Opening Saturday, May 14th, 2-9pm.
Kelley Roy Gallery
50 NE 29th Street
Wynwood Arts District, Miami
www.kelleyroygallery.com

Spring has sprung, and the seasonal Miami art scene just got a boost as Argentinean-American artist Sebastian Spreng announced the unveiling of his newest series, a departure from his previous work, whimsically titled Salad Bar. The installation is comprised of 250 paintings (5×5, 6×6 and 8×8 canvases), which will be unveiled at the Kelley Roy Gallery starting May 12 through June 11, 2011.

Completed in over the course of a year, Salad Bar harkens the arrival of spring with undertones of rebirth and renewal. Spreng, a minimalist at heart, shines new light on his soul-searching pivotal themes to present a fresh new puzzle-like installation. Nature remains a prominent motif, as the artist channels landscapes of his native Pampas, Argentina, fused with his love of music, to create bucolic and enigmatic, gem-like square paintings juxtaposed with abstracts and textured canvases functioning as pauses and intervals in “a woven tapestry of life”, as he calls it. Spreng has been defined as “an artist that recontextualized the Pampas into an oneiric American formation.”

Attracting audiences since he was fifteen-years-old, Sebastian Spreng’s career spans over three decades. He’s been featured in exhibitions in over 30 cities around the world, participated in a bevy of high-profile art fairs and is currently represented by galleries in Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Panama, Santa Fe and Seattle. His artworks can be found on the walls of prestigious institutions like Miami Art Museum, Museo Rosa Galisteo de Rodriguez in Argentina, The Four Seasons, Miami-Dade Public Library System, Seattle University, several banks and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, DC. He also produced a public art commission in Miami, when he was selected by Metro-Dade’s Art in Public Places program to create nine paintings as a memorial to George Armitage, a local advocate for the disabled who died in 1991. The commissioned opportunity was a challenge and an inspiration to Spreng, who is wheelchair bound since childhood.

When he is not painting, he devotes his time to his other passion, music. Spreng is an esteemed classical music critic, writing for several publications. According to Spreng, he balances his profession (painting) with his hobby (writing about music) making his hobby as a job and vice versa, in order to give a continuous and satisfying dynamic to his artistic endeavors.
Art critic Dr. Carol Damian, Director for the Frost Art Museum at FIU, wrote “…Sebastian Spreng’s paintings demonstrate the essence of simplicity, visual abstractions of form and color… upon close examination it is quite evident that technically they are anything but simple…”

Music plays a crucial role in Spreng’s body of work, it can be seen in the colors, composition, rhythm and spatiality of his paintings – one of the reasons many of his artworks grace the covers of music albums, playbills and most recently, a book. Spreng’s Daphne was selected to be part of the project and art book “Speak for the Trees,” along with 76 other artists including David Hockney, Christo, April Gornik, Yoko Ono, Julie Heffernan, Robert Longo, Mark Ryden and the Starn Brohters.

A feast for the eyes, Salad Bar marries Spreng’s lyricism and drama with a fresh new perspective. Like a salad bar, there are numerous flavors and combinations (given the small scale of the square paintings). Avid collectors are encouraged to mix and match, and create entirely unique arrangements.

Saturday. May 14th, 5pm – 10pm
Miguel Paredes Fine Art Gallery
During Wynwood’s 2nd Saturdays’ Art Walk
173 NW 23rd Street
Wynwood Arts District
Miami, FL 33127

RSVP now: rsvp@miguelparedes.com

We invite you to join us for the Art Walk at our 5,500 sq/ft gallery!

Complimentary Cocktails provided by: Chivas / Heineken
Food provided by: De Rodriguez Cuba On Ocean

On Saturday, May 14th from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m., Miami-based pop and multi-media artist, sculptor and urban realist, Miguel Paredes, will present his latest piece of artwork, “Ghost Writer,” at his Wynwood gallery during the neighborhood’s popular 2nd Saturdays Art Walk.

Paredes explains “Ghost Writer” is one of his most intricate pieces to date. “I really enjoyed creating ‘Ghost Writer’ because I was able to incorporate different elements of realism, urban surreal pop, anime and abstract art into one piece. Experimenting with acrylic oils, pastels and collage work was even more exciting and it allowed me to make the painting really stand out. I love working with mixed media!” says the artist.

Guests in attendance will enjoy light “Nuevo Latino” fare by De Rodriguez Cuba on Ocean and its renowned chef Douglas Rodriguez. “I am very excited to be working with Miguel on this initiative,” said Rodriguez. “Being a part of the ‘Ghost Writer’ presentation is a huge honor and I look forward to many more creative collaborations with him.”

In addition, complimentary Chivas signature cocktails such as a tropical “Out of this World Punch” and a sweet “Chivas Smash” will be available along with a selection of beers from the Heineken art bar. Local DJ Ari X will provide the tunes for the evening. Those interested in attending, should confirm their RSVP by emailing: RSVP@miguelparedes.com

“Ghost Writer” is 111 inches by 55 inches and will be on permanent display at Miguel Paredes Fine Art Gallery – 173 NW 23rd Street Miami, FL 33127.

About Miguel Paredes
Paredes, a New York native, is an Urban Realist who combines cutting-edge techniques of street art, pop art and Japanese animation to create his own genre of trend-forward pieces. Drawing inspiration from pop icons such as his own mentor Ronnie Cutrone, Andy Warhol’s immediate assistant at The Factory during the notorious pop artist’s most productive and prestigious years, Warhol himself and Keith Haring, Paredes has created his own unique and explosive style. His combination of street graffiti, landscape and pop art have propelled his crossover from street walls, during his days as a student at the prestigious Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music and Art in the ’80s, to becoming a highly regarded creator of fine decorative art, prized by collectors from Los Angeles to Seoul.

Paredes, now Miami-based, has become one of the local arts’ scenes most prosperous artists. “Pulgha World,” an 18×26 mosaic mural donated by the artist on August 2010, is a colorful landmark located in the heart of Wynwood Arts District and his nearby new solo space, Miguel Paredes Fine Art Gallery, opened on February 2011 to rave reviews. Furthermore, he recently became the first Miami-Dade resident to ever receive simultaneous proclamations from the City of Miami Beach and Village of Pinecrest honoring his artistic donation to the Miami Design Preservation League’s Art Deco Welcome Center and support of historic preservation, devotion to the city and positive impact on the community.

The artist is also well-known for his iconic, Japanese anime-inspired digital series Pulghaâ„¢ & Birds. In this collection Pulghaâ„¢, a magical flea, and her friends the spirited Birds, Yoli & Kosue, join forces for good. An original, branded cartoon series based on these creations is being represented by the William Morris Endeavor Agency and the first in a new collection of fine oil paintings “Pulgha Flight” is currently on display at his Wynwood gallery. Moreover, Paredes continues to make his mark by further expanding his inspirational environment while simultaneously showcasing his works at local, national and international shows, including Artist-In-Residence at the iconic National Hotel during Art Basel Miami Beach, 2010.

For more information, please visit: www.miguelparedes.com

please visit us online: www.miguelparedes.com
www.facebook.com/artistmiguelparedes
www.twitter.com/paredesstudios

Kavachnina
April 9, 12n-9pm

Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts Invites you to an Opening Reception
Saturday, April 9th
Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts
2043 N Miami Avenue
Miami, FL 33127
www.dlfinearts.com

Graciela Sacco | M2:Ta
This new series, named for the maximum tension per square meter, is part of the M2 project that the artist has been developing since 2007. Exploring physical as well as symbolic limits is one of the foundations of research in our modern world. The right to possess any space on this planet, however minimal, is essential to allowing individuality. But what is the minimum which would not hinder our thoughts, feelings or actions? Might this have been the issue that motivated the artist to choose the title, somehow implying that physical proximity can contamínate even a figurative independence?

Sacco is a photographer, video and installation artist. She has represented Argentina at several biennials including the Venice Biennale of 2001. Her work has been included in major exhibitions around the world. She was born in Argentina and lives and works in Spain.

Project Room
Mike Swaney | Ancient Scrolls
My work stems from an on-going, sociological investigation into human behavior. Habit, awkwardness, coincidence, embarrassment, mundane objects, funny words, and subtle absurdity in quotidian life are factors which inform my art tremendously. In searching for a meeting point between the rituals of ancient civilizations and the everyday rituals of our contemporary, digital life, I examine how one can influence and evolve the perception of the other. The relationship between painting and performance art is fundamental to my practice. I am fascinated by the possibility of performance as a static object.

Originally from Canada, Swaney now lives and works in Barcelona. His work has been exhibited internationally in Barcelona, Copenhagen, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Tokyo, Toronto and Vancouver. In 2008 he participated in the Fountainhead Residency in Miami.

Please note the extended hours for the Wynwood Art District Second Saturday Gallery Walk, from 2 to 9pm.
Exhibitions will be on view through May 7th.

Please Join Us This Saturday, April 9th
Edge Zones’ New Reception Hours: 2 P.M. – 10 P.M.
Edge Zones Art Center
47 NE 25th St.
Miami, Fl 33137
Tel. 305 303 8852
305 576 4001
edgezones@me.com
Plenty of Parking For Everyone!

Edge Zones Main gallery ABSTRACT, agroup exhibition of work of Florida based artists: George Bethea | Julie Davidow | John Germain | Terri Lindbloom | Ekaterina Narciso | Charo Oquet | Kathleen Staples | Ileana Tolibia | Kerry Ware | Bradley Wester

Edge Zones, one of the leading art centers in Miami, will open the vibrant exhibition featuring abstract art by ten Florida based artists, in the main gallery from April 9 – April 29, 2011. The exhibition bring together contemporary Florida artist who are creating abstract art and who employ a wide range of media ,seeking discerning solutions to construct and deconstruction space, utilizing streams of flowing color touching upon the perceptions of recognizable image. This thematic exhibition was a chance to showcase the essential yet powerful effect a form of art in which the artist expresses himself purely through the use of form and color. There is a wide range of stylistic diversity within this nonrepresentational framework.

Opening reception for “Earth’s Fertility,” and “Abstract” on Saturday, April 9, 2011, from 2pm – 10pm. Meet the artists from 7- 10 pm at Edge Zones Art Center, 47 NE 25th Street, Miami, Florida.

Open this Saturday, April 9, 2 – 9 pm
Dina Mitrani Gallery

Exhibition on view through April 23, 2011

Above image:
Untitled (old couple) 2010, 16 x 20 inches, C-print, Edition 6
Peggy Levison Nolan:
(Thanks, But I’m) Just Looking

For more information and gallery news please visit
www.dinamitranigallery.com

Ileana Tolibia and Her Debut Solo Art Exhibit
Edge Zones Art Center
47 NE 25th St.
Miami, Fl 33137
Tel. 305 303 8852
305 576 4001
edgezones@me.com

Nature and introspection voice the artist’s latest insights in her long-awaited first solo exhibit.
Reprinted with permission from the original Essay by Egberto Amenas from his blog suite 101.

Earth’s Fertility, the first solo exhibit by Ileana Tolibia currently at the Edge Zones Art Center until April 29, 2001, may come about as a delayed prospect for an artist who has for long, despite her youth, hatched a voice rooted in one of the richest pictorial traditions of the Americas. She was born in Cuba and settled in the United States soon after earning an art degree in 1995 from the celebrated San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts in Havana.
As the artist sought broader horizons abroad and pursued further training at the New World School of the Arts and the University of Florida, her imagery seems to have centered ever more on the primal elements of nature and the bearing of its incessant changes on the most tenacious of its creatures. Earth’s Fertility splices yet another plank on the two-way growth of Tolibia’s creative venture, whereby her configurations also chart new passageways to her spiritual chambers.

The Magic of Suggestion
Nature and introspection voice the artist’s latest insights in her long-awaited first solo exhibit.

Nature and introspection spark the bidirectional life of these late pieces. For all their voluptuous swirls, they “look” inward as well, foraying deep into the inner terra incognita from which they have sprouted. In what Baudelaire called the magic of suggestion, here an avid observer of early cultures, mythology, and the always-furtive props of the mind undergirds the gestural organicity of the artwork.
Earth’s Fertility indeed delves far into the interior lushness of nature, but without the ruse of a fit within a literal framing. Never jejune, the analogy calls instead to the free, self-defining amazonian fecundity akin to the artist’s origins and upbringing.
After all, Cuba and its inspiring frondage staged the keenest of all transculturations in the West, and this dynamic trade-off and remix of values amounted at the end to the island’s uniqueness and rarefied excellence in art. Nature there, often holding sway from its magic or marvelous appeal, supplied the feedstock for an imaginative contract with a sense of course and identity.
Transcending Flora, Cycles and Rhythms
Earth’s Fertility likewise assuages Tolibia’s urge to animate the inner self through nature and introspection. However suggestive, she gardens in this solo exhibit a proximate tangibility through a flora that grows and dances and shoots against a failed fulfillment. In a word, that life from the time of inception dangles on the throws of death.
Circling motions, or vine-like attempts to draw them, receptive sheaths, spores and warps of grass, brace a loose archetypical reference that aspires for the ultimate state of being. Earth’s Fertility, abuzz in its rhythms, enchants the viewer with perhaps a feckless antithesis to our last fatality. Meanwhile, if humans shall persist in living, imagination, timely change, and the quest for oneness will certainly ease the stay.

There will be an opening reception for “Earth’s Fertility,” on Saturday, April 9, 2011, from 2pm – 10pm. Meet the artists from 7- 10 pm at Edge Zones Art Center, 47 NE 25th Street, Miami, Florida.

Please join us for the opening reception
Friday, April 8th, 6-9pm
Dorsch Gallery
151 NW 24 St
Miami, FL 33127
dorschgallery.com

celebrating solo shows by Jenny Brillhart, Paul Myoda, and Brookhart Jonquil.
The exhibition will run from April 8, 2011 – May 7, 2011.

The gallery will also be open noon-9pm on Saturday, April 9, for the Wynwood Second Saturday art-walk.

Also on view, Borscht @ Dorsch, a collection of objects and images generated in the production of The Borscht Film Festival.
For the Wynwood Second Saturday art-walk, Borscht @ Dorsch will include outdoor festivities in the Dorsch patio.
Stop by and enjoy complimentary cocktails

April 9, starting at 7:00 p.m.
The Lunch Box Gallery
310 NW. 24th St
Miami, FL 33127
Casual. Wine, cheese & crackers.

The Lunch Box Gallery is pleased to announce its new show “Arrived” by emerging Venezuelan artist, painter and illustrator M-Lon (Miguel Gonzalez) on April 9, 2011 at 310 NW. 24th St. Miami, FL 33127, starting at 7:00pm.

“Arrived” gathers 18 photographs intervened with digital illustrations (mixed media), where the artist combines photography with the use of a WACOM digital pen, thus giving life to fascinating images that equally share the participation of both reality and fantasy.

This series is born by the need to awaken reflections about our environment, by means of the visit of imaginary beings that interact with our context. These entities star in scenes of urban and natural encounters, particular or general ones, within a reality which we would consider they don’t belong to, but nevertheless where they try to find their own space.

By penetrating into an unknown society, these beings attempt to discover our world through innocent frolicking; and the behavior that sometimes seems vile or spiteful, is nothing more than a wild and instinctive interaction caused by not knowing the conduct codes of our world. In fact, these are interactions where the process of exploring turns them into personifications of feelings and moods in their maximum state of purity; emotions we can somehow relate to.

These approaches, many times nostalgic and curious but always naïve, along with their visions confronted with joy or lack of it when entering our space, are an invitation to discover, imagine and reconsider the world that surround us.

“Arrived” reflects on M-Lon’s idea that when we truly come close and stop to observe, admire and understand that all these elements, natural or man-made, mean something to someone, it is in that precise moment when we will begin to take care, enjoy and respect it all.

Please join us for an opening reception
Artist Reception, April 8th 6 – 8 PM
Second Saturday, April 9th 11 AM – 9 PM
174 NW 23 Street
Miami, Florida 33127

Nathlie Provosty
Green(ish) Hermeticism
April 8th – May 7th, 2011

Crossroads are both forbidden yet inevitable, the dangerous but profitable locus of transactions for the journeyman or merchant, a place often haunted, often sacred. Hermes, from whom the term Hermeticism is derived, controls crossroads; he is the god of communication and its opposite, silence, similarly commerce and burglary. A green Hermes, however, is nature speechless, nature crossed with commerce. As is well evident, this relationship has gone awry. It is as if the senses of man have been dissolved, because we understand very little, or nothing at all, of the living organism, namely in respect to ecology and ourselves. Green Hermetics are those who recognize life in the undercurrents (even if only in slivers), and therefore rise to challenge all forms of consciousness enslavement, to liberate the image from the machinations of mass production and the manipulations of political rhetoric. A Green Hermeticist understands that nothing is ever exactly as it seems, believes in the poetics and alchemy of ambivalence, and consequently always remains tempted to explore fuller possibilities of understanding man’s constructive and destructive impulses. By submitting to the total mystery of the materials–those means by which one communicates with, to, and through–the union of men and nature is at least obtainable in a work of art.

The paintings and drawings in this exhibition derive from sources as diverse as Giordano Bruno’s Classical and Renaissance memory techniques to specific lines from César Vallejo and William Carlos Williams poems. This exhibition will be Nathlie’s debut solo exhibition as well as her first time exhibiting in Miami, Florida.

Nathlie will be in residence at the de la Cruz collection. For information about the residency and other visiting artists please visit delacruzcollection.org.
Image: Small Apiary 2010 Oil on linen 15 x 12 in

The Michael Margulies Artist Agency | Surface Merchants Collective Presents Lost+Found Freedom in Postgraffism
Private Show – RSVP Required: Friday, April 8th, 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
RSVP to: info@cafeinamiami.com | 305.438.0792
Opening Reception: Saturday April 9th, 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Cafeina Lounge
297 NW 23 ST
Miami, Fl. 33127
www.cafeinamiami.com

Lost and found: freedom in Post-Graffism
From April 8th to May 1st, 2011

The Surface Merchants take on the first exhibition of it’s kind. As they express their anticipation to the established Art community, they found a new and empowering channel of expression,”Post-Graffism”, A show filled with cautionary tales of man v.s mother nature, accompanied with a fusion of unique perspectives on paralleled subjects born of influences from their generation.
Michael Margulies Artist Agency, Inc.
1350 NW 8th Court, PH8
Miami, FL 33136
Ph: 305.972.8962
Fax: 786.363.9013
Send Email
www.marguliesagency.com

For more information about local openings and events, please visit www.miamiartguide.com

The Workshop & Svedka Present New Work by Benjamin Hollingsworth
April 9,8pm – 12am
171 NW 23rd St
Miami, FL 33127

The Workshop Presents: Works By Benjamin Hollingsworth
Sponsored By: Svedka Vodka

Take in complimentary vodka cocktails and the works of artist Ben Hollingsworth, professional soccer player turned multimedia artist, during April’s Art Walk.

Wynwood is the up and coming destination for the arts and the cultured. Such a specific area has been much needed in Miami, and over the last few years, Wynwood has finally earned its place as the pinnacle of the Miami art-world. The area’s monthly art walks are the culmination of the in-the-know locals and top-tier visitors. Having a presence at these events aligns brands with the most coveted people and happenings in the city.

This month, we are proud to have professional soccer player turned artist Benjamin Hollingsworth display his work in the heart of this art epicenter. As his first Miami appearance since 2010’s Art Basel, it’s an honor to have this up and coming visionary grace the Miami studio walls for April’s walk. Each Hollingsworth piece is distinctively unique, yet, with each one’s unrelentless use of color and subtle use of symbolism, the observer cannot help but to be captivated and moved.
In April, Benjamin will be exhibiting never before seen works that vary from “huge 8 x 10ft drawings on sheets of paper” and then some smaller pieces “done on top of vintage LIFE magazine covers.” Showcased pieces will be available for purchase.

About Benjamin Hollingsworth:
Until three and a half years ago, Benjamin Hollingsworth was living out his childhood dream of being a professional soccer player. At 27, amidst the height of his sporting career, Hollingsworth suffered a serious foot injury, forcing him to reconsider his life’s path.

As a release from his frustrations, he turned to art. Immersing himself in art history books and taking a self-reflecting trip to Paris– all along gallivanting galleries and museums, he found himself entirely consumed by art.

Moving to NYC on a limb, Hollingsworth further integrated himself into the art world – working in a studio by day and delving deeply into his creativity by night. However, it was not until his stepfather was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 that, ironically, he got his big break.

Compelled to leave it all, Hollingsworth returned to Charleston to support his step-father – all the while, never giving up on his new passion.

“I lived in empty building in the middle of downtown Charleston and started producing new work for an idea I had to for a solo exhibit,” he says. In May, he took advantage of the empty space for the exhibition, which put him “on the map.”

“Since then things have taken off,” he says. ” Art saved me, and helped me get over a very, very tragic event in my life.”
As one of the more recognizable up and comers in the art scene, Hollingsworth was featured in the likes of Interview and Versus magazines and has been exhibited in some of the most renowned hotels and shows around the nation, including this past year’s Art Basel.

His works:
Hollingsworth works in a very mixed media format, from installations and photographs to large scale paintings. “I think allot of it is very raw in nature but there are always underlining themes and concepts,” he says. “I tend to do things in series.”

Dramatic Bfa Exhibition Highlights Cutting-Edge Art Work From New World School Of The Arts College Graduating Class Of 2011
Opening reception takes place on Saturday, April 9, 7:00 pm -10:00 pm.
Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation
1018 N. Miami Avenue
Miami, FL 33136.
The exhibition is free and open to the public.

It will remain open through Saturday, April 30, 2011. To view after April 9, please call 305.237.3620

New World School of the Arts [NWSA] presents POST… The 2011 BFA candidates’ visual arts exhibition. NWSA has fostered a legacy of graduates that excel in the Visual Arts; becoming prestigious figures in both the local and international art world, such as Hernan Bas, Bert Rodriguez, and Jen Stark.The 22 BFA candidates of 2011 have continued to push the barriers, culminating in a vivid and spanking-new array of work that ranges from sculpture, photography, painting and interactive installation, to graphic design work and video art.

“We are proud that our graduates are tireless in finding new and immediate ways to contribute not only to the burgeoning Miami art scene but their community; donating artwork for humanitarian causes and participating in numerous fundraisers” stated Maggy Cuesta, dean of visual arts at NWSA. “Many of them have already exhibited and sold work from prominent galleries in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Miami Art Museum, Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation and Art Basel, Miami Beach.”

2011 Exhibiting BFA Artists: Nicole Burko, Franky Cruz, Karla R. Davila, Gustavo González, Mauricio Gonzalez, Nanjoo Hong, Stacye Jones, Herman F. Kaizedo, Jessie Laino, limchoy lee, Inga Loyev, Veronika Lugo, Melissa Mastroeni, María Fernanda Mayorga, Denisse Monge, Natalia (Macky) Ortelli, Francis Pisfil, Colin Sherrell, Dominique Thomas, Sam Ubinas & Zonia Zena.

CIFO, the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, is a non-profit organization founded in 2002 by Ella Fontanals Cisneros and her family, to foster cultural and educational exchange among the visual arts. In six years CIFO has become a dynamic institution promoting cultural exchange through its exhibitions and events.

New World School of the Arts was created by the Florida Legislature in 1984 as a center of excellence in the performing and visual arts. It is an educational partnership of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami Dade College and the University of Florida.

More information about this show at 305-237-3620 or at nwsa.mdc.edu.

By NWSA Artist Gustavo González

AVA Fine Arts presents New Works by Carlos A. Navarro
4/9/2011, 5pm-10pm
AVA Fine Arts @ Acoustic Architects
271 NW 23rd Street
Miami, Fl, Wynwood
Next to Cafeina Lounge
www.avafineart.com

Ava Fine Art @ Acoustic Architects Presents An Exhibit Of New Works By Miami Artist, Carlos A. Navarro.

Promotion by Erin Mia Milchman of Haute in the City

Percentage of proceeds go to Kimberly Shenker- Bacardi’s Good Karma Foundation for the children of Haiti

Sponsored by;
Matusalum Rum (mojitos)
Sake Blue

After Party At Sake Blue 10pm
225 Altara Avenue
Coral Gables, FL

There will be an opening reception for Abstract
Saturday, April 9, 2011, from 2pm – 10pm.
Meet the artists from 7- 10 pm
Edge Zones Art Center
47 NE 25th Street
Miami, Florida.

Edge Zones Main Gallery ABSTRACT, a group exhibition of Florida based artists: George Bethea | Julie Davidow | John Germain | Terri Lindbloom | Ekaterina Narciso | Charo Oquet | Kathleen Staples | Ileana Tolibia | Kerry Ware | Bradley Wester

Edge Zones, one of the leading art centers in Miami, will open the vibrant exhibition featuring abstract art by ten Florida based artists, in the main gallery from April 9 – April 29, 2011. The exhibition bring together contemporary Florida artist who are creating abstract art and who employ a wide range of media seeking discerning solutions to construct and deconstruction space, utilizing streams of flowing color touching upon the perceptions of recognizable image. This thematic exhibition was a chance to showcase the essential yet powerful effect a form of art in which the artist expresses himself purely through the use of form and color. There is a wide range of stylistic diversity within this nonrepresentational framework.

Non-objective art is one of several means of transcendence of the objective, practical modern world. For John Germain, painting becomes by default an interior, subconscious journey. It is in this way that he creates forms that comply with his sensibility; where material, means and content converge. He utilizes his inconclusive yet fascinating process as an exhilarating means to self-discovery; a record of choices made over periods of time, physical and psychic visual residue.

In recent work Bradley Wester returns to the painterly gesture describing an illusionistic image on canvas. However, these new paintings are meant to be quotations of familiar images, in this case, Japanese motifs and decoration. He treats these motif-paintings simply as another everyday material or image-object that he combines with other recognizable objects to make art. He inserts and arranges them as one component of many, inside what he calls a cluster. Bradley sees each cluster as an individual and complete work of art that relates. The intention is to equalize the value of the familiar Japanese image with the common, everyday objects he uses. He treats these cluster-pieces, or pods of visual narrative that radiate out to other pod-narratives and that can be seen to mirror our hyper-linked digital age, with no start or finish, and no linear historic narrative.

Ekaterina Narciso’s, work concerns deconstruction of space found in contemporary abstract painting today. Fragments of brightly colored shards migrate in and out of picture planes echoing systems, pattern and state of flux found in nature. Kaleidoscopic portals and streams of flowing color touch upon the perceptions of recognizable image occasionally hinting at the landscapes or the city, as well as referring to the elements of nature and space.

Through the use of drawing, small mixed media objects, and painting Ileana Tolibia struggles to understand the synchronization within the unbounded space. Her transformative, organic and aerial paintings attempt to translate images of her subconscious combined with emotions and associations into a conscious language of meaningfulness.

George Bethea’s uses acrylic paint, gels, sand and other textural elements to express himself through color, surface, and design in his attempt to make paintings that are beautiful and full of life.

Julie Davidow creates contradiction, which are inherent to her work. A struggle to control and relinquish are persistent drives in her process. At once measured and defined, she embraces chance through pliage. The folds and scores in the canvas yield an aleatorical ground. Space, organization, pattern seeking, discerning solution guide a precise, meticulous investigation to map the visual information and establish structure. It is a search for the gestalt. The imagery is drawn from biological, sexual, botanical, geological, cartographic, and architectural influences; and an overall concern with the conflicts between the natural and the built environments.

Kathleen Staples paints wet on wet with fluid paints suspended in acrylic medium, obtaining a variety of transparency and texture. Each layer interacts with the layer underneath and the one above, and layers of wet paint laid down at different stages of dryness create different surface effects. She uses colors as the “soul” of the painting, an intuitive expression of her feeling.

Terri Lindbloom takes an inter-disciplinary approach. Working predominantly within multi-media installations. His conceptual work can be at times minimal and terse. In some of her “text” drawings she has been investigating the internal “chatter” within the mind, editing it down to a few sound bytes. The creative roots of her installations come from her drawing investigations, which need each other for their evolution.

Charo Oquet is interested in introducing a sense of intense chaos in her paintings, in some areas that are later covered and controlled, connected to “action paintings”. Her delivery is a sophisticated blend of complex overlapping layers and compositions.

Kerry Ware’s paintings exhibit subtle shifts of color on scrubbed surfaces. The work is infused with color similar to frescos – using painting as a source of spiritual nourishment that goes beyond labels, language, gimmicks and glitz.

Reinier Gamboa // Elemental // Opening Reception
Saturday, April 9th, 2011, 8PM – 12AM
Villa 221
221 NE 17th Street (2nd floor)
Miami, FL 33132
www.christophermirogallery.com
www.villa221.com

The Christopher Miro Gallery is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition for Reinier Gamboa being held at the enchanting Villa 221. The exhibition will incorporate a body of paintings and drawings inspired by the title “Elemental”. Please join us Saturday April 9th (second saturday) from 8pm – 12am.

Villa 221 will also be hosting The Official Art Walk After Party, for the Wynwood Art Walk, and will feature Live Bands & DJ’s, Food, and Full Bar through out the night. Featured Music will be announced as the event draws near. Please join us Saturday April 9th.

Villa 221 is located at 221 NE 17th Street, Miami, FL 33132. The exhibition will be on display until May 7th, 2011. For images or information please contact the Christopher Miro Gallery at info@christophermirogallery.com, or 305.741.0058.

@cmirogallery
@villa221

www.christophermirogallery.com
www.villa221.com