lounge, March 17, 2012 from 9-12PM

Tickets $20 (pre-event)

For more info please contact Gabriela McAdams at arteamor2012@live.com for ticket sales

Cafeina Wynwood Lounge, 297 NW 23rd Street, Miami, Florida

WUM Interview: Fabiana Peña at Elite Fine Art Galleries

2012-02-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

This article was also published in Examiner.com & Eclectic Network Magazine

Fabiana Peña Pacheco is a Colombian-born artist who graduated from Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia in 1995 and who first exhibited her engravings in a group show at the Galeria Espacios Alternos de Uniadinos only two years before her graduation.

A decade later Peña began to have yearly collective exhibitions and in 2005, she began having solo shows of her works in Bogota and Washington DC that included participation at the 5th edition of the Suba Biennial in Bogota in 2005, and at the BID-Staff Association in Washington, DC in 2010.

Peña's works have been widely published in Colombia in a collection of poetry & short-story books and in Colombian art magazines and newspapers such as Le Monde Diplomatique, Revista de Arte "Comun Presencia," Revista de Arte Demente #1 "Visual Art," among others.

Fabiana Peña Pacheco will be having a solo exhibition in Miami entitled "Gift Boxes" at Elite Fine Art Galleries during Wynwood's February Second Saturday's Art Walk.

"A gift is an object that becomes a messenger of affection and gratitude,” said Peña who decided to paint gift boxes to reveal a hidden meaning in their wrapping.

"Everything can be wrapped as long as they follow two basic principles, to choose and to prepare the wrapping; it's about whom we gift and the motive of it," added Peña.

WUM interviewed the artist to talk about her works and her inspiration for creativity.

WUM: Why do you create art?

My preferred way of talking or expressing myself is through images that's why art expresses that which I am not able to express with words.

WUM: Are you the only one artist in your family? Tell us when and how your artistic career got started.

I'm not the only artist in my family. Me and my family have always been surrounded by an artistic environment which somehow shaped my life and the lives of others in my family as well. My family has allowed me the opportunity to explore my creative capacities since I was a very young child up to supporting me to go to art school allowing myself to continue in this endless creative path.

WUM: Do you have any special mentor or artists that have inspired you?

I have been really inspired by many artists some of which have been more compelling than others such as artists Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Amadeo Modigliani, Louis Aston Knight, Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Egon Schiele, Robert Raushenberg, Salvador Dali, and Auguste Rodin just to name a few. It's a long list that also includes Willem de Kooning, Joseph Beuys and Joseph Kosuth. Their conceptual images are unconsciously fixated in my memory which ultimately work in conjunction with my own desires to create works.

WUM: How do you get inspired to create a piece of art?

My inspiration has always changed and has varied with time. There are so many facets we artists go through in our careers that depend on many things such as the environment, cultural circumstances, upbringing, etc. From all the different topics available to be inspired, there are some that catch my attention especially from those moments which are transcendental in nature.

WUM: How would you describe your work?

Paintings with a strong personal language merging past, present and future as if there were allies in time. My works are consistent with my own reality in which I freely express my emotions and my condition of being human in a contemporary fashion.

WUM: As an artist, how do you see life? Which is the relationship between your spirit and soul?

It's very clear for me that life is about the opportunity to do things taking advantage of all the possibilities offered to us, the opportunity to be and the sense of being, to occupy a place in time and the ability to create. My soul is unique, like the strawberry on top of the cake, without it, I could not be complete, everything in this body may deteriorate but not my soul; it remains intact so that when I I feel overwhelmed, I reach for it and bring it to my consciousness finding stability and peace.

"Gift Boxes Opening Reception" February 11, 2012 from 6 to 10PM

Elite Fine Art Galleries, 46 NW 36th Street, Miami Florida 33127

Tony Goldman To Exhibit The Flying Murals of Wynwood at Art Wynwood VIP Lounge

2012-02-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

This article was also published in Examiner.com & Eclectic Network Magazine

Spotlighting and projecting the Wynwood Arts District of Miami as a vigorous cultural destination, Art Miami, LLC., confirmed its exhibitor list for this year's inaugural Art Wynwood which will take place during President's Day Weekend from February 16-20, 2012.

Attracting more than 50 galleries that will occupy 100,000 square feet of space, the five-day fair will showcase cutting-edge contemporary and modern art including Tony Goldman's "The Flying Murals of Wynwood" at the VIP Lounge.

Commissioned by Goldman and under his guidance, six 8' x 24' murals will be installed by international artists such as DAZE, Aiko and Futura. Also installed will be a Retna work from the Goldman's collection and an existing piece from How & Nosm.

"Art Wynwood is a wonderful example of how Miami andspecifically the Wynwood Arts District has evolved into a year round arts destination," said Goldman.

On the other hand, Art Wynwood Director Nick Korniloff says that this inaugural fair will further ignite the District's urban revitalization providing with high quality contemporary art for Miami's community and international art collectors who vacation in South Florida during President's Day Weekend.

Art Miami LLC, is a partnership consisting of art and media industry veterans Nick Korniloff, Mike Tansey and Brian Tyler.

Art Wynwood will coincide with the 24th edition of the prestigious Miami International Yacht & Brokerage Show located less than five miles from the Art Miami Pavilion which transforms Collins Avenue into the most luxurious water mile-long covering 1.2 million square feet with more than 500 mega-yachts that are valued over a billion dollars.

Participating galleries are 101 Gallery, Miami; 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, NewYork; ACA Gallery, New York;Aldo de Sousa Gallery Buenos Aires; Arcature Fine Art, Palm Beach; Aldo de Sousa Gallery, Buenos Aires;Arcature Fine Art, Palm Beach; Art Nouveau, Miami; Barry Friedman Ltd., New York; Bernice Steinbaum Gallery,Miami; Black & White Galleryand Project Space, New York; BlueLeaf Gallery, Dublin; C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore; Cernuda Arte, Coral Gables; Contessa Gallery, Cleveland; Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London; Cynthia-Reeves, New York; David Lusk Gallery, Memphis; De Buck Gallery, New York; Dean Project, New York; Denise Bibiro, New York; Dot Fiftyone Gallery, Miami; Durban Segnini Gallery, Miami; Forum Gallery, New York; Galería de Arte Ascaso, Caracas; GalerieLeRoyer, Montreal; Galerie Von Braunbehrens,Munich; Ginocchio Gallery, Mexico City; Hardcore Art ContemporarySpace, Miami; Hollis Taggart Gallery, NewYork; Jerald Melberg Gallery,Charlotte; Juan Ruiz Galeria, Maracaibo; Kavachnina Contemporary, Miami; Lausberg Contemporary,Dusseldorf; Leslie Smith Gallery, Amsterdam; Magnan Metz Gallery, New York; Mark Borghi Fine Art Inc, NewYork; Mike Weiss Gallery, New York; Mindy Solomon Gallery, St.Petersburg; Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York; Now Contemporary Art, Miami; Olyvia Fine Art, London; Pace Prints, New York; Pan American Art Projects,Miami; Priveekollektie, Heusdenaan deMaas; Rudolf Budja Gallery, Miami; Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NewYork; Tresart, Coral Gables; Unix Fine Art, London; Villa Del Arte Galleries,Barcelona; Waltman Ortega Fine Art, Miami; Waterhouse & Dodd, London; Westwood Gallery, New York; and Witzenhausen Gallery,Hazenstraat.

Art Wynwood Sponsors and Partners are JW MarriotMarquis Miami; Hotel Beaux Arts Miami; Turon Travel; Museo Vault; KushnerMoving Group; Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau; Miami Art DealersAssociation; Wynwood Art Dealers Association; Goldman Properties; LombardiProperties; The Miami Herald; Wynwood Walls; db Bistro; Joeys; Wynwood Kitchenand Bar; Bakehouse Art Center; Société Perrier; The Miami New Times and MidtownMiami.

A Cross-Institutional Exhibition: Mapping: Time and Space at ArtCenter/South Florida

2012-02-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

Rosa Naday Garmendia

This article was also published in Examiner.com & Eclectic Network Magazine

On Friday, February 24th, 2012 at 7PM the ArtCenter/South Florida ACSF in Lincoln Road will inaugurate the exhibition "Mapping: Time & Space," a group exhibition curated by Lauren Wagner showcasing the works of artists Regina Jestrow, Lucinda Linderman, Jake Margolin, Rosa Naday Garmendia, Amanda Serrano, Carrie Sieh and Nick Vaughn.

This cross-institutional exhibition is possible thanks to a sustained collaboration from two Miami-based nonprofit organizations, the Bakehouse Art Complex BAC and ACSF which were established in the 1980's as innovative educational platforms with dynamic programs offered to the Miami community.

Mapping: Time & Space will be the first exhibition organized by Maria Del Valle Hernandez in her new role as ACSF Executive Director. Del Valle comes from working as the Cultural Attache & Executive Director for the Centro Cultural Español in Miami.


Lucinda Linderman

Nick Vaughn

"We are so very pleased to have Lauren Wagner, BAC Director of Exhibitions curating Mapping,” said Del Valle.

"ACSF has a long history of partnering with some of the brightest organizations; with Mapping we are placing on the spotlight both, BAC and ACSF artists-in-residence," added Del Valle.

While maps have traditionally been used to understand a physical place, Mapping: Time & Space explores mapping as it applies to temporal and internal space.

Found maps are the basis of Margolin and Vaughn’s multimedia collaborations, which observe the artists’ journeys through the United States, their own personal sexualities and the state’s acceptance of same-sex marriages.

“In Mapping, our intentions are to provide alternative ways of thinking about and creating the map, therefore it was important to me to reach beyond the walls of BAC and ACSF," said Lauren Wagner.

Carrie Sieh

The artists in Mapping rethink the utilitarian object as it relates to their own personal journeys through same-sex marriage, consumption growth and audience interaction.

Serrano makes use of found maps with oversized National Geographic Historical Atlas diagrams creating abstract interpretations of topographical maps.

Linderman’s sculptures consider the body and its functions as forms for mapping the consumption of goods over time. One of Linderman's pieces for Mapping is her own timeline fueled by the digestive system. Building her work over several months from tail to mouth, it shows all the products that she purchased in chronological order, the most recent at the head of the sculpture, and the oldest at the extremity.

Regina Jestrow

Also touching upon issues of consumption, Garmendi’s ‘I Am Just Like YOU!’ is part of a larger body of work developed with materials of a wasteful society.

Sieh has created an interactive installation and performance drawing on imagery, based on the history of ideas about the brain and the mind. This idea developed out of the artist’s own interest in neurology and psychoanalysis, and her fascination with the evolution of scientific and popular ideas about the mind, behavior and personality traits.

Fiber artist Jestrow maps her own life and development as a professional artist through 'New Foundations,' a quilt whose underpinnings consist of her mother’s old dress patterns.

Mapping: Time and Space Opens February 24 at ArtCenter/South Florida and will be on view until April 1, 2012.

ArtCenter 800 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach 33139

Miami Art Walks: Steinbaum, Now & Myra

2012-01-31T17:23:00.000-08:00

Via Miami Art Walks

This month's Wynwood gallery walk review has three exhibitions which will be on view for the next 4 weeks at Bernice Steinbaum, Now Contemporary and Myra Galleries.

At Bernice Steinbaum "This is Not Taxidermy, Showtime Series," by Enrique Gomez de Molina and "It Also Snows Inside" by Roman Vitali at Now Contemporary. Myra Galleries has an eclectic group show.

See more images in Miami Art Walks.com

MAM Presents "Restless" Newest Additions to the Collection & Artist Talk with Dara Friedman

2012-01-31T14:10:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, February 16, 2012, the Miami Art Museum will present a special preview of MAM newest additions to its permanent collection with the exhibition "Restless: Recent Acquisitions from the MAM Collection."

A New Start for Art Paris Art Fair at the Grand Palais

2012-01-31T11:23:00.000-08:00

Art Paris Art Fair, the springtime fair for modern and contemporary art will be held from March 29th to April 1st 2012 bringing together 120 galleries from 15 countries under the majestic glass roof of the Grand Palais.

With a new leadership the fair has been renamed Art Paris Art Fair and has undergone a complete transformation.

Part of the newness of this fair is the inclusion of a new VIP programme of visits entitled "Springtime in Paris" which will be presented as a series of talks in a new section dedicated to cutting edge contemporary design called "Limited Edition," curated by Bénédicte Colpin.

The "Limited Edition" section is supported by Série Limitée Les Echos and it will include a selection of cutting edge galleries such as Pierre Alain Challier, Galerie Matignon, Slott Galerie and White Moon Gallery that will showcase top exclusive pieces made by renown designers.

Another novelty is the "Large Format," a project that presents close to a dozen monumental works at the center of the fair.

Art Paris Art Fair
29 March–1 April 2012
Grand Palais, Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris

Preview (by invitation only) on Wednesday 28th March 2012 from 6pm to 10pm
Opening hours: Thursday 29th March and Saturday 31st March from 11:30 am to 8pm, Friday 30th March from 11:30 am to 10pm, and Saturday 1st April from 11:30 to 7pm.
Entrance fee: 20 EUR /10 EUR for students

Manuel de Santaren "Eye of the Collector" Videos at MAMbo

2012-01-30T19:17:00.000-08:00

Chrischa Venus Oswald, HAUTNA---t, 2005-06

Hans Op de Beeck, The Stewarts Have a Party, 2006.

At the Villa delle Rose in Bologna, LaRete Art Projects will present Manuel de Santaren's "Eye of the Collector" video exhibition organized in collaboration with Arte Fiera Art First 2012, as a special guest event within the Bologna Art First circuit in Italy.

The exhibition is curated by Julia Draganovic and Claudia Loeffelholz with Federica Patti as the project coordinator.

"The Eye of the Collector," is Santaren's series of 11 video installations based on performances produced not for a live audience but for the camera instead.

The striking power of the visual which doesn't need to be explained, the videos in Manuel de Santaren's collection are proof that bodies and images in movement are the essential elements of an effective language for this medium, it doesn't need much more.

But the most difficult thing to achieve is simplicity. The small selection of videos chosen for "The Eye of the Collector" will present a variety of ways in which speechless moving images are able to generate amusement or admiration, emotion, tenderness or rejection, confusion or enlightenment.

The show at MAMbo - Villa delle Rose in Bologna will present 11 video installations that are based on performances with the exception of McCallum and Tarry and Isabel Rocamora the camera's fixed position prevails, simulating the standpoint of a non-involved viewer who keeps a constant distance from the events.

Luigi Presicce. La benedizione dei Pavoni, 2011. Performance per due bambini.

The body, its relation to its environment and the physical interaction with others are at the center of every video: from the tableaux vivant by Niklas Goldbach, William Lamson or Luigi Presicce, the performances by Maria José Arjona and Jesse Aron Green which refer to minimal and conceptual art, body art related pieces like "HAUTNA---T" by Chrischa Venus Oswald, videos related to dance choreography like the once by McCallum and Tarry, Janaina Tschäpe or Isabel Rocamora to the strange living sculptures in Hans Op de Beeck's "The Stewarts have a Party".

Manuel de Santaren is a Boston and Washington DC-based collector whose main focus is New Media/Video based works.

His extensive collection comprises works which focus primarily on performance, appropriation of mass media imagery, and animation. Mr. de Santaren is the Co-Chair of the Photography Committee of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York where he has championed the acquisition and inclusion of video works for the permanent collection.

Niklas Goldbach. The Nature of Things, 2011

William Lamson. Action for the Paiva, 2011

He is also on the Board of Overseers of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and an active participant in the Visiting Committee / Contemporary Art where he offers his knowledge and passion for time based works. Furthermore, he is member of the Executive Board of The Cisneros Fontanals Foundation based in Miami, Florida.

The show will be accompanied by a publication with texts by Manuel de Santaren, Julia Draganović, Elena Forin, Claudia Löffelholz and Federica Patti.

Please read today's NPR article on Italy's Art as a Window into Modern Banking

After Neo-Expressionism Closing Exhibition & Live Concert

2012-01-27T08:50:00.000-08:00

This article was also published in Examiner.com & Eclectic Network Magazine

The Aluna Art Foundation & Barrio Workshop Art Space will be having its closing reception tonight for the exhibition “After Neo-Expressionism, Diaries on the Edge of Roughness,” a show with paintings and sculptures by artists Yovani Bauta, Frank Chinea Inguanzo, Carlos A. Diaz Barrios, Vicente Dopico-Lerner and Ramon Lago.

The exhibition was curated by Willy Castellanos and Adriana Herrera.

Tonight's closing reception will include a Live concert by composer, Maria Isabel Saavedra.

Friday January 27th, 2012 at 8PM at Barrio Workshop Art Space.

518 West Flagler Street, Miami, Fl 33130

Chinese Artist Fung Ming Chip at the Mandarin Oriental

2012-01-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

Last night at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Brickell Key, Crimson Gate Fine Art presented Chinese artist Fung Ming Chip with a special event dinner party at Cafe Sambal and a presentation hosted at the Mandarin's atrium lobby.

Coinciding with the Mandarin's Annual Chinese New Year Celebration, the exhibition (January 23-March 5, 2012) features a broad selection of ink-on-paper calligraphy by celebrated artist Fung Ming Chip.

Fung is a multi-talented artist, an accomplished sculptor, poet and essayist who has also been commissioned to create along Marc & Chantal Design "Les Poemes du Mandarin," a set of stunning tableware for Hermes.

His works are in prestigious international private collections and at the public galleries of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

While living in NYC he developed an interest in Western abstract art, the influence of which was to be crucial to Fung's modern take on Chinese artistic practice and theory.

"By reviving the traditions of seal carving and calligraphy, and successfully reframing them within a contemporary context, my own destiny has been transformed,” said Fung.

A self-taught master of the traditional calligraphy, Fung has developed his own script styles that, while paying tribute to tradition, are striking in their modernism as well.

Inspired in Zen poetry, Fung's works in ink-on-xuan paper evoke a lightness of motion with simple and elegant script and characters in harmonized temporal balance.

“Fung's calligraphy opens the heart of the Chinese culture to the modern world,” said critic Paul Serfaty.

Fung’s commitment to developing new approaches to one the world’s oldest forms of artistic expression continues to produce a startling range of work which is fresh, exciting, and often iconoclastic.

His awareness of the emphatic relationship between the modern and ancient elements he uses in his works makes it appealing to a wide array of collectors.

He currently lives between Hong Kong, Taiwan, and New York City.

Please visit crimsongate.com for more information about Asian Fine Art and Antiquities.

Andrea Sampaolo To Exhibit Monumental Sculpture at Poltrona Frau Group Miami

2012-01-24T23:30:00.000-08:00

Some Images Courtesy of Poltrona Frau-Capellini

This article was initially published in Examiner.com & Eclectic Network Magazine

Rome-based artist Andrea Sampaolo will be visiting Miami in the coming months to be present at the unveiling of his new mixed-media sculpture entitled “Meridiana Contemporanea," at Poltrona Frau Group Miami in the Design District.

The date for this exhibition -to be announced in the coming weeks, will showcase Sampaolo's latest creation based on a previous concept that the artist presented at the "2008 Recycle Art Symposium" in Delft, Holland and which was awarded the First Prize.

The sculpture entitled "Recycling the Wave of Air," a monumental 2.5 x 1.7 meters mixed media piece was created in Sampaolo's idea of showing the synthesis of man, woman, the air and the universe using recycle materials such as wood, aluminum, plexiglass with acrylic paintings.

Working in a visceral way, Sampaolo was inspired by the water, clouds and wind from the Dutch landscape using different tones of blue and leaving a hollow space in the middle of the award-winning sculpture.

“Recycle Art,” was a 12-day symposium project that comprised four main branches, symposium, exhibition, education and art community.

"We were 31 participating artists, 2 curators, 8 students, 3 technical assistants and 18 musicians sponsored by the Foundation World Art Delft," said Sampaolo.

Based on a project initiated by Paula Kouwenhoven, "Recycle Art" brought many artists together from all over the world that expressed concern about humanity and about the planet showcasing their artistic renderings.

“When I learned about the results of the results of the symposium, I cried of joy and emotion because I understood that art was no longer a game for me, that it was indeed serious and real; From that moment on, I felt that I had a responsibility as an artist to keep producing art for people,” said Sampaolo.

“America is the place where Sampaolo meets the border he intends to overcome, the zero point, the mythical space of the forever new, forever possible,” said writer and poet Giovanni Burali d’Arezzo.

“His art draws directly from an aesthetically historical core, from the turn of the American avant-garde innovative frenzy of the 50’s which led to successive art movements like Pop Art and Graffiti,” said Burali d’Arezzo.

In November 2010, Sampaolo traveled to Miami to have his first retrospective (1997-2010) outside of Italy entitled “American,” a collection of 32 paintings belonging to his “Free Zone” series. He also performed a Live painting installation entitled “Cromatismi Sonori” or “Acoustic Chromatism” which was performed earlier in Rome with Jazz musician Javier Girotto.

The successful event was sponsored by the Istituto Nazionale per il Commercio Estero, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Southeast, and Poltrona Frau Group Miami.

After receiving his degree as Art Professor in Rome in 1983, Sampaolo started to paint and exhibit his works in different galleries located in Rome and Turin. He also participated in different international painting symposiums in cities such as Luxor, Egypt, Maillniz, Austria and the Netherlands.

In 2001, Sampaolo participated as a designer for Slamp , a corporation that makes original lamps and objects designed by international architects, artists and designers using "Opalflex," a plasto-vitreous material with unique properties of flexibility, opalescence and light diffusion.

At the famous Via del Corso in Rome in 2003, Sampaolo performed at the Benetton Showroom with his exhibition “Wishes come true" and in 2009 he participated at the "Kaunas Biennial Textile Lithuania," the most significant event for contemporary textile art in Europe.

For the upcoming Poltrona Frau Group Miami exhibition, Sampaolo plans to connect with more returning clients and collectors of his previous works.

“I feel closer to people showing my works in a high-end furniture store rather than in gallery space, which nowadays I think it’s way too far from people,” he added.

Art Palm Beach Closes Its 15th Anniversary Edition

2012-01-23T19:18:00.000-08:00

With the most extensive program in its 15 years history, Art Palm Beach successfully closed today another dynamic art fair exhibition encompassing premiere events, special exhibitions, lectures including museum tours and site-specific installations kicking off Florida's Gold Coast art fair 2012 season.

Forward-thinking galleries (80) representing over 12 countries featured all forms of contemporary art during the 4-day fair.

Committed to support major art installations by conceptual artists, this year's edition introduced a curatorial exhibition program by guest curators.

Featured installations included a Beth Lipman installation presented by Heller Gallery which coincided with her opening exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.

Other installations were Stephen Knapp 35' installation and light performance presented by Elaine Baker Gallery; an exhibition of Nathalia Edenmont photography showcased at Wetterling Gallery; a one man photography exhibition featuring Lluis Barba's new monumental works sponsored by Besharat Gallery.

Ruth Lawrence Gallery presented Michael Taylor's glass exhibition and Maurine Littleton Gallery sponsored a group exhibit and book launch by Harvey Littleton "A Tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the American Glass Art Movement 1962-2012."

De Buck Gallery presented a light sculpture installation by Hans Kotter and Courthouse Gallery also presented an exhibition and book launch "American Masters, Passages into Abstraction 1958-1978" and Jane Sauer Gallery presented a design exhibition by Ken Townsend.

Marks

Rodrigo Lara Zendejas

Alexi Torres

Art Palm Beach awarded the 2012 Visionary Artist Award for Japanese-American artist Jun Kaneko for his life achievements to the arts, and accomplishments in sculptural ceramics and supports in arts education.

Participating 2012 galleries were Adamar Fine Arts, AiBo Fine Asian Art, Glenn Aber Contemporary Vietnamese Art, Aperture Foundation, Art Link International, Arte Berri, AW Massey Fine Art, Berengo Studio 1989, Besharat Gallery, Blue Rain Gallery, Charles Harold Gallery, Charon Kransen Arts, Christopher Walker Art, Consultores de Arte SA, Contessa Gallery, Coplan Gallery, Courthouse Gallery, Cynthia Corbett, Dai Ichi Arts, De Buck Gallery, Dean Project, Donna Schneier, Duane Reed Gallery, Elaine Baker Gallery, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery, Evan Lurie Gallery, Frederic Got Gallery, GF Fine Art, Global Art Group, Habatat Galleries of Michigan, The Halsted Gallery, Hamburg Kennedy Photography, Heller Gallery, Hexton Modern & Contemporary, Holden Luntz Gallery, Hughes Design, Jane Sauer Gallery, JF Gallery, Jorge Sori Fine Art, Juan Ruiz Galeria, Judith Hughes Day, Karen Lynne Gallery, Ken Saunders Gallery, LDXArtodrome Gallery, Leslie Smith Gallery, Licht Feld, Liman Gallery, Loveed Fine Arts, Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, Maria Elena Kravetz Gallery, Mark Helliar 20th Century Design, Maxoly Latin Art Core, Michael James Fine Art, Mindy Solomon Gallery, ModernMasters Fine Art, Museum Works Galleries, NAC Gallery, Next Step Studio Gallery, Octavia Art Gallery, Onate Fine Art, Oxemberg Fine Art, Palette Contemporary Art & Craft, Projects Gallery, Quatum Contemporary, Raquelle Azran Vietnamese Contemporary Art, Rize Art Gallery, Robert Fontaine Gallery, Ruth Lawrence Fine Art, Sandra Neustadter Gallery, Schantz Galleries, Sherry's, Syra Arts, Ubu Fine Art, Unix Fine Art, The Valentine Ryabov Gallery, Walter Wickiser Gallery, Waterhouse & Dodd, Westhill Gallery, Wetterling Gallery, Whitespace Collection and William Zimmer Gallery.

Evan Lurie Gallery Exhibits Alexi Torres at Art Palm Beach 2012

2012-01-22T07:50:00.000-08:00

This article has also been published in Examiner.com & Eclectic Network Magazine

Atlanta-based Cuban artist Alexi Torres was one of the many artists present at Art Palm Beach 2012 currently exhibiting his works at the Evan Lurie Gallery Booth 607.

A cutting-edge gallery from Carmel, one of the fastest-growing cities of Indiana, Evan Lurie Gallery represents over 40 established and emerging artists whose works contain a heavy emphasis on the contemporary abstract, realism and neo-realism.

One of the 15 Evan Lurie Artists showcased at the prestigious Art Palm Beach fair is Alexi Torres whose recent work "Reamerica," was sold to actor Will Smith during Art Basel Week.

Torres was exhibiting several pieces similar to the monumental 84" x132" oil on canvas woven flag sold to Smith which denote the same cleanness of trace that appear consistent with the current organic trends that the Earth is experienced in consciousness.

Torres grew up in Cuba and then established residence in Atlanta, Georgia.

"I feel sometimes uneasy to describe my works in Spanish because all the time I have been doing that in English and the flow of English words seems easier for me to use," said Torres when he was describing how the U.S. changed his perception of the world-view he used to have while living in Cuba.

"My works answer a question of my own appreciation of the Planet Earth's necessities recognizing that individual positive actions do help achieve and uplift collective human consciousness," said Torres.

Torres reconstructs iconic images that represent all phases of human development including the arts, politics, science, education, and the military in an ecological fashion.

Charles Darwin 96" x 72" Oil/Canvas in The Spiritual Journalist

Adding natural organic elements, Torres interlaces lines, in the form of weaving using leaves and feathers to create an organized carefully-constructed final image.

"For my continuous comprehension of the world, I have the need to continue creating in hopes of benefiting civilization while responsible with my message in current times," added Torres.

Evan Lurie Gallery is also featuring the works by renowned Italian sculptor Oriano Galloni and by sculptors Brad Howe, Carlo Borer, Kevin Barrett, and Gino Miles. Two-dimensional pieces are also shown by Jorge Santos, Victor Wang and Jason Paul Bennett.

Galleri Andersson/Sandström in Stockholm To Represent Enrique Martínez Celaya

2012-01-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

Galleri Andersson/Sandström announced today that they are now representing Cuban-American artist Enrique Martínez Celaya.

Celaya, a truly intellectual artist, is known worldwide by his numerous works which are placed in 27 of the most prestigious museums.

From paintings, to sculptures to photography and poetry, Celaya's work is inspired by elevated thinkers such as Maurice Maeterlinck, Leo Tolstoy, Harry Martinson, Friedrich Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer, just to name a few.

Born in 1964 in Havana, shortly after the end of the Cuban Revolution, his family migrated to Spain and later to Puerto Rico.

Celaya has been passionate about science since he was a young man and he eventually went to study applied physics and pursue a Ph.D. in quantum electronics at the University of California-Berkeley.

His focus soon turned towards art, which led to receiving a Master of Fine Arts at the University of California-Santa Barbara. His work as an artist continues to bear the influence of his scientific training in his rigorous methods and inexhaustible curiosity.

In March 2012, the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg will exhibit his first video, The Master which was premiered at The Sagamore Miami Beach during Art Basel Week.

Celaya's first exhibition at the new Stockholm Galleri Andersson/Sandström will be held in the autumn of 2012.

ShanghART Gallery Presents: Shi Qing & Li Pinghu

2012-01-18T08:08:00.000-08:00

Pant Republic, Shi Qing Installation

From February 11 to March 31, 2012, ShanghART H-Space on Moganshan Road, Shanghai will present "Things from the Gallery Warehouse 4," a series of installations that began 3 years ago with the name, "Things from the Gallery Warehouse."

The fourth installment of these exhibition series comes after celebrating the traditional Chinese New Year with artists Shi Qing and Li Pinghu.

The installation work “Plant Republic” by Shi Qing is a quite complicated and unique system created as an ecological structure and an organizational system.

Seemingly disordered wood combinations build a sense of order. The video work “Flight Line” by Li Pinghu to be presented in the exhibition will address an interest in the spaces between places and objects and between the work and the viewers when they enter the space.

Shi Qing was born in 1969 in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, lives and works in Beijing.

Recent exhibitions: Not long enough, Space Station, 798 Art District, Beijing (2010); Halfway House, Shi Qing Solo Exhibition, ShanghART Beijing (2009).

Li Pinghu was born in 1976, lives and works in Shanghai.

Recent exhibitions: A Pile of Passion, ShanghART Gallery (2011); FIAC, Grand Palais, Paris, France (2010).

Examiner News: $450 Gets You 9 Pieces of Art

2012-01-18T07:07:00.000-08:00

Via Examiner.com

This morning, January 18th, 2012 starting at 11:00 AM EST limited edition CSA shares of art will be available online at LegalArt Community Supported Art in Miami.

For just $450 you will receive nine original works created by Miami artists.

LegalArt announces the first edition of Community Supported Art with a fantastic group of artists: Jenny Brillhart, Kerry McLaney, Julie Friel, Gustavo Roman, Jason Hedges, Valeria Yamamoto, James Herring, Michelle Weinberg and Kathleen Hudspeth.

For one price, you will receive nine original works, one from each of the featured artists, including ceramics, photographs, original drawings, and more!

The delivery of the art will take place in three-monthly deliveries.

Starting in February, each delivery will be held at a different location, where you will be able to meet the artists included in that share.

By the end of the third delivery, buyers will have received nine individual pieces of art and the artists will have met fifty new collectors of their work.

All shares include similar art from the same artists, but each is unique as the one of a kind works are slightly different.

The CSA Program fosters new relationships between artists and collectors, providing artists with a stipend to produce original, limited edition works while offering a very competitive price to encourage new collectors and art lovers.

The shares will sell out fast!

Visit LegalArt CSA at 11 AM

This Week: Art Palm Beach Celebrates 15th Anniversary Honoring Jun Kaneko

2012-01-17T17:53:00.000-08:00


Jun Kaneko Images Courtesy of Elaine Baker Gallery

Jun Kaneko

On Thursday, January 19th, 2012, Art Palm Beach will celebrate its 15th Anniversary at the Palm Beach County Convention Center during its Opening Evening Preview.

The fair will open to the public on Friday from January 20th to 23rd, 2012.

Considered to be one of the most influential contemporary art fairs on the Florida's Gold Coast by both critics and art enthusiasts since its opening in 1997, Art Palm Beach 2012 will present the most extensive program in its 15 year history with premiere events, special engagements, topical lectures, special museum tours, site specific installations, art performance and VIP programs.

Jun Kaneko

Stanley Boxer

This 15th Edition will honor the lifetime accomplishments of Japanese sculptor Jun Kaneko and will feature a one-man exhibition of major works sponsored by Palm Beach-based Elaine Baker Gallery.

Originally a painting student, Kaneko discovered a passion for sculpture upon his arrival to California in the early 1960's, a time now defined as the Contemporary Ceramics Movement in America.

Kaneko has taught at the nation's leading art schools including Scripps College and the Rhode Island School of Design.

Kaneko's bronze and glass sculpture and bi-dimensional works appear in numerous international exhibitions and as well as over 50 museum collections around the world.

He has been honored with national, state and organization fellowships and an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London. He has realized almost 30 public art commissions and recently designed the set and costumes for a new production of Puccini's Madame Butterfly.

Kikuo Saito

Dan Christensen

Art Palm Beach is the IFAE's flagship fair and this year will have many returning exhibitors and newcomers to the Palm Beach art scene.

The fair is comprised of over seventy international galleries presenting works of all forms of contemporary art including painting, sculpture, photography, design, fine art glass, video and installations from modern art to new cutting-edge artists.

Aurora Canero

Boaz Vaadia

The lecture and panel discussion series for this year's 15th Edition will include a full program of daily presentations:

Michael Kimmelman, Chief Architecture Critic and Former Chief Art Critic for the New York Times,"The View from Over There, Over Here"; Jun Kaneko, "In Between"; William Warmus, Former Curator of Modern Glass at Corning Museum of Glass will moderate a roundtable discussion, "The Studio Glass Experiment – The First 50 Years 1962-2012"; a thought provoking panel moderated by Bruce Helander, Editor-in-Chief of The Art Economist; Willis "Buzz" Hartshorn of International Center of Photography, "The ICP Legacy and New Directions in Photography"; Ullysees Dietz, Curator of Decorative Arts at the Newark Museum, "Ceramics as Art, Not a New Idea"; and Mark Leach, Executive Director of the SECCA, Southeastern Center of Contemporary Art will present "The New SECCA and its New Directions in Contemporary Art".

Michael Lucero

Harlad Schmitz-Schmelzer

Peter Reginato

For more information on ArtPalmBeach 2012 hours, exhibitors and programming, please visit the website at www.artpalmbeach.com

The Lowe Art Museum Presents: From the Vault, Building a Legacy, Sixty Years of Collecting

2012-01-17T15:58:00.000-08:00

Christo, United States (born Bulgaria), b. 1935
Wrapped Monument to Cristobal Colon Project for Barcelona - Plaza Porta de la Pau, 1976
fabric, string, crayon and graphite on paperboard, 28 1/2 x 22 1/4 x 1 5/8"
Museum purchase through the 2003 Director's Circle, the Linnie E. Dalbeck Memorial Endowment Fund and the Lowe Art Museum Acquisitions Fund, 2003.7
© Christo

Washington Allston, United States, 1779-1843
Mother and Child,
oil on canvas, 49 ½ x 40 ¼"
Gift of The Washington Allston Trust, 56.141.000

This article was also published in Eclectic Network Magazine

To commemorate its 60th Anniversary, the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami will present the exhibition, “From the Vault: Building a Legacy, Sixty Years of Collecting at the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami," on January 28, 2012.

The Lowe’s collections span 5,000 years of world art history in virtually every media. Highlights of its distinguished collecting history will be featured in this anniversary exhibition, which draws from some 18,000 works of art.

The exhibition will be a rare opportunity to showcase important objects not currently on exhibition or that may never have been seen by the faculty, students, or the general public.

It will include paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photography, and mixed media works of art that represent the unique, multi-cultural holdings of the Lowe.

After being housed for two years in two classrooms in the University’s George E. Merrick Building, the Lowe Art Museum opened its doors on February 4, 1952 as the Joe and Emily Lowe Art Gallery.

The exhibition will be divided into the three sections: The Foundation Years, 1952-1969; The Formative Years, 1970-1989; and Building the Legacy, 1990-and beyond.

While the Lowe has permanent galleries devoted to each of its major collecting areas, there are significant holdings that, due to current space constraints, have not been on exhibition for a number of years.

The Lowe Art Museum is one of the University of Miami’s cultural gems making the Coral Gables campus a prime destination to partake in a rich variety of artistic offerings.

The museum houses South Florida’s largest and most varied art collection and hosts traveling exhibitions.

The show will open January 28, 2012 and will continue on view through March 25, 2012.

Luxe Magazine: Cheryl Maeder, a Style Maker

2012-01-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

Photographer Cheryl Maeder, currently exhibiting at Nina Torres Fine Art at 1800 Gallery in Midtown has been featured by Luxe Magazine South Florida as a Style Maker for the January 2012 Issue for her home furnishing designs combined with photography available at Garden House Decor.

Maeder, who was recently featured in an exclusive WUM Interview says to Luxe Magazine that she sees the world through color and design imbuing her creations with those elements.

"My designs and photography work in tandem," she says. "Together they make me feel complete."

Fabia Nitti at Sculpture Miami

2012-01-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit: Elite Fine Art Galleries

This article was also published in Eclectic Network Magazine

Venezuelan sculptress Fabia Nitti is currently exhibiting "Treasure," a monumental painted metal sculpture inaugurated for the 3rd Edition of MIA International Art Fair "Sculpture Miami," a waterside installation and sculpture exhibition located in Bayfront Park.

Over thirty large sculptures will be displayed until March 2012 by major international sculptors. Fabia Nitti is represented by Elite Fine Art Galleries.

Art Lecture at Fairchild: Martin Margulies

2012-01-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 7:00PM, Martin Z. Margulies, Founder of the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse will speak on the subject "Contemporary Sculpture: Seeing it Better" at the Fairchild's Visitor Center Ballroom.

Drawing on his extensive experience in the contemporary art world with artists, critics, dealers and other collectors, Margulies will present a down-to-earth narrative outlining the running history of post war sculpture.

Showing images of some of the great seminal works of sculpture in his collection he will touch on the major historical categories including Modernism, Constructivism, Abstraction, Pop, Minimalism, Earth Art and 21st century Installation.

Martin Z. Margulies is a man with a passion for art, a fact that influences every facet of his life. A graduate of the Wharton School of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania, and a successful developer of South Florida luxury real estate projects for the past 35 years, Margulies began collecting in 1976 with the purchase of a work by Isamu Noguchi, and has gone on to build one of the major collections of contemporary American and European art in the world today.

Consistently named to lists such as the ARTnews 200, The World’s Top Collectors, and the top 25 photography collectors in the world, the Margulies Collection is considered by curators, critics, artists and dealers as one of the most important collections of its kind. Focusing on seminal works by important artists, the collection includes European Modernism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Minimalism, Conceptual, Arte Povera, Video, Vintage and Contemporary Photography.

UM 4th Annual Cane Fair Closing Exhibition

2012-01-16T17:29:00.000-08:00

This article was also published in Examiner.com

On Saturday, January 14th, 2012 the University of Miami Wynwood Project Space presented the closing of The 4th Annual Cane Fair, featuring artworks from UM students earning their Masters in Fine Arts.

Presented by the College of Arts and Sciences Art and Art History Department, the 4th Cane Annual Fair displayed works which included photography, sculpture, prints, installation, ceramics, painting and others.

Some of the artists featured in this exhibition included Jacqueline Gopie (Painting), Sean Black (Photography), Eddy Lopez (Printmaking), Michelle Roy (Graphic Design), Cynthia Fleischmann (photography), Leah Brown (Sculpture) among others.

The MFA program is a 60 credit, three-year program resulting in a terminal degree that both prepares students to enter the professional, studio art world and also qualifies them for college teaching.

The UM Wynwood Project Space is located at 2200A NW 2nd Avenue, Wynwood.

Other viewing times can be arranged by appointment. For more information, call 305-284-3161 or email m.cardoso1@miami.edu

Words of Peace Global Announces Event at The Fillmore, Miami Beach

2012-01-16T12:13:00.000-08:00

Via The Spiritual Journalist

Arcature Fine Art Palm Beach in WUM

The international humanitarian organization Words of Peace Global announced today that Honorable Prem Rawat, also known as Maharaji, will be giving a speech this coming Sunday at The Fillmore, Miami Beach and another one on January 29th, 2012 in Long Beach, California.

In order to attend to his speaking engagements you must first register individually online and request an invitation at WOPG website.

This is a full-produced event where various TPRF & WOPG teams of volunteers come together to make these events memorable.

When you receive your invitation for one of these WOPG events, you have an opportunity to support these events by making a contribution. So please contribute!

Your generous contribution will not only pay for the costs of events in the United States, but also sponsor events in regions with limited resources, such as South America and Africa.

To request an invitation through Words of Peace Global website for January 22 Miami Beach Event please click the following link:

http://www.wopg.org/en/events/confirmed-events/1576-miami-beach-2012-event

2012 MIA Art Fair Closes Today

2012-01-15T21:57:00.001-08:00

This article was also published in Examiner.com

SeaFair, the world's first megayacht exhibition venue hosting the 3rd Edition of MIA International Art Fair in Downtown Miami has been highly visited by thousands of people during the 4-day fair which closes today, Monday, January 16th.

The 3,200 ton 5-deck ship docked at the Intercontinental Marina had record visitors. On preview opening night alone, during the MOCA Shakers First View and Collector's Invitational Preview, attendance was over 2,100 people.

IFAE organizers are very pleased for the outstanding response received from the Miami public and art aficionados.

"The crowds have been outstanding, we have opened to a line everyday and dealers are seeing early sales," said Ashlea Heck, IFAE Press & Media Coordinator on Saturday.

"A commitment of MIA's has always been to support the local art community, this venue has proven a unique platform to showcase some of Miami's most prominent galleries alongside their international counterparts," added Heck.

Some galleries have reported sales such as the Miami-based Ascaso Gallery, Evan Lurie Gallery, Cernuda Gallery, Kavachnina Contemporary, Art Link International, Black Square Gallery and E.Jung Gallery.

Today, MIA will present from 12:30PM to 1:30PM Ultra Violet, artist and Wharhol "superstar" with "Full Circle: Before They Were Famous," a video shot in the 1960s documenting the friendship between photographer William John Kennedy and Pop Artists, Robert Indiana and Andy Warhol.

From 2:00PM to 3:00PM, Willis "Buzz" Hartshorn, Director of the International Center for Photography will present "The ICP Legacy and New Directions in Photography" showcasing how the collection has transformed over the years.

From 3:00 to 4:00PM Elayne Mordes, Owner & Director of "Whitespace: The Future of Exhibition Programming for Private Collections" with artist Nathalia Edenmont and curator John McGurk.

Also today from 1:00PM to 2:00 PM there will be two "Meet the Artists Receptions," a book signing with sculptor Edwina Sandys and from 2:00PM to 3:00PM Chris Riccardo and Helen Otterson presented by JF Gallery.

MIA Art Fair Opening Preview & WUM Jesus Rojas Torres' Birthday Celebration

2012-01-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

Pioneer for the Arts, Lee Ann Lester, Owner of IFAE

This is the first post I attempt to write in first-person as a speaker or communicator for this website What's Up Miami? WUM for the last two years of online circulation.

It will be my own birthday gift. I celebrated my anniversary yesterday, January 12 during the MIA Art Fair Opening Preview at SeaFair in Downtown in the Collector's Lounge at 9:30PM.

The gorgeous lounge was filled with beautiful girls, spiritual friends, media colleagues and some of my dearest friends from the last 15 years that I have known while living in Miami. What a great explosion of happiness and good vibe!

When I created WUM, I did it to give additional exposure and promotion for emergent artists in Miami that could not access the traditional media outlets and therefore could not be exposed or exhibited properly.

I graduated with a Master of Science in Mass Communication in 2005 from FIU. I thought that such title would amount to credibility, beyond the quality of being trusted and believed, bringing or attracting job-related opportunities and partnerships for my nascent career.

I would need another blog to write up all the amazing and peculiar stories which I started to gather not only in my mind as the witness of the events that were unfolding in front of me, but also on the record for those events in which I took part of as a journalist, consultant, editor, producer and blogger for the last two years. It would be like a real novel.

This blog was created out of love in 2009 trying to help a long time business partner and friend, Venezuelan-Lebanese Ben Bela Abounassif, who needed media coverage for his first solo exhibition at ICON South Beach during Art Basel Week 2009.

Ben and I were business partner's at Leiter Gallery along with Cuban-based artist Sinuhe Vega Leiter back in 2006, right before the Real Estate and financial crisis exploded in America.

We had a very short but successful career presenting eclectic curated exhibitions at the Upper East Side gallery highlighting events such as "Cachao & Friends," the only art exhibition in the US that honored a living legend, the late Israel Chachao Lopez, the Mambo King.

In 2007, I incorporated Eclectic Network, a New-Journalism company that went through a transition from event production to online journalism & publicity.

My first event, which had a turnout of over 400 people during April's 2008 Gallery Art Walk in Wynwood, "Art After Dark & Experimental Innovators" was the door that opened many others but only, at a later time. The Real Estate crisis meant that the artistic events would have to be put on hold until better times ahead.

I found a job in my Alma Mater as a Bilingual Interviewer and Editor for the Institute for Public Opinion Research at Florida International University in August of 2008 and I remained there until April 2011, when the center closed operations definitively.

Now, I am the producer, photographer and editor for this super cool and fresh magazine WUM, which is very popular, not only in Miami but in the rest of the world too. With over 2,500 average daily hits WUM and Eclectic Network' affiliated websites are growing exponentially.

This is the time where I see fructifying partnerships and collaborations become a reality that would amount to extraordinary success in the near future.

And I think this is good for now.

I have to get back to work! Until next time, thank you for your loyalty, friendship and appreciation.

Jesus Manuel Rojas Torres, aka as JesusJay on Twitter is also The Spiritual Journalist.

Please read the "Journalistic" version of this article in Examiner.com

Miami Art Walks: Coconut Grove

2012-01-11T15:50:00.000-08:00

George Rodez

This past Saturday January 7th, 2012 WUM paid a visit for the first time in two years to the First Saturday Coconut Grove Gallery Walk which included Rodezart.com Gallery at Coco Walk and Artway 66 Gallery and Hunter Gallery at Mayfair.

The gallery walk includes a total of 10 gallery spaces throughout Coconut Grove which is pretty relaxed and the atmosphere is easy going too.

Read more in Miami Art Walks

This Week: MIA Art Fair 5-day Waterfront Art & Culture Extravaganza

2012-01-10T23:40:00.001-08:00

Paul Klee

This article was also published in Examiner.com

This year, relocated to Miami's premiere Downtown Art & Entertainment District, Miami International Art Fair, MIA 2012 will bring this week an exceptional presentation by international exhibitors of renowned modern masters, cutting-edge and emerging talents inside SeaFair, a 228-foot megayacht which will be docked at 100 Chopin Plaza at the Intercontinental Hotel.

The 3rd edition of MIA presents 28 international galleries, the majority from Miami, hence the name MIA, which represent over 100 artists. Additionally, MIA will premiere Sculpture Miami, a waterside installation at Bayfront Park. Over thirty large scale sculptures by major international sculptors will be on public display until March 12th, 2012.

Carlos Cruz Diez

Some of the gallery highlights announced are from Miami-based Ascaso Gallery which specializes in Venezuelan blue-chip art will showcase striking works by renowned Op Art-Kinetic masters Jesus Soto and Carlos Cruz Diez. The gallery will also bring works by Venezuelan Sculptor James Mathison.

Black Square Gallery (Miami) will bring works from both young andaccomplished artists from around the world such as Emilio Garcia, Pablo Lehmann, Victor Sydorenko, Taisha 3,14, Zhanna Kadyrova, Anibal Vallejo, Jorge Chirinos Sanchez and Taro Hattori.

Butter Gallery (Miami) will present a solo exhibition of works by master mason Phil Stapleton whose Stapleton ordinary found objects are transformed into functional innovative designs creating a unique breed of sculptures which the artist incorporates into a storyline of Jack Wolf, the artist’s imaginary character that rides his works to an alternate reality.

Rodolfo Sanchez

Cernuda Arte (Miami) a gallery in Coral Gables that specializes in Colonial, Early Republic, Vanguardia, and Modern masters Cuban paintings will exhibit works by Wifredo Lam, Agustin Cardenas, Mario Carreno and René Portocarrero among others.

Evan Lurie Gallery (Carmel) will feature works by Italian sculptor Oriano Galloni, whose stunning figures in marble, wood, and aluminum range in height from 6 to 30 feet. The gallery will also features new works by sculptors Brad Howe, Carlo Borer, Kevin Barrett, and Gino Miles, as well as two-dimensional pieces by Jorge Santos, Victor Wang, Alexi Torres, and Jason Paul Bennett.

Milton Becerra

Another Venezuelan gallery, Galeria Medicci (Caracas) will present moving works from Luis Alberto Hernandez who recently participated in the IV International Biennial Artist Books in Alexandria, Egypt which led to a distinguished invitation to exhibit at the Musée du Hiéron Eucharistique, the Museum of Sacred Art in Ville de Paray Le Monial, France. The gallery will also showcase works by Mendive, one of the leading representatives of Cuban and Latin American art whose works are surrounded and permeated with Santeria religion.

Nina Torres Fine Art (Miami), the first waterfront gallery that inaugurated in the Miami Arts & Entertainment District during Art Basel Week, will be exhibiting a provocative and charged international band of artists that includes Dubai-based photographer Dunia Gatica, Greek artist Melanie Prapopoulos, Mexican Ivonne Gil Lamadrid, Colombian, Rodolfo Sanchez and celebrity portrait artist Peter Engels from Belgium.

Bert Stern

Hughes Design

Additional exhibitors include Art Link International (Lake Worth), Edwina Sandys (Palm Beach |London | New York), E.jung Gallery (Seoul), DiCecca Fine Art (Falmouth), Hardcore Art Contemporary Space (Miami), Kavachnina Contemporary (Miami), Lelia Mordoch Gallery (Miami | Paris), NAC Gallery (Miami | London), Pamela Hughes Design (Sarasota), Projects Gallery (Philadelphia | Miami ), Stars Bridge (Moscow), Artmosphere (Vienna | Salzburg), Galerie Baobab (Bogota) and Olyvia Fine Art Ltd. (London).

Fair hours are January 13-14, noon to 10 PM on January 15-16, noon to 7 PM. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15 for a One-day ticket, $20 for a Multi-day ticket and $30 for a Priority Boarding ticket; discounted tickets are available on the MIA website at www.mia-artfair.com.

Miami Art Walks: Energy & Nature Exhibition at Elite Fine Art Galleries

2012-01-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

This article was also published in Examiner.com & Eclectic Network Magazine

During this weekend's Miami Art Walks will have a gallery exhibition opening entitled "Energy & Nature" at Elite Fine Art Galleries in Wynwood.

The opening reception features the works of two Argentinian-born artists, Marisa Leicach and Rosy Lofer.

Both artists have their own interpretation and feelings regarding the strength and vitality that nature offers as a force of creative expression.

Read more about Leicach and Lofer in exclusive WUM interviews.

Valet parking available. Exhibition is on view until February 4, 2012.

Elite Fine Art Galleries is located at 46 NW 36 Street, Miami Fl 33127.

VALENTINO & Arevalo Gallery Exhibition during Bal Harbour Nights

2012-01-10T20:54:00.000-08:00

This story was also published in Eclectic Network Magazine & Examiner.com

Tomorrow evening, from 6 to 9PM during Bal Harbour Nights, VALENTINO Boutique & Arevalo Gallery will present a collective exhibition featuring works by contemporary artists Sandro Cha, Valerio Adami, Mira Schendel, Sergio Camargo, Lygia Clark.

VALENTINO is donating a percentage of sales from the boutique to the Artnexus Foundation.

Hosted by Kareen Dagnias and Francine Birbragher Rozencwaig of VALENTINO Boutique in Bal Harbour.

Nina Torres Fine Art at MIA Art Fair 2012

2012-01-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

Melanie Prapopoulos

From January 12-16, 2012 Nina Torres Fine Art at 1800 Gallery, NTFA will be exhibiting international artists during MIA Art Fair at Seafair.

Located on Booth #106 on the Main Deck, NTFA will be exhibiting Peter Engels (Belgium), Melanie Prapopoulos (Greece), Ivonne Torres (Mexico) and Dunia Gatica (Dubai).

Peter Engels

SeaFair will be docked at the Intercontinental Hotel located at 100 Chopin Plaza, Miami, FL 33131.

On Saturday 14th, from 8 to 10PM, NTFA will be hosting a VIP Collectors Cocktail only for MIA Seafair VIP Passholders at her recently-inaugurated waterfront gallery, the first art space to open in the Miami Arts & Entertainment District at1800 N Bayshore Dr, Miami, FL 33132.

Dunia Gatica

The Transformation of Downtown Miami

2012-01-09T06:37:00.000-08:00

Via The Knight Blog

The ongoing effort to turn a large swath of downtown Miami’s bayfront into a center of science, art and learning has taken another important step. Knight Foundation announced a $10 million challenge grant to the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. To be paid, the funds must be matched by an additional $20 million in funding.

The pledge comes as the science museum, currently located in Coconut Grove, is poised to break ground next month on its new home in downtown’s Museum Park along Biscayne Bay.

The Frost will rise alongside the under-construction Jorge M. Perez Art Museum and sit a block from the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, two institutions that each received $10 million in Knight support.

The two museums and performance center coupled with the sprawling public park, Museum Park are set to become a vital, central destination on Miami’s cultural map. So too, the three institutions and public park will serve as a primary anchor in the ongoing revitalization of Miami’s urban core. It represents a big turn for an area that has long languished.

This Week: Salustiano at Art Stage Singapore and Cor Gallery in Zurich

2012-01-09T06:02:00.000-08:00

From January 12th-15 at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore the Gallery Frank Pages (Germany-Switzerland) will be bringing Salustiano's latest works to Art Stage Singapore 2012 and simultaneously to Cor Gallery in Zurich, Switzerland.

Also for this first appearance at Art Stage Singapore, Frank Pages will bring the 2000 Nobel Price for Literature Gao Xingjian.

The gallery will also have on display major works of british pop-art artist Allen Jones, Russian painter Igor Oleinikov, French artist Philippe Pasqua, Turkish painter Burcu Percin, Bellaruss Maxim Wakultshik, German artist Stefan Strumbel, Iranian Shirin Neshat, French photographer Suzanne Held, Turkish photographer Mehmet Gunyeli, South Korean Lim Dong Lak, Italian artist Marcello Lo Giudice, French sculptor Antoine Poncet and Greek artist Sophia Vari.

The Outsiders Exhibition

2012-01-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

This article was also published in Examiner.com and Eclectic Network Magazine

WUM paid a visit this Saturday to various events throughout Miami, one of them, The Outsiders Exhibition which was taking place at the Ironside Warehouse by the train tracks at the Little River Industrial District of Miami.

Participating artists for a two-week show (January 7th- January 14, 2012) are George Sanchez-Calderon, Johnny Robles, Eric Torriente, Edward Crowell II, Diane Radler, Johnny Laderer, Nicole Soden, Rollin Stirman, Kristy Leibowitz, David Marsh and David 'Upnup' Cabrera.

Curated by New York-based artist Kiki Valdes, who was also showcasing several pieces at the show, The Outsiders had a good turnout which is evidence that our city claims for more alternative spaces outside the art gallery circuits.

"I gathered a group of friends for a show that would present something alternative in Miami and reach a wider audience; any city would always want more curated-collaborative shows to bring more options for art lovers," said Kiki Valdes.

"People sometimes get too conservative for what they think is a proper show, there is a need for an open mind and this event has surpassed expectations of what can be done in a warehouse space in Miami and from a young artist perspective, I am very pleased," added Valdes.

Valdes found the space through a relationship he has with the owners of Miami Event Space at the Ironside Warehouse, a multi-purpose campus of spaces rented to artists, industries, office production with high-end service stations located on the east side of the railroad tracks on NE 76 Street on the Little River Industrial District.

Fore more information please visit http://www.ownzee.com/search/page:1/s:the%20outsiders

Kiki Valdes

WUM Interview: Luz Maria Charlita at Nina Torres Fine Art

2012-01-06T16:15:00.001-08:00

Venezuelan sculptor, Luz Maria Charlita, is a metalsmith who was formally trained as an architect at the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

Charlita is currently showcasing several pieces at Nina Torres Fine Art NTFA at 1800 Gallery. From there she speaks to WUM about her transition from different creative careers that require extreme attention to detail.

Charlita has exhibited at Salon de Artes y Fuego in Valencia, Venezuela, at the Sala Trasnocho Cultural, Museo Sacro and Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas, 17 Peck Gallery and Home Style Gallery in Rhode Island and in Miami at the Bass Museum of Art and at the Bakehouse Art Complex.

Since November 29th, 2011 Charlita is exhibiting engraving on copper sculptures entitled Full Moon and New Moon and a unique 9,000 piece copper mobile entitled Green Water II, along with other pieces as part of a collective “International Art Exhibition,” a 2-month long exhibit at NTFA at 1800 Gallery, Miami’s Midtown first waterfront gallery.

WUM: As a trained architect you have collaborated designing and remodeling spaces such as Galerias Preciados in Spain, the Hotel Frailes in Merida and Hotel Hoturvensa in Canaima, Venezuela. When and how was your career transition from creating designs and moving into creating silver, bronze and copper articles as a smith?

My career as an architect formally started when I was 18 years old. I began to work with one of the most prestigious firms in Caracas owned by Carlos Gomez de Llarena and Moises Benacerraf. The projects that you just mentioned are from the latest part of my career when I went more into interior design. The transition from one career to another has been a gradual process.

I studied at Universidad Central de Venezuela and I remember when I was delivering the final projects corresponding each semester, which included the layout-designs and models, that I'd spent tremendous amount of time working on the details of the model and not really paying that much attention to design itself. That’s when I began to realize that I was very good of having such carefulness of attention to detail but then my career turned more into interior design.

WUM: When you say “detail” what do you mean exactly by that?

Well, for example, when I was helping in the design of the remodeled spaces for Galerias Preciados in Spain in 1986, our group was in charge of everything concerning the department store. From knowing how many pieces were in the inventory of Christian Dior dresses for girls or how many socks there were for boys, to creating the interior design and assemblage, I focused my attention on detail which was extremely necessary to design the furniture. I had the opportunity to establish contact with the most prestigious Spanish designers from Adolfo Dominguez to Agatha Ruiz de la Prada so they could provide us with information on how they wanted their products to be showcased.

WUM: So you also transitioned from interior design to fashion design then?

I wouldn’t say I was transitioning, I was imbued in fashion because I also love fashion. When I returned to Venezuela from Spain, I got married and started two architectural offices in Caracas for big projects. After a project in downtown Caracas which was not finally approved, I got disappointed in architecture and started to look into those creative areas where I was also good at. It was later in Salamanca, Spain where my husband was pursuing a master degree when in a trip to Seville I became fascinated by metalsmithing. I wanted to learn that skill. Back in Venezuela, that’s when I transitioned again from metalsmithing to designing my own line of fine jewelry which is sold in exclusive stores worldwide.

WUM: Then after that it was easy for you to go one step higher and start designing sculptures and becoming a formal artist, right?

Yes, indeed. It has taken me 10 years from jewelry designer or metalsmithing whatever you want to call it, to become a sculptor.

WUM: Did you had any formal training in this field?

I took courses for about 18 months with smith Ursi Galletti in 2002, and from then on I was on my own always improving and learning. The last professors I had, Paco & Inga Porras, the most famous enamel expert in Venezuela, taught me how to work the metal and use heat to give it form. You can see it in The Moons here at the gallery, that's a product of his teachings. Pacoalso taught me how to inlay the metal, inserting pieces for decorative-contrasting which require a large amount of detail.

WUM: Fire is an important element in your work. How do you see that combination of combustion or burning that will lead you to a new aspect in your creation?

The fire seduces me when I apply it on metals. Such intervention causes that the conforming molecules of non-ferrous metals like copper and bronze move slowly allowing a surprising result with colors which are generated from the magenta hues to rainbow outlines, and to the most absolute black. When these colors appear on the surface of the metals, is like a microcosm of unexpected codes which truly hypnotize me. It’s a process that creates a close relationship with my soul.

WUM: Who or what influences your creativity?

As an architect and artist I admire the work of Austrian architect known as Hundertwasser, an eclectic artist who combined painting, photography, graphics and architecture in a sui generis manner. He influenced my career from an early age. I think artistic creativity is expressed in any field of human creation and the inspiration varies in people, some like love, some like nature, and some abstract. I get inspiration for that which gets my attention from the point of view of form, aesthetics and design but it’s ultimately drawn from nature from where everything emanates.

WUM: In 21 century, artists from every corner of the globe use technical advantages, computers, and sophisticated machines to produce their work in the fastest time possible. Your average work of art takes about 4 months to be completed. Can you explain us the development process from transforming a simple flat sheet of copper or bronze into a three-dimensional piece?

From my academic formation, a work of art I see it as an architectural project. I began with a conceptual idea which is written and sketched, then I bring it to scale and finally I get to work. The process is so laborious because it has a large amount of detail. For example, The Green Water II rain sculpture has 9,000 individual pieces which had to be pierced one by one, by hand, no machine of any kind, using patina; it’s definitely an artisan’s work. Just as the German architect and Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius once said, “you have to be an artisan and learn the trade of your profession knowing how to work with your material.” I could easily go and look for a machine to expedite my work but then it loses the spontaneous quality of it.

WUM: As an artist, how do you see life? Can you explain what is your relationship with your spirit or soul?

As an artist I can tell you that this complex process of creativity which I have incurred in the last decade has provided me with a total introspective perspective, self-analyzing and conducive to an extraordinary meditative place which is the place of the soul. In order to transcend you have to change yourself for the better and the only way to do it is through doing and accomplishing. I can’t create under torment or anguishes nor under any influences that would alter my consciousness. I create under harmony and this is the place where my spirit resides, a comfortable place where I can see life as beautiful as it is.

This Weekend: Museum on Us

2012-01-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

This coming Saturday, January 7 and Sunday, January 8 and the first full weekend of each month, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch’s Museums on Us offers free access to Miami and Fort Lauderdale bank cardholders.

Bank of America has strong long-term relationships with some of the best museums, historical sites, botanical gardens, science centers and zoos in the United States and created Museums on Us to provide a free cultural benefit to their customers through its partnership with these institutions.

Museums on Us is a national program and includes more than 150 leading U.S. cultural institutions, in 91 cities, benefiting Bank of America and Merrill Lynch customers from coast to coast. Photo ID and a valid Bank of America/Merrill Lynch credit or debit card must be presented. One free general admission limited to cardholder at participating institution, excluding fundraising events, special exhibitions and ticketed shows the first full weekend (Saturday and Sunday) of each month. Not to be combined with other offers.

Participating museums are the Bass Museum of Art, IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum, Miami Art Museum, Miami Children’s Museum, Miami Science Museum, Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and Museum of Discovery & Science.

Miami-based Jorge Heilpern at Odyssey 2012, Art Fusion Gallery

2012-01-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

This story is also published in Examiner.com and Eclectic Network Magazine

From 7 to 11PM on Saturday, January 14th 2012, Art Fusion Gallery is presenting a collective exhibition of 40 emerging to mid-career international artists entitled "Odyssey 2012."

The first exhibition of the year, Art Fusion in the Design District will present an eclectic vibrant exhibition guaranteed to appeal to a wide array of contemporary art lovers.

Among the artists exhibiting is Argentinian-born Jorge Heilpern aka Tangoman, a truly eclectic artist who is showcasing "Internal Puppets," detailed drawings that are characteristic of the many talents Heilpern is able to bring to life.

"The internal puppets have been with me since myearliest dreams which they began to take shape on paper more than half a century ago," said Heilpern.

"The endless workof learning through one's own practice and theilliterate knowledge obtained by gazing, continues to fillthe hours of my daily life in a volitionalpractice, almost unconscious," added Heilpern.

The drawings depict the artist's different moods, the wanderings of his mind which just like the music he is able to play, represent his deepest and nameless feelings, beyond the language of words.

Heilpern does not replicate the physical realm, but rather he communicates the feelingor sense that there is something beyond such a expression.

Along with his music, Heilpern believes that his works are beyond emotional, intuitive, visceral and energetic to say the least, inviting the viewer to explore his subjects with detail.

Born in Buenos Aires to Romanian and Polish parents, Heilpern is also an economist and accomplished musician who has been awarded an Emmy for music work for NBC TV show and has recorded various records.He has toured all over the US and performed at the Woodstock Festival in 1994. He is currently based in Miami.

This Weekend: Music and Laser at Miami Science Museum

2012-01-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

photo credit: urbancorning.com

The Miami Science Museum will have two nights of laser shows tomorrow January 6th & Saturday 7th, 2012 set to music of The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley and The Beastie Boys.

The laser show admission (adults $8.00 and children $4.00) includes laser glasses.

On Friday January 6, 2012 at 8PM there will be "Pop Family Laser Show," The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band at 9pm, Pink Floyd: Echoes at 10PM, The Beastie Boys at 11PM and Bob Marley at Midnight.

On Saturday 7th, 2012 at 8PM "Pop Family Laser Show," Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Mooon at 9PM, Led Zeppelin at 10PM, Bob Marley at 11PM and Radiohead at Midnight.

Renowned London-NYC-Melbourne based firm, Grimshaw Architects, has completed a phenomenal concept design of the new 250,000 SF LEED certified green structure of the future Miami Science Museum featuring a revolutionary three-story aquarium, a roof-top Wildlife Center with hanging gardens and animals, a 3-D multi-media digital Planetarium Dome that changes colors by night, and an observatory and VIP Lounge with exceptional views offering an optimal entertainment venue visible both by night and day from car, ship, plane and Museum park.

Project construction managers, Boston-based Suffolk Construction and San Francisco-based Webcore Builders will break ground in spring 2012.

Art Shanghai 2012 To Host The Latin American Pavilion & The International Wing

2012-01-04T20:06:00.000-08:00


Frida Kahlo, Selfportrait, 1926 Private Collection Image Courtesy of Galeria Arvil, Mexico

This story was also published in Examiner.com and Eclectic Network Magazine

Art Shanghai 2012 will take place from May 10-14 and it will be celebrating its 10th anniversary introducing a breakthrough in the established and traditional exhibition conception.

For such commemorative occasion and with a fresh new gesture, the fair will present a platformrich in content and novel in China, thenumber one largest art market in the world.

"Research shows that Chinese collectors who once invested in traditional works of art, are now rapidly embracing the contemporary art market with ayounger generation of affluent consumers driving record sales in this fast anddevelopingarea of the world," said Aldo Castillo, Associate Director of the new edition of The Latin American Pavilion & The International Wing 2012.

Castillo, who comes fresh of working as an Associate Director for the American Pavilion Shanghai Art Fair 2011, says that Shanghai has recently emerged as a critical cultural platform attracting worldwide attention for its interest in international art trends.

"Since its establishment in 2003, Art Shanghai has beensuccessfully held for nine consecutive years gaining reputation for exhibiting high quality of works and providing excellent professional service to exhibitors," added Castillo.

This edition of Art Shanghai will continue to host the presence of the Latin American Pavilion &The International Wing, organized by Bandi-Trazos with a space dedicated to the highest quality of Latin American art and Western art from masters and contemporaries.

Art Shanghai 2012 will be held in Hongqiao New Town Central Park based on its advantage of location in the Hongqiao Development Zone and its ecological natural environment. This year the fair will be launching Carnival as the form of the exhibition, thus the name Art Shanghai Hong Qiao Arts Carnival.

Located in the triangle encircled by Yan'an Rd., Hongqiao Rd. and Yili Rd., this is also the first time for achieving the conception of outdoor exhibition in Asia.

The New Town Central Park covers an area of 130,000 square meters and borders on professional art institutes such as Shanghai Oil Painting & Sculpture Institute and Liu Haisu Art Gallery with a large number of elite visitors from numerous top office buildings and most populated elite communities and villas in the downtown area of Shanghai in Gubei and the West Suburb in its vicinity.

Please visit the following links for additional information:

Aldo Castillo Projects

Application Form

Terms and Conditions

Floor Plan

Anticipation for Before Night Falls, The Opera

2012-01-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

JMRT 2010

This story was also published in Examiner.com and Eclectic Network Magazine

On December 27th, 2011 the FIU + Art Gallery at Lincoln Road and Orchestra Miami presented a performance to honor Cuban-American composer Jorge Martín, the 2011 Cintas Foundation Fellowship Award Winner and to promote Orchestra Miami's 6th Season which opens on September 29, 2012 with the opera Before Night Falls.

Before Night Falls follows the life of the late Cuban gay writer Reinaldo Arenas from childhood poverty in Cuba to his emigration to the United States in the 80's and his last decade suffering from AIDS in Manhattan.

Disillusioned by the Cuban Revolution and persecuted by the Castro regime, the opera follows his trials and tribulations as a political prisoner forced to smuggle his manuscripts abroad for publication.

"Reinaldo Arenas wrote his memoir Before Night Falls in a race against the clock when he knew he was dying of AIDS with no hope of a cure," said Elaine Rinaldi, Orchestra Miami Artistic Director.

Jorge Martín, a Yale graduate with a PhD in music composition from Columbia University created an opera based on those memoirs giving a dramatic performance on the most difficult moments of a dissident writer who was imprisoned and forced confession escaping from Cuba to Miami in the Mariel boatlift in 1980.

"The story of the Mariel boatlift is the story of Miami, a cataclysmic event which changed our city forever, both in terms of population and in the change of the social, political and human landscape," said Rinaldi.

Rinaldi, the founder and director of Orchestra Miami, a nonprofit organization established since 2006, has been always on the look for works which she feels will be relevant to the city's vibrant cultural community.

Elaine Rinaldi

In 2000, Before Night Falls was made into an award-winning feature film directed by Julian Schnabel and starring Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp.

Orchestra Miami will present four performances of the fully-staged opera, in a gorgeous production from the Fort Worth Opera which presented the world premiere Before Night Falls in June 2010 at the Forth Worth Opera Festival obtaining rave reviews.

"Jorge Martín is to be more than applauded throughout his opera with a score that can stand up to just about any opera," said David Weuste, Rosebrook Classical Review critic.

Jorge Martín

El Nuevo Herald Opera Critic Daniel Fernandez said that "despite that the opera was premiered in a city far away from people who is not familiar with the Cuban issues, the public responded exhilarated with a story of a homosexual guajiro in a Southern state where the virility of the cowboys are highly worshiped."

Directed by David Gately, Before Night Falls will feature the outstanding young baritone Wes Mason as Reinaldo Arenas, Javier Abreu as Pepe, Seth Mease Carico as Victor and Jesus Garcia as Ovidio.

New choreography by Miami performance icon Octavio Campos. The opera also features a chorus of 44 voices and a 73 piece orchestra conducted by Rinaldi.

Orchestra Miami Before Night Falls will premiere in Miami at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in October, 2012.

Please consider investing in the culture future of Miami by contributing with this nonprofit organization. Your generous support will help establish Orchestra Miami as an exemplar of artistic integrity and community involvement in the arts in Miami-Dade County.

Visit Orchestra Miami.org and learn more on different sponsorship opportunities.

Miguel Rodez at the Coral Gables Museum Plaza

2012-01-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

On Friday, January 6, 2012 from 6 to 10PM, Miami-based artist Miguel Rodez will be the featured artist of a collective exhibition at the new Coral Gables Museum's Plaza located around the corner from Books & Books at Aragon Avenue.

During Coral Gables Art Walk, a night of fine arts and music awaits art enthusiasts where the "Art in the Breezeway Project" led by Mike Thompson will present its monthly al-fresco art offerings.

For years, the successful "Art in the Breezeway Project" has hosted established and emerging artists in a group show that is free to the public but manages to raise funds from voluntary donations to purchase art supplies for students.

Some people may recall Cuban-born Rodez from the days when he served as Chair of Miami Dade's Arts in Public Places during the mid-1990s to his stint as Editor of Herencia Magazine.

Others have seen his solo show at Coral Gables Domingo Padron Gallery in 2011 and more recently his participation with a white giant inflatable sculpture with the Giants in the City International exhibition which was also recently exhibited at Bayfront Park during Art Basel Week 2011.

At the Museum Plaza, Rodez will exhibit paintings, drawings, fine art photography and two of his giant inflatable sculptures “Lucky Link” and “Velocity.”

"I created a series called "Imagining Liberation" that takes the iconography of a broken chain to represent freedom," said Rodez.

"In my latest detailed graphite pencil piece 'Searching for the Crevice' I utilize nature to express a message about the human difficulties of finding one's ideal mate or soulmate," added Rodez.

Another highlight of this Friday art walk will be a portrait created by artist Pery Franco of Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason, who will be receiving his official portrait pursuant to a commission by Mike Thompson.

Several artists will also have works gracing the night, including Henry Barnes, William Brito, Pery Franco,Rita V. Gaudry, Edgar Hernandez,Carole Hughes,Terry Jenssen,Sonia Kohler, Dawn Lovell, Emilio Hector Rodriguez, Mike Thompson and Katrisk Toimil, among others.

Musician Hal Roland will be the night’s pianist.

Coral Gables Museum’s Plaza 285 Aragon Avenue Coral Gables, Florida 33134

WUM Interview: Rosy Lofer at Elite Fine Art Galleries

2012-01-03T15:59:00.000-08:00

From January 14th to February 4th, 2012, Elite Fine Art Galleries will present "Energy & Nature" an exhibition by Argentinian artists Marisa Leicach and Rosy Lofer.

For such occasion, WUM interviewed Miami-based Rosy Lofer in December and asked her about the reconciliation that exists in her busy life working as an International Real Estate Broker and an artist looking for a perfect visual harmony in her natural landscapes.

WUM: Why do you create art?

Creating art allows me the opportunity to disconnect fromday to day pressures of life and escape to a world where everything can beperfect. Trees are always the perfectcolor, and everything can be in perfect harmony, as I perceive them.

WUM: Are you the only artist in your family? Tell us when and how didyou get started?

Yes, I am the only artist in my family. I began to paint purely as a recreationalactivity mainly to relax. As my skills developed, I started to understand that there is a whole world of beautythat I can create by using my brushes and painting to express my inner thoughts,feelings and desires.

WUM: Do you have any special teacher or mentor that has inspired you?

My teacher, Carlos Augusto Pereira, has been an enormoussource of inspiration for me. When Ifirst entered his studio years ago, I felt as if I had walked through a portalto another world. I found his paintingsto be more than just paint on canvas, but actually a spiritual expression ofhis consciousness. While teaching thetechnical aspect of painting, he also continues to inspire me to express myinner feelings through art.

WUM: How do you get inspired to create a work of art?

I usually begin with a vague idea of something that Iwant to create, a water scene, a forest scene, or perhaps something moreabstract. As I let my consciousnessbegin to flow freely, my work develops into something that represents someinner part of me. A place or expressionthat may not exist, except in my imagination.

WUM: How would you describe your work?

I try not to describe my work too much. For me, a painting may represent something asserious as a soul’s search for the right road to choose in life. A spectator may look at the same painting,and see a landscape with different color pallets on each side of a stream. I prefer that the viewers take their own freedom in describing which type of feelings my work elicit to them.

WUM: As an artist, how do you see life? Can you explain yourrelationship with your spirit or soul?

My relationship with my Self, mySpirit, or my Soul, is a simple one of peace and harmony. A benevolent feeling toward all mankind. This is how all of my art work is interpretedby me. To strive each day to help makethe world a better place than when I entered it.

This interview was also published in Examiner.com and Eclectic Network Magazine.

The Frost Art Museum Achieves Highest National Recognition

2012-01-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

Accredited by American Association of Museums

This article was also published in Examiner.com and Eclectic Network Magazine

The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University has again achieved accreditation by the American Association of Museums (AAM), the highest official recognition provided to US museums.

The Frost was initially accredited in 1999. The recognition signifies excellence and high quality given to the public museum community, to governments and its outside agencies, and to the founders of the museum throughout its didactic programs and exhibitions.

“This recognition validates that the museum has continued to operate as an institution of superior quality in our beautiful new building,” said Dr. Carol Damian, Director & Chief Curator of The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum.

Of the nation’s estimated 17,500 museums, 775 are currently accredited. The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum is one of only 50 museums accredited in Florida.

Accreditation is a rigorous process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations.

To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers.

AAM’s Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.

“Accreditation is emblematic of an institution’s commitment to public service and to overall excellence,” said Ford W. Bell, AAM president.

“Attaining accreditation involves taking a hard look at yourself, allowing your peers in the field to do the same, and being judged to be superior in all areas,” added Bell.

Developed and sustained by museum professionals for 35 years, AAM’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability.

It strengthens the museum profession by promoting practices that enable leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely, and remain financially and ethically accountable.

WUM 2011 Year in Review

2011-12-30T20:34:00.000-08:00

I have to say that 2011 has been quite a successful year for me.

As a blogger, I see myself going in another direction in 2012; I don't know exactly how this will happen but all I know is that Miami has been an incredible city for me to launch my journalistic career.

I have been able to express myself artistically and spiritually blogging for two highly-trafficked websites, WUM and La Columna de Jesus and more recently with the launch of Eclectic Network Magazine, Eclectic Artists, Miami Art Walks and The Spiritual Journalist.

I remember clearly one evening, a year ago at the Dorsch Gallery in Wynwood, when Miami Art Museum Director Thom Collins said to me, "It's pretty interesting to start combining art and spirituality Jesus, because not many people are actually doing that."

When I began writing this website in 2009, the initial idea was to communicate news and information in an instant manner using the most advanced Web 2.0 tool with Blogger as a platform.

My main goal was to help artists showcase their artwork in galleries and private vernissages throughout Miami. One of the main reasons I decided to write in third-person was to avoid that sense of self-importance; I was determined to get the news out there ethically and professionally using my integrity as journalist but not to be confused with a publicist.

When art dealer & curator Aldo Castillo offered me the opportunity to work as a media relations collaborator with the International Fine Arts Expositions in January 2011 during MIA Art Fair at the Convention Center, I knew that the job opportunities were going to expand in my nascent career.

Some of the highlights of this year were my participation as a contributor editor for Irreversible's ArteBA edition, presenter for Hammer & Block Auctioneers at LMNT Contemporary Arts, co-producer for Art Formulations in Wynwood, co-producer for Images & Voices of Hope Miami, Correspondent for the American Pavilion-Shanghai Art Fair, China and media relations collaborator for Nina Torres Fine Art at 1800 Gallery.

I can't wait to see what 2012 will bring to the table but in the meantime I leave you with a list, a personal link-list of those events that captured my attention in 2011 and those who had the highest number of unique hits which this year surpassed 360,000 for this page alone.

I would like to give special thanks for those artists, organizations and gallerists that used Miami's coolest online art magazine WUM and its affiliated websites for their publicity and promotion.

Happy New Year 2012!

Jesus M. Rojas Torres, Publisher & Editor

http://www.eclecticnetwork.net/

LegalArt Launches a New Form of Community Supported Art in Miami

2011-12-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

Michelle Weinberg "Very Good"
Handmade Cement Encaustic Tile

LegalArt announces the first edition of the Community Supported Art, CSA program in Miami modeled on CSA in Minnesota created by mnartists.org and Springboard for the Arts.

Member shares to this innovative program will be on sale at $450 on LegalArt's website starting January 18th at 11:00 AM EST.

Community Supported Agriculture has been in place for more than 20 years in Minnesota and has become a popular way for consumers to buy seasonal food directly from local farms.

With the same buy-local spirit in mind, LegalArt is pleased to bring CSA to Miami to support local art, artists and collectors.

Selected artists are Jenny Brillhart, Julie Friel, Jason Hedges, James Herring, Kathleen Hudspeth, Kerry McLaney, Gustavo Roman, Valeria Yamamoto and Michelle Weinberg.

The artists selected from a jury of food and art luminaries will receive a stipend to create fifty “shares”.

Art lovers and collectors will purchase a share and in return receive three “boxes” with locally produced artwork at intervals this Season.

Each member share will include one piece from each of the nine CSA featured artists as well as “bumper crops” of additional artwork and other surprises.

The pick-up evenings will be take place in February, March and April at different local art sites where artists and collectors will meet and have the opportunity to talk about the art.

"With this program, our goal is to support artists in the creation of new work, to establish relationships with local collectors and patrons, and to participate in the launch of an exciting new model of art distribution," reads the LegalArt press release.

Share purchasers acquire multiple works of art from local emerging and mid-career artists at a fantastic value providing with an opportunity to develop relationships with local artists and the art community as well.

There will be only a limited amount of 50 shares which will be available.

The CSA Miami is supported by the Knight Foundation and Springboard for the Arts.

"Grace, 10 Years Since" an Installation by Italian artist Pietro Costa

2011-12-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

This article was first published in Examiner.com

Last week, the Chapel/Museum Campus of Corpus Christi Catholic Church presented an installation entitled "Grace, 10 Years Since" by Italian artist Pietro Costa organized by Colonial Heritage of Florida & Triennial Miami. The installation first opened to the public during Art Basel Week.

Curated by Jorge Luis Gutierrez, "Grace, 10 Years Since" pays a tribute to honor the first responders on the scene at the Twin Towers and at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 and to all those that perished including civilians and military personnel.

The December 22 celebration started at 3PM and was attended by the Mayor of the City of Miami, Tomas Regalado, the Miami Police Chief, The Miami Fire Chief, members of the Miami Urban Search & Rescue Team and their Canine Rescue, members of the administration of the city of Miami, Community Leaders and residents of Miami.

Tenor Eduardo Calcano performed part of Verdi’s Requiem in the Chapel/Museum as guests visited the installation.

The installation's central component is composed of concentric red neon rings suspended from the chapel's 30 foot ceiling, forming a swaying tower of light. The ethereal tower’s neon rings are held in place vertically without fixed points or knots, only by the simple tension exerted by its own weight and by four plumb bobs.

“Costa makes quiet poetry through a magical metaphor created with light and space. A moving experience so pertinent in times when many artists seem limited in nuance and complexity,” said Curator Jorge Luis Gutierrez.

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, Costa, along with fellow residents of Cobble Hill and Downtown Brooklyn, experienced a shower of paper floating down from the sky. Burnt, tattered and sometimes intact papers were strewn on the streets from the offices of the the people who perished that morning in the World Trade Center.

“After the attack, I’d been having this recurring nightmare that the sky was raining paper. It haunted me and I couldn’t ignore it; I couldn’t keep making art without absorbing this experience," said artist Pietro Costa.

"A few days before the installation of the column of light which had been finished before September 11, 2001, I knew exactly what the answer to my nightmare was, I needed to physically introduce this occurrence into the sculpture in a way that would memorialize those who were gone including an interactive component, something that the viewer could pick up and take away," added Costa.

The event was possible thanks to the generosity of Pietro Costa who received support from Colonial Heritage of Florida, Triennial Miami, the Miami Police Department, the Miami Fire Department of City of Miami and Martinez Gallery, Troy, New York.

Power2give.org Launches Online Fundraising Platform

2011-12-23T08:16:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday December 14th, 2011, three cultural arts organizations, The Miami Dade-County Department of Cultural Affairs, The Arts & Science Council and The Knight Foundation introduced Power2give.org, a new fundraising platform to support arts and cultural projects in Miami.

Power2give.org was created by The Arts & Science Council, ASC which is based in North Carolina in August 2011 with the intention to offer a direct way to connect to cultural art projects with individuals and corporations interested in turning specific needs into realities. In less than 4 months, the Charlotte experience has generated more than $200,000 in direct giving.

Power2give.org works in similar fashion such as Spot.Us or Kickstarter, which have been very successful funding platforms for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists and inventors across the U.S.

In Power2give.org, organizations lists their needs to complete an artistic project and people visiting the site can select a need that interests them and give them money to bring those projects to realization. The Miami portion of the site is housed within the same Power2give.org's URL and can be accessed by selecting "Miami" from the drop-down box.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has joined the Department of Cultural Affairs and ASC as a founding sponsor of Power2give.org, providing each community $100,000 in matching donations to the first $100,000 in contributions made in Charlotte and Miami through the site.

“This new platform gives people a personal connection to the organizations that create culture in our
communities and strives to engage new audiences and donors online,” said Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation’s vice president/Arts.

Power2give.org, came to be realized by the recognition that future funding of the cultural sector requires increasingly diversified and innovative means, and is in direct response to current trends in philanthropy. According to the Center on Philanthropy, giving from high net worth individuals is down 71% from 2007 and 2010 trends indicate an increased number of gifts with smaller average gift sizes in online donations and a strong desire from donors to see where their gifts go. Power2give.org creates a closer relationship between donors and the organizations they support.

“Individuals and businesses have told us plainly that when they know the exact use of their contributions and can see the tangible impacts of their investments on making particular cultural projects possible, they feel greater senses of confidence and satisfaction,” said Adolfo Henriques, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs Council.

This article was also published in Examiner.com

WUM Interview: Adela Holmes, A Motion Photographer

2011-12-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

St. Stephen’s Church on Hwy 20,Florida, 2010

WUM: Why do you do art and what inspires you to create?

Without art, creative people probably would not make it in thisworld. Creating is a way to have a voice and show individualism vs. constraint.For me, it’s the only thing that keeps me sane. It’s an awesome anti-depressant. The inspiration comes from a feeling. I have to feel a moment orfeel a particular scene; That’s the only time I pull out my camera. Thatfeeling comes indiscriminately without a particular notion. That’s why myphotography is such a spasm of a random mixture of imagery. I like it because itdoesn’t get boring.

WUM: What do you know about spirituality?

I feel that people who are looking for spirituality expect to behit with a bang and expect it to be super obvious and sure sometimes that mightjust happen but I noticed that the small spiritual encounters are oftenoverseen. There is a lot of spirituality around us at all times but we don’t payattention. You can find spirituality in anything, whatever works for you aslong as the intention is good. To me positivity is spirituality.

WUM: If you had the budget to do an artistic project, what would you do?

This would be a lifetime project. I would jump into my Subaru and travel the heck out of backroads starting with the US, Canada then South America. Then, I would transportmy car across the ocean and do Europe, Asia and go to Africa. Africa will be a treat last as for sure it will be the most intense experience. This would be aproject experiencing humanity documenting how this trip encountering so manydifferent people and cultures would prove the mare good nature of people and demonstratethat the amount of goodness outweighs the amount of malevolence by far.Something that many people don’t see nor do they want to believe in. Somethingthat is very important to know. The exhibitions from this project would highlight people I’vemet who are in need. A contribution to their cause from proceeds would beorganized. Something I’ve always wanted to do; one on one individual aid ratherthan through organizations. I want to personally give to these individuals andknow that they have received the help they needed, see the results myself andreport them as well.

WUM: Tell us about your background in art. Are you self-taught or did you go to school?

I graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design SCAD in 1997 with a BFA in Interior Design. I foundwork 3 weeks after graduating and it took me about 5 years to finally admit tomyself that I hated it. To me, it’s such a snooty profession I couldn’t dealwith it any longer. I started mingling in the art world as a transition into anew career. Representing the artist Laura DiNello was my entry. Laura is theone who gave me my first digital Toshiba camera which created such beautifullypainterly images, so far no other camera can touch it. It’s because of thiscamera that I realized the imagery a photograph is capable of and I was hookedfrom image one which was driving as a passenger in my mom’s car while visitingher in Berlin. It was winter and snowing. Classic. I had to retire this camerawhen they stopped making the memory cards for it. Anyways so since 2004 I startedshooting and leaning the art of photography on my own. It is only lately that I have decidedto become a full-time artist.

Read more about Adela Holmes and these images in Eclectic Artists

St. Stephen's Church Playground

The Kitchen of Miss Francis, Hubbard,TX

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The Naked Truth at Pan American Projects

Miami Art Walks: February Second Saturday Wynwood

Mercenary Square, a New Underground Forum Space To Open in Little Havana

United States Artists Projects Microphilanthropy for Artists

Art & Theater in Coral Gables: Bolívar Belongs to Us All

Photographer Cheryl Maeder Launches GardenWalls

This Week: Guided Tour at CIFO Art Space with Eugenio Espinoza

A Miami Artist Launches Fundraiser Event To Benefit Florida AIDS Walk

WUM Interview: Fabiana Peña at Elite Fine Art Galleries

Dictionary

Tony Goldman To Exhibit The Flying Murals of Wynwood at Art Wynwood VIP Lounge

A Cross-Institutional Exhibition: Mapping: Time and Space at ArtCenter/South Florida

Miami Art Walks: Steinbaum, Now & Myra

MAM Presents "Restless" Newest Additions to the Collection & Artist Talk with Dara Friedman

A New Start for Art Paris Art Fair at the Grand Palais

Manuel de Santaren "Eye of the Collector" Videos at MAMbo

After Neo-Expressionism Closing Exhibition & Live Concert

Chinese Artist Fung Ming Chip at the Mandarin Oriental

Andrea Sampaolo To Exhibit Monumental Sculpture at Poltrona Frau Group Miami

Art Palm Beach Closes Its 15th Anniversary Edition

Evan Lurie Gallery Exhibits Alexi Torres at Art Palm Beach 2012

Galleri Andersson/Sandström in Stockholm To Represent Enrique Martínez Celaya

ShanghART Gallery Presents: Shi Qing & Li Pinghu

Examiner News: $450 Gets You 9 Pieces of Art

This Week: Art Palm Beach Celebrates 15th Anniversary Honoring Jun Kaneko

The Lowe Art Museum Presents: From the Vault, Building a Legacy, Sixty Years of Collecting

Luxe Magazine: Cheryl Maeder, a Style Maker

Fabia Nitti at Sculpture Miami

Art Lecture at Fairchild: Martin Margulies

UM 4th Annual Cane Fair Closing Exhibition

Words of Peace Global Announces Event at The Fillmore, Miami Beach

2012 MIA Art Fair Closes Today

MIA Art Fair Opening Preview & WUM Jesus Rojas Torres' Birthday Celebration

Miami Art Walks: Coconut Grove

This Week: MIA Art Fair 5-day Waterfront Art & Culture Extravaganza

Miami Art Walks: Energy & Nature Exhibition at Elite Fine Art Galleries

VALENTINO & Arevalo Gallery Exhibition during Bal Harbour Nights

Nina Torres Fine Art at MIA Art Fair 2012

The Transformation of Downtown Miami

This Week: Salustiano at Art Stage Singapore and Cor Gallery in Zurich

The Outsiders Exhibition

WUM Interview: Luz Maria Charlita at Nina Torres Fine Art

This Weekend: Museum on Us

Miami-based Jorge Heilpern at Odyssey 2012, Art Fusion Gallery

This Weekend: Music and Laser at Miami Science Museum

Art Shanghai 2012 To Host The Latin American Pavilion & The International Wing

Anticipation for Before Night Falls, The Opera

Miguel Rodez at the Coral Gables Museum Plaza

WUM Interview: Rosy Lofer at Elite Fine Art Galleries

The Frost Art Museum Achieves Highest National Recognition

WUM 2011 Year in Review

LegalArt Launches a New Form of Community Supported Art in Miami

"Grace, 10 Years Since" an Installation by Italian artist Pietro Costa

Power2give.org Launches Online Fundraising Platform

WUM Interview: Adela Holmes, A Motion Photographer