As you’re in town for the fairs this week in Miami, do not sleep on these must-see exhibitions around the city!
“Anne Duk Hee Jordan: I will always weather with you” at The Bass
The Berlin-based artist Anne Duk Hee Jordan unveils a mesmeric symphony of technology and performance at The Bass, investigating the omnipresence of machines in contemporary society. “I will always weather with you”—the artist’s first U.S. solo exhibition—juxtaposes vibrantly hued installations, videos, sounds, and moving objects for a sweeping multisensory show. With wit and creativity, Jordan explores the labyrinthine intersection of humanity, technology, and our fragile natural environment, fusing the glamorized use of devices and our fractured relationship with Mother Nature. Three sections reflecting the changing conditions of air, land, and water invite visitors to experience captivating video projections, mirrored walls, and singing “robotic critters” throughout a sensorial atmosphere of wind and fog. On the momentous occasion of The Bass’s 60th anniversary, the imaginative presentation speaks to the alarming meteorological changes present in South Florida and throughout the world. (December 4, 2023–June 23, 2024)
Best Exhibitions in Miami: Etel Adnan’s “Painting into Space” at The Bass
The Bass presents poetic explorations of painting and architecture by the writer and visual artist Etel Adnan, curated by Dr. James Voorhies. “Painting into Space” delves into the visionary’s deep engagement with both form and color as a meditation on humanity’s evolving connection with our modern, industrial environment. The museum’s procurement of Untitled (2023), an expansive, rainbow-hued ceramic wall mural, serves as the show’s focal point; squares, circles, and triangles ebb and flow in a kaleidoscopic display, echoing society’s comprehensive and rhythmic use of space. (November 24, 2023–March 17, 2024)
Hernan Bas, “A conceptual artist $5 (A budding gilder, his dying houseplants get ‘The Midas Touch’)” (detail), 2022, acrylic, genuine gold leaf and silver leaf on linen, 72 x 60 inches, © Hernan Bas, courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro.
“Hernan Bas: The Conceptualists” at The Bass
As a featured exhibition for The Bass’s 60th anniversary, “Hernan Bas: The Conceptualists” includes 35 paintings, including a sweeping 9-by-21-foot canvas, which immerse viewers in the artist’s spellbinding take on conceptual art as a celebration of queerness and uninhibited self-expression. Each work spotlights a single character wrapped up in distinctive pastimes, from memorializing hitchhikers on the side of the road to sculpting objects to hold ice to embellishing the leaves of decaying houseplants. Surrounded by innumerable cultural motifs, including religion, literature, youth culture, mythology, and the struggle for gay rights, Bas’s magnetic canvases capture their male protagonists in ravishing moments of hushed contemplation and focused study. (December 4, 2023–May 5, 2024)
Nam June Paik, “Miami, FL,” 1990, photography by Brian Smith.
“Nam June Paik: The Miami Years” at The Bass
The Bass pays homage to a groundbreaking artist in digital media with “Nam June Paik: The Miami Years.” Born in Seoul, Paik formed an intimate connection with the South Florida community throughout his prolific career. A pioneer of the “electronic superhighway,” a term coined by the artist to describe his hypnotic, digitized artworks, Paik made creations that were a precursor to our contemporary engrossment with technology and social media. An uncovering of the visionary’s life in Miami Beach weaves throughout the presentation of his cutting-edge works. The show provides detailed insights into the creation of WING and MIAMI, mesmerizing, sculptural installations that once welcomed visitors passing through Miami International Airport in the early 1990s. “Notations,” a diverse program of performances and installations by three contemporary artists in dialogue with Paik’s vision, will commence in February 2024. (October 4, 2023–August 16, 2024)
Basil Kincaid, “Courtship of Fireflies,” 2023, Kente, Ghanaian Wax Block Fabric, cotton, wool, fur, polyester, embroidery floss, tweed, yarn, velvet, curtains, 96 x 168 inches, courtesy of the Rubell Museum.
Best Exhibitions in Miami at The Rubell Museum
The Rubell Museum presents a new season of Collection Highlights, the artist-in-residence presentation “Basil Kincaid: Spirit in the Gift,” and solo exhibitions by leading artists including Sharif Farrag, Danie Cansino, Lauren Halsey, and Alejandro Piñeiro Bello. Kincaid’s engaging Courtship of Fireflies (2023) unfolds as an emotional tapestry of vivid materials; Kente, wool, fur, and Ghanaian wax block fabric come together in a poetic expression of joyful sharing. Kehinde Wiley’s Sleep (2008) presents a Black male protagonist in idyllic slumber, appearing supremely angelic while swathed in white satin sheets and a dreamlike floral bounty. Patrick Martinez debuts the neon Struggle and Progress (Frederick Douglas) (2018), while Alfonso Gonzalez Jr.’s Magic Beauty (2022) embraces modern rituals of self-love in diverse communities. (December 4, 2023–October 20, 2024)
Isabella Mellado, “Forward,” 2022, courtesy of the artist and YoungArts.
“Isabella Mellado: Desde el Charco” at YoungArts
The celebrated artist Isabella Mellado presents bewitching photographs and paintings in a solo exhibition at YoungArts. The 2014 YoungArts Winner in Visual Arts probes the multifaceted realities of their experience as a queer Puerto Rican of the diaspora, interlacing allusions to folklore, tarot, and astrology. The photograph Fallen Angel (2023) depicts a figure donning a metallic embroidered mask reminiscent of the stubborn yet fiercely loyal taurus, juxtaposed against a pastel wall mural of innocent cherubs. In the image Forward (2022), a figure glamorously dressed in a satin gown and opera gloves emerges from the purifying ocean; surreal tattoos peek out on exposed skin, and a luminous, moon-like mask both conceals and reveals. (November 9–December 9, 2023)
Katie Stout, “Griselda,” 2023, Glazed and lustered ceramic, 21 x 17 x 22 inches; courtesy of the artist and Nina Johnson Gallery.
Best Exhibitions in Miami: Katie Stout at Nina Johnson Gallery
Known for infusing everyday objects and sculptures with extraordinary wit and magic, the Brooklyn-based artist Katie Stout offers multifaceted works that impart a subversive narrative of blossoming femininity and an acknowledgment of Mother Nature’s eye for perfection. The artist’s latest presentation at Nina Johnson Gallery will introduce a robust and radiant use of bronze and glass, elevating man’s best friend and garden creatures to mythical proportions. Within Stout’s oeuvre, lighting, seating, and tapestries often evoke figures and materials of the past, uniting them with fantasies of the present. In otherworldly shows, viewers are introduced to crafts brimming with unexpected life: Butt to Butt (2012) is a cheeky papier mâché stool, sculpted into a reclining female figure; And the Other Is Gold (2017), a charming floor lamp, is an earthy character with gilded features; and Narcissus Mirror (2017) brings two female protagonists together in an effort to support a surreal full-length mirror. (December 4, 2023–January 6, 2024)
Yasue Maetake, “Gladiator,” 2022-2023, H21 ½ x 9 ½ x 7 inch Polymer coated found tree branches, casted aluminum, silver leaf, gold leaf, alloys of silver and copper, copper, brass, zinc pewter, polyester resin coated origami, steel chain, alloys of silver and copper and proprietary blend made from an epoxy mixture of seashells, alabaster, animal bones, fossils, lobster shells, corals, washi, aluminum, and glass beads; courtesy of the artist and Nina Johnson Gallery.
“Yasue Maetake: Three-Legged Idols” at Nina Johnson Gallery
The New York–based artist Yasue Maetake brings an intuitive and ever-evolving practice in glass art to Nina Johnson Gallery. Throughout the Exhibition Library, “Three-Legged Idols” will unveil the visionary’s stunning tripod sculptures—fusing a myriad of materials, from seashells to brass, to found tree branches, Maetake’s ethereal works pass on stories of mythology, nature, and humanity in abstract and elegant fashion. Shinto ritual ceremonial dance (2022–23) catches the eye with a statuesque composition of materials including fossils, steel chain, origami, and plywood. Ishtar (2023) is titled after an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love and fertility, Rafflesia (2023) is an ode to earth’s largest flower, and Tanzaku (2022–23) reflects prayer cards suspended from bamboo branches during the traditional Japanese Star Festival. (December 4, 2023–January 6, 2024)
Jamea Richmond-Edwards, “Shirt with Lace Heart,” 2018, Acrylic, spray paint, glitter, ink, collage on canvas, 72 x 128 inches overall; photo by Chi Lam, courtesy of Rubell Museum, Miami and Washington DC.
“Jamea Richmond-Edwards: Ancient Future” at MOCA North Miami
The multidisciplinary artist Jamea Richmond-Edwards journeys into the rich universe of Black mythologies and Afro-futurism for her latest solo presentation at MOCA North Miami. “Ancient Future” is a lively display of major commissions, vivid paintings, film investigations, and engaging installations, communicating the nuances of the Black American experience in charismatic and opulent self-portraits. New paintings debut the addition of soft sculpture to highly imaginative and critical works, while a new video spotlights an electric procession of majorettes. Throughout Miami Art Week, live performances featuring majorettes and a drumline at the MOCA building will blur the lines between art, fantasy, and reality. (October 25, 2023–March 17, 2024)
Installation view of “Juan Francisco Elso: Por América,” photo by Martin Seck, courtesy of El Museo del Barrio.
Juan Francisco Elso: Por América at MOCA North Miami
In “Juan Francisco Elso: Por América,” MOCA North Miami pays homage to the dynamic oeuvre of the late visionary and the rippling effect of his fierce creativity on generations of artists and the international art landscape. Curated by Olga Viso, alongside Susanna V. Temkin of El Museo del Barrio and Adeze Wilford of MOCA North Miami, over 70 works will be showcased in thematic categories. Riveting sculptures by Elso, a leader of post-revolutionary Cuban art, will be brought into vital conversation with creatives such as Tania Bruguera, Glenn Ligon, and Belkis Ayón, with recent commissions by Reynier Leyva Novo and Tiona Nekkia McClodden also on display. Elso’s skilled crafting of natural materials culminated in poignant works that speak to unseen Indigenous and Afro-Caribbean histories, as well as the shadowy repercussions of colonialism on contemporary Cuban, Latin American, and Caribbean identities. (November 1, 2023–March 17, 2023)
