Art
Maxwell Rabb
Ahmed Morsi, Green Horse, 2001. Courtesy of the artist.
Francesco Igory Deiana, Miami, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Mindy Solomon Gallery.
Across its sun-drenched beaches, Miami welcomes more than 20 international fairs every December, including Untitled Art, Art Basel, NADA, and Art Miami. This year, Miami Art Week will bring together over 1,200 galleries from five continents to present work from both established masters and emerging talent.
As thousands of visitors flock to immerse themselves in this global art extravaganza, the atmosphere in Miami’s local art scene, too, turns electric. Following a successful event in 2022, this Miami Art Week is poised to be the busiest since the pandemic, and the city is ready to greet international art visitors with renewed vigor and an array of captivating exhibitions.
Amid the art fair hullabaloo, several gallery and museum shows stand out, promising an enriching experience for enthusiasts and collectors alike. These must-see exhibitions, on view during Miami Art Week 2023, showcase the dynamic spirit of Miami’s thriving arts community.
Pérez Art Museum Miami
Dec. 5, 2023–Apr. 28, 2024
Gary Simmons, Hollywood, 2008. © Gary Simmons. Courtesy of Rubell Museum.
Born in 1964 to Caribbean immigrant parents in Queens, New York, Gary Simmons creates art that interrogates mainstream history. His work—spanning sculpture, installation, and painting—grapples with collective memory, drawing the viewer’s attention to the racial, gender, and class disparities that frame American history. Simmons’s distinctive style, which often includes the use of blurry sketches and evocative installations, ignites a conversation about ever-present social issues by reappropriating American visual culture.
“Public Enemy,” on view at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, encompasses over 70 works spanning Simmons’s 30-year career. This exhibition—marking the first comprehensive career survey for the artist—traces the chronology of the artist’s life and its intersection with significant historical events that are commemorated in his art. For instance, the red, flame-licked painting Hollywood (2008) refers to the Watts Uprising (a period of civil unrest to protest police brutality in Los Angeles in 1965), while Lynch Frog (2022) alludes to the murder of George Floyd. Simmons’s installation Step into the Arena (The Essentialist Trap) (1994) further explores racial stereotypes through the lens of sports, providing a nuanced commentary on the double-edged nature of cultural representation for Black American athletes.
His art, both a form of resistance and a call for dialogue, resonates with current debates on race, history, and cultural memory, and extends an invitation to engage with the past to shape a more equitable future.
Nina Johnson
Dec. 4, 2023–Jan. 6, 2024
Yasue Maetake, Capillary Action, 2022–2023. Courtesy of Nina Johnson.
Yasue Maetake, Foundry Abyss, 2022. Courtesy of Nina Johnson.
Tokyo-born artist Yasue Maetake uses sculpture to fuse artmaking traditions with futuristic aesthetics. Her approach to art hinges on her appreciation of liminal spaces, connecting her physical creations with spirituality. Often, her works, crafted with animal bones, seashells, coral, resin, metal, and glass, hint at a speculative future in which humans return to a closer relationship with nature. Still, her sculptures pay homage to the resilience of tradition over time and the rich history of human creation.
For “Three-Legged Idols,” Maetake presents 32 sculptures, each reflecting her fascination with the tripod form. The show traces the evolution of the design of tripods, from ancient civilizations who used them as decorative trophies to their modern-day applications in devices like telescopes and cameras. In works such as Foundry Abyss (2022) and Gladiator (2023), Maetake draws inspiration from myth and adds her own idiosyncratic decorations.
Hernan Bas, A conceptual artist #4 (Objectively neutral each January he re-paints the walls of his studio an official ‘Color of the Year’), 2022. © Hernan Bas. Courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro.
Hernan Bas, Conceptual aritst #19 (A child of the 80’s, he places his Polaroid self-portraits in a familiar spot whenever he’s feeling lost), 2023. Photo by Silvia Ros. Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin.
Hernan Bas’s “The Conceptualists” presents conceptual art as a domain for creative freedom and a haven for queerness. The show features 35 paintings that all depict a single protagonist absorbed in a different obsessive activity. Works such as Conceptual artist #2 (the ice sculptor: he exclusively carves objects which hold ice) (2021) capture figures engrossed in the processes bluntly listed in their titles. While Bas’s paintings are figurative, the moments he illustrates are positioned as conceptual art. For the artist, these idiosyncratic behaviors are embedded in the nature of conceptual art, where “queerness” is about liberating oneself from a society deeply rooted in conformity.
Living and working in Miami, Bas is renowned for his detailed paintings and drawings that capture male figures in moments of introspection or stasis, caught in medias resfor the viewer’s contemplation. To create his paintings, he draws inspiration from from 19th century literature, such as the works of Oscar Wilde and Joris-Karl Huysmans. Bas’s paintings are rich in references to poetry, mythology, and the nuances of gay struggle and youth culture.
Ahmed Morsi, Green Fish, 1983. Courtesy of the artist.
Ahmed Morsi, Four Eyes, 2011. Courtesy of the artist.
Born in 1930, Ahmed Morsi emerged from the influential Alexandria School in the mid–20th century. The Egyptian artist experienced a transformation in his artistic style upon moving to New York in 1974, where he began to work with a lyrical and muted blue palette, evoking his distant home in Alexandria, Egypt. This pivotal shift is the focus of “Ahmed Morsi in New York: Elegy of the Sea,” where the sea represents a space for dreams and Morsi’s personal meditations on the world.
These works, spanning a period from 1974 to 2012, feature surreal landscapes populated with both real and imagined figures: fish, androgynous subjects, mythological horses, oversized clocks, and intricate images within images. Morsi’s “Clocks” series features several muted illustrations of figures traversing the empty beachside, only accompanied by various timepieces—a common subject matter for post-war Surrealists. Above all, his illustrations, through blank stares and wandering figures, embody the artist’s sense of misdirection as he attempted to resituate himself in his new home.
MOCA North Miami
Oct. 25, 2023–Mar. 17, 2024
Jamea Richmond-Edwards, Dark Night of the Soul, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Kravets Wehby Gallery
“Ancient Future,” on view at MOCA North Miami, is rising artist Jamea Richmond-Edwards’s largest solo exhibition to date. Born and raised in Detroit, Richmond-Edwards weaves materiality and everyday objects into her brightly patterned, collaged portraits that illustrate Black women in mythological scenes. Her Afrofuturist works create a utopian vision that bridges the past, present, and future. In doing so, Richmond-Edwards not only celebrates Black women and their stories but also imagines them in diverse, empowering roles within both historical and futuristic narratives.
Drawing inspiration from her hometown folk art scene, she challenges the boundaries of what fine art can be by incorporating cheeky imagery through collage. “Ancient Future” features a selection of never-before-seen works alongside more familiar pieces, from large-scale assemblages and immersive installations. For example, her 30-foot work Dark Night of the Soul (2023) depicts vibrant mythological scenes through mixed-media collage. Elsewhere, her smaller works, such as those from her series “The Unraveling,” present vignettes of mysticisms—ranging from a boat on roaring waters to a bolt of electricity cutting through the night’s sky.
“‘Ancient Future’ presents an opportunity to explore the concept of radical imagination and the possibility of reconfiguring a future released from the confines of racial and gender binaries,” said Adeze Wilford, a MOCA curator.
Osamu Kobayashi, Floatie, 2023. Courtesy of Mindy Solomon Gallery.
Basil Kincaid, Untitled, 2023. Courtesy of Mindy Solomon Gallery.
Why do artists make art? Mindy Solomon Gallery’s group exhibition “In Spiritual Light” explores the various inspirations that allow artists to express themselves. Featuring work from 24 artists, the show reflects on the machinations of artmaking, placing artists’ works in a dialogue with the spiritual motivations behind them.
Many of the works in the show seek answers to fundamental questions about human existence and purpose. From Basil Kincaid’s Untitled (2023), a 62.5-by-54-inch embroidery featuring a multicolored face in a green frame, to Francesco Igory Deiana’s Miami (2023), a mystical acrylic painting with sharp blue and red hues, the exhibition invites viewers to contemplate the esoteric qualities of art—or perhaps, of the artist.
“In Spiritual Light” pays homage to artists like Georgia O’Keeffe, Agnes Pelton, Lawren Harris, Thomas Sills, and Hilma af Klint, who attempted to encapsulate the spirituality of the natural world in their works. Above all, the exhibition proposes that the urge to create art is a divine act.
Chris Soal, Reverie, 2023. Courtesy of Piero Atchugarry Gallery.
Pablo Rasgado, Casa mínima, 2019. Courtesy of Piero Atchugarry Gallery.
Piero Atchugarry Gallery originally opened in Garzon, Uruguay, 10 years ago. In December 2018, Piero Atchugarry, the gallery’s namesake and founder, opened his second location in Miami, claiming it was the “place to be.” Above all, Atchugarry hoped to cultivate an artist program that encompassed his passion for sculpture alongside his interest in conceptual art, painting, sensitive abstraction, and constructive geometry.
“Piero Atchugarry Gallery: 10 Years” honors the artists (mostly sculptors) who helped mold the gallery’s aesthetic. The exhibition will feature works from artists across 13 counties. These works include Chris Soal’s Reverie (2023), a sculpture comprising discarded beer bottle caps, bamboo, and birch toothpicks; and Pablo Rasgado’s Casa mínima (2019), a cube-shaped sculpture made from stones and wood in the center of the gallery. Spotlighting an impressive roster of innovative sculptors, this exhibition celebrates the gallery’s ongoing journey in shaping the contemporary art scene of Miami.
Albert Oehlen, Ömega Man 2, 2021. © Albert Oehlen. Photo by Stefan Rohner. Courtesy of Gagosian.
For the last seven editions of Art Basel in Miami Beach, Jeffrey Deitch and Gagosian have collaborated to put together a group exhibition during the fair. The latest edition, titled “Forms,” challenges conventional distinctions between representational and abstract art. Showcasing works from 28 artists, including Ai Weiwei and Lauren Halsey, the exhibition presents a fusion of abstract and realistic styles. It explores the representation of the human body and material objects through both artistic approaches—nodding to the multiple meanings in its broad title.
Featured in “Forms” is Albert Oehlen’s “Ömega Man” series, in which humanoid shapes inspired by the sci-fi character Dr. Robert Neville are set against stark backgrounds or rendered in cast aluminum, symbolizing the consequences of unbridled scientific advancement. Meanwhile, Adam McEwen’s Rendezvous (2023), an acrylic painting on canvas, transforms the mundane Bic Cristal ballpoint pen into a subject of social interplay and heraldic significance.
Rendering of “MAZE: Journey Through the Algorithmic Self,” Sebastian Errazuriz, 2023. Courtesy of Faena Art and Sebastian Errazuriz Studio.
Faena Art will present four major installations during Miami Art Week in “Spaces of Influence: Shaping Community in the Modern World,” featuring work from Chilean artist Sebastian Errazuriz, Florida-born Kelly Breez, and American digital artist Beeple.
Beeple’s kinetic sculpture S.2122 (2023) is inspired by the ongoing climate crisis, bringing attention to the rising sea levels by showing a decaying building slowly being submerged by water. Meanwhile, Errazuriz, known for his politically charged sculptures, presents MAZE: Journey Through the Algorithmic Self (2023), a physical maze that visitors can enter on Faena Beach, designed using AI platforms like Midjourney and DALL-E 2. Accompanying the maze is Errazuriz’s book AI MAZE, accessible via QR codes within the labyrinth, which explores AI’s transformative influence on various aspects of modern life, from healthcare to warfare. Errazuriz said, “This is the first maze designed not to get lost, but instead to find ourselves.”
In addition to the maze, Errazuriz’s marble sculpture Battle of the Corporate Nations (2023), which portrays tech giants such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in a humorous struggle reminiscent of mythological battles, will be on view at the Faena Hotel Cathedral.
Alex Israel, The Bigg Chill, 2012–13. Courtesy of the artist.
Known for riffing on Hollywood and contemporary pop culture, Alex Israel often criticizes the social clichés of Los Angeles. His paintings and sculptures are characterized by the Day-Glo, new wave aesthetics of 1980s L.A., yearning for the past and mourning his personal fleeting memories.
“Snow Beach Frozen Treats,” presented by CapitalOne and The Cultivist at the Herzog and de Meuron Building, is something a little different: an immersive installation featuring a collaboration with Michelin-starred chefs Dominique Crenn and José Andrés. Israel’s installation, according to press releases, promises a nostalgic yet innovative journey through California’s cultural landscape. Framing the exhibition is Israel’s The Bigg Chill (2012–13), a marble sculpture of a classic soft-serve ice cream in a styrofoam cup, evoking blurred cultural memories of culinary visual culture.
Giorgio Celin, “Do You Remember? — Feeling, Queerness, Exile”
Spinello Projects
Dec. 4, 2023–Jan. 13,2024
Giorgio Celin, Rainy Night in BK (That Old Sweet Song), 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Spinello Project.
Giorgio Celin, Mar Y Estrogenos, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Spinello Project.
Giorgio Celin, who lives and works in Barcelona, is focused on portraying intimacy. Born in 1986, he paints vibrant scenes of tenderness and human connection to emphasize life’s beauty amid a troubled, often lonely, existence. His work reflects the multifaceted experience of the queer migrant, capturing the many faces of national and cultural identity, and is informed by his personal journey. In “Do You Remember? —Feeling, Queerness, Exile,” Celin paints figures—often listless and strikingly beautiful—searching for connection. Celin’s subjects all share a postcolonial restlessness, embodying the recurring theme of the show, which curator Paul Clinton refers to as “unstable attachments.”
For instance, Rainy Night in BK (That Old Sweet Song) (2023) presents two figures, partially embracing, as one stares somberly at the viewer. This scene evokes the unease of displacement, a simmering feeling of unsettledness. The exhibition title itself hints at the complexities of falling in love, the pain of breakups, and the profound sense of loss felt by those leaving their homelands, whether by choice or force.
Hander Lara, Untitled (Van Gogh – Autorretrato), 2018. Courtesy of Pan American Art Projects.
Carolina Sardi, White Association (Ideograma), 2007. Courtesy of Pan American Art Projects.
“Text/Image,” a group exhibition presented by Pan American Art Projects, is all about words and their role in artworks. Featuring works by 16 artists, the show includes Hander Lara’s Don’t Play With History (2015), a painting that blends typography with popular imagery, and Carolina Sardi’s White Association (Ideograma) (2007), in which painted steel is melded into abstract shapes suggesting linguistic forms.
“Text/Image” features artists whose work considers theoretical perspectives on the relationship between language and visual art, exploring semiotics, visual rhetoric, and how symbols and signs contribute to our understanding of the world. Artists like José Manuel Fors and Carlos Gallardo play with the construction or deconstruction of texts and archives. Additionally, Lara’s “Untitled” series from 2018 recontextualizes historical imagery, including Vincent van Gogh’s iconic Self-Portrait (1889) and Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Polish Rider (1655). Throughout, these works test the limits of language and visual creation, ultimately questioning the relationship between text and image in contemporary culture.
The exhibition also coincides with the upcoming opening of Pan American Art Projects’s second location in Miami’s Design District.
Maxwell Rabb
Maxwell Rabb is Artsy’s Staff Writer.
