10 Best Miami Art Exhibitions Happening in March 2024
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Miami musicians are experiencing an unprecedented lack of venues as real estate speculation continues to price people out of the urban core. Thankfully, a few intrepid art spaces are filling the void by hosting shows and unique performances that blend visual art with sound.
At Locust Projects last month, the International Noise Conference hosted a truly unique program. The annual event focused on performance art and avant-garde and noise music lost its original home at Churchill’s Pub when the venerable dive closed during the pandemic. Seeing it go on at Locust’s new space is heartening, to say the least. Although there were plenty of bracing, abrasive performances to be heard, my favorite conjured the most unpleasantly omnipresent source of noise in all of our lives: our social media timelines. Artist Coltrane MacKendrick laid on the cold ground wrapped in a blanket and “doomscrolled” through their TikTok timeline with the phone hooked up to the sound system for all to hear.
More sophisticated, yet still aesthetically unpolished, was a collaboration between artist Alberto Checa and musician Nick León at Oolite Arts, part of the opening festivities for Checa’s exhibition “Between Two Suns.” As León DJed a sound collage of ambient tracks and local radio stations, picking up salsa and reggaetón, Checa and assistants built a makeshift sound system using poured PVC plaster usually reserved for the artist’s day job working on boats. The performance spoke to the resilience and creativity of the Caribbean and Latin working classes that keep Miami afloat — literally in the case of the wealthy boat owners for whom Checa has worked.
There were other performances that I sadly wasn’t able to attend. DJ Pressure Point anchored an activation of Gary Simmons’ “Recapturing Memories of the Black Ark” at Pérez Art Museum Miami, while Jonny From Space and Mauricio, the Invisible, anchored a “Miami sound” edition of First Fridays at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. Art institutions often have the resources and clout to support projects like these; let’s hope we can see more of them in the future.
In March, notable art events and openings include a Miami native’s exhibition of paintings in Liberty City, a fun show of Japanese pop art at a Miami Beach gallery, and a group show full of famous artists at PAMM. Read on below.
Unless otherwise noted, all listed events are free to attend and open to the public.
“En Iwamura: Yama-Asobi” at Ross + Kramer
Plenty of international galleries have set up shop in Miami, including New York-based gallery Ross + Kramer, which opened its Miami Beach outpost with a splashy show from Daniel Arsham that was somewhat overshadowed by other Art Basel-adjacent functions. For its newest show, the gallery dispensed with famous locals in favor of a sculptor from the Far East, En Iwamura. The Japanese artist’s Yama-Asobi sculptures offer a playful, pop-informed take on the mountainous landscapes of his homeland. On view through Saturday, March 9, at Ross + Kramer Gallery, 1910 Alton Rd., Miami Beach; 917-675-7293; rkgallery.com.
“the thing which is not: two artists, two poems” at Emerson Dorsch
Emerson Dorsch’s latest show pairs sculpture from Washington State-born artist Shauna Fahley with Cuban immigrant painter Ernesto Gutiérrez Moya, both responding to poetry by Carl Phillips and Jose Martí. Fahley’s equestrian statues, broken into pieces, recall the ancient Greco-Roman heroic monuments still replicated across the world in various contexts. They’re situated in conversation with Gutiérrez Moya’s fantastical canvases, painted in a style reminiscent of Baroque and Renaissance artists such as Brueghel and El Greco, as well as darker symbolists such as Böcklin and Beksiński. On view through Saturday, March 23, at Emerson Dorsch, 5900 NW Second Ave., Miami; 305-576-1278; emersondorsch.com.
“Jack Kabangu: being in love with my work is a gift, but at the same time also a curse” at Jupiter Contemporary
Born in Zambia, Jack Kabangu was forced to flee his parents’ homeland in the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to civil war, a story mirroring that of countryman and Jupiter Contemporary founder Gabriel Kilongo. He ended up in Copenhagen, where he makes colorful, cartoonish figurative paintings reminiscent of Condo, Basquiat, Gary Simmons, and even Hilma Af-Klint. The bright colors and melting faces transmit the artist’s anxiety over his traumatized past. This show marks his debut gallery presentation in North America. On view through Saturday, March 23, at Jupiter Contemporary, 1217 71st St., Miami Beach; 786-238-7299; jupitercontemporary.com.
Ezra Johnson, Genevieve Cohn, and Jamaal Peterman at Mindy Solomon Gallery
Ezra Johnson depicts the “tropical noir” atmosphere of his hometown of Tampa in “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” while Genevieve Cohn explores labor from a feminist perspective in “To Sow From Stones.” Finally, Jamaal Peterman presents boldly hued, intriguing paintings in his debut exhibition, “Distant Memories.” On view through Sunday, March 30, at Mindy Solomon Gallery, 848 NW 22nd St., Miami; 786-953-6917; mindysolomon.com.
“Between Latitudes” at the Collective 62
Miami’s status as a city of transients and immigrants, some willing and others not, figures strongly in its identity. Two Miami-based Argentinian artists, Luján Candria and Marina Gonella, explore these themes in “Between Latitudes” at the Collective 62. Using photos and other mediums, they explore the feeling of being caught between the Miami they exist in now and the Buenos Aires they left behind. On view through Thursday, April 18, at the Collective 62, NW 62nd St., Miami; instagram.com/thecollective62.
“Joel Gaitan: En El Corazón Del Infierno, En Las Alturas Del Cielo” at KDR
In English, the title of Nicaraguan-American artist Joel Gaitan’s latest presentation at KDR translates to “In the heart of hell, in the heights of heaven.” After a strong showing last year at NSU Art Museum, Gaitan continues fusing traditional Mesoamerican ceramics with shamelessly trashy, hood-rich motifs drawn from his Hialeah upbringing. An overarching three-part concept running from “Genesis” to “Revelations” anchors the adventurous new show. On view Friday, March 1, through Friday, March 30, at KDR, 790 NW 22nd St., Miami; 305-392-0416; kdr305.com. By appointment only.
“Mark Delmont: Papers” at African Heritage Cultural Arts Center
Born and raised in Carol City, Oolite Arts resident Mark Delmont explores immigrant experiences, including those of his Haitian and Jamaican parents, in this show at Liberty City’s African Heritage Cultural Arts Center curated by Amy Galpin of the Museum of Art and Design at Miami Dade College. His textured, figurative canvases, which incorporate materials such as tile and sheet metal, are comparable to Henry Thomas, Amoako Boafo, and other Black diasporic artists centering their lived experiences. Delmont will give an artist talk at 6 p.m. this Saturday at AHCAC, which is free to attend with RSVP via eventnoire.com. On view Saturday, March 2, through Monday, March 25, at African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, 6161 NW 22nd Ave., Miami; 305-638-6771; ahcacmiami.org.
“Dahlia Elsayed & Andrew Haik Demirjian: SK3000” at Locust Projects
This immersive installation from two New York-based artists of Middle Eastern heritage reinterprets an Islamic architectural concept, the sabil kuttab (a combination of school and water dispensary), for a new era threatened by global water privatization and shortage. Featuring bright patterns and colors, “SK3000” aims to make us think about how community spaces can function in times of turmoil. The show will launch with a meet-the-artists reception on Saturday, March 2, and feature an artists talk on April 6. On view Saturday, March 2, through Saturday, May 4, at Locust Projects, 297 NE 67th St., Miami; 305-576-8570; locustprojects.org.
“Dominik Schmitt: From Darkness Comes Color” at the CAMP Gallery
This show at CAMP Gallery in North Miami, curated by Gabriel Torres, features surreal images from multimedia artist Schmitt. The German’s concerns over the uncertainties of the future manifest in compositions featuring bright colors and amorphous geometric shapes and body parts. On view Friday, March 8, through Friday, March 29, at the CAMP Gallery, 791 NE 125th St., North Miami; 786-953-8807; thecampgallery.com.
“Spirit in the Land” at Pérez Art Museum Miami
As a city bounded by two national parks, Miami should know a thing or two about living with nature. That may be part of the reason why PAMM has decided to put on “Spirit in the Land,” a group show celebrating the beauty and tragedy of humanity’s relationship with the earth. Originally staged at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in North Carolina, the show includes artworks by major names, including Carrie Mae Weems, Terry Adkins, Hew Locke, Firelei Báez, and others. On view Thursday, March 21, through Saturday, September 8, at Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-375-3000; pamm.org. Tickets cost $12 to $16.
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