On view during Miami Art Week 2024 at the Rubell Museum is a presentation of works by the artist Vanessa Raw. Currently participating in the museum’s artist-in-residence program, Raw imagines unrestrained images of freedom and love through melodic oil paintings on linen. “Vanessa’s paintings feel historically classical yet capture the mood of this generation,” Rubell shared with Whitewall ahead of the presentation.
Works like On Earth we weren’t meant to stay (2023) and When I talk to the night (2024) join other collected works shown by the museum during this time—including recent acquisitions by Murjoni Merriweather, Omari Douglin, La Monte Westmoreland, and Emmanuel Louisnord Desir—which visitors can enjoy while onsite this winter. Whitewall spoke with Mera Rubell to hear how this year’s presentation unfolds in the museum’s unmissable space, and what she hopes the Rubell legacy will be.
Untitled, Rashid Johnson, 2015, mirrored tile, black soap, wax, vinyl, shea butter, books, and paint. 100 x 126 x 14 in. (254 x 320 x 35.6 cm). Acquired in 2015. Courtesy of the artist and the Rubell Museum.
Vanessa Raw at The Rubell Museum
WHITEWALL: Vanessa Raw is your 2024 artist-in-residence. How does her practice and its overall messaging align with the museum’s?
MERA RUBELL: The museum strives to collect and present the most compelling artists working today, and Vanessa and her practice of creating work that envisions tranquil worlds centered on female desire and agency spoke to us as an artistic voice that merited amplification and would resonate with international audiences.
“The museum strives to collect and present the most compelling artists working today,” —Mera Rubell
Vanessa Raw, When I talk to the night, 2024, oil on linen
94.5 x 78.5 in. (240 x 200 cm), acquired in 2024. Courtesy of the artist and the Rubell Museum.
WW: Additionally, the museum will show recent acquisitions, including works by Omari Douglin, Josh Kline, Solange Pessoa, Mai-Thu Perret, and Andro Wekua. How do these works spark dialogue with one another in the space?
MR: Each artist is given their own gallery space to present their full vision, so while there isn’t necessarily a dialogue between these exhibitions, these artists are all connected by similarly communicating through their practices, their experiences, living in this current moment.
Untitled, Andro Wekua, 2014, synthetic hair, silicone, wax, polymer plaster, PU foam, steel, glass, synthetic rope, aluminum cast, fabric, motors, electronics and mechanics, ed. 1/2
66 1/4 x 23 5/8 x 63 1/2 in. (168 x 60 x 161 cm), acquired in 2016. Courtesy of the artist and the Rubell Museum.
Don and Mera Rubell Celebrate 60 Years Together
WW: This year, you and your husband, Don, celebrated 60 years as a married couple, and most of those years have been dedicated to collecting art. What do you hope the Rubell legacy is?
MR: My wish is that our legacy is marked by a love of collecting art and sharing it with the public, which is a passion that Don and I hope to pass on to future generations.
“My wish is that our legacy is marked by a love of collecting art and sharing it with the public,” —Mera Rubell
Don and Mera Rubell. Courtesy of the Rubell Museum.
WW: What are you looking forward to about this year’s edition of Art Week in Miami?
MR: We always look forward to the kind of enthusiastic, curious, and open-minded people that come to Miami to experience the art that is on view there during Art Week. The fairs like Art Basel bring so much artistic talent from all over the world to Miami, and it’s a joy to welcome audiences that are so eager to experience it.
“We always look forward to the kind of enthusiastic, curious, and open-minded people that come to Miami,” —Mera Rubell
