Through a Glass, Extravagantly

Jean-Michel Othoniel creates a fragile and fantastic fantasy world

Comments (0) By Alfredo Triff Thursday, Jun 17 2004

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Outside MoCA a group of younger Miami artists seemed definitely taken by Othoniel's show. Others did not agree. One veteran photographer told me: "The whole thing is simply horrible." I wasn't surprised. Othoniel's art is unique and possesses that beauty in which, as Italian writer Mario Praz puts it, "the more bitter the taste, the more abundant the enjoyment."

Patrick Gries

Othoniel's Mon lit, 2003

Details

By Jean-Michel Othoniel. Through August 31; Call 305-893-6211.

Museum of Contemporary Art, 770 NE 125th St, North Miami

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If Miami's art explosion is a good sign of our city's development, another positive change is our recent art-criticism "bang," which has been supported by this column since early 2002. Now there is not only more cultural diversity, but also younger voices with different takes on art. In Street readers have enjoyed the articles of Omar Sommereyns, Mary Sutter, Joel Weinstein, and Franklin Einspruch. In this column they've read Carlos Suarez de Jesus, Vivian Marthell, and Michelle Weinberg's reviews, among others. Add to this pack Elisa Turner's voice at the Miami Heraldand it makes for a good critics' scene.

To address this new development I will host a critics' panel on Thursday, June 24, at 8:00 p.m. at Fredric Snitzer Gallery (305-448-8976). We'll tackle Miami's art scene, critics' objectivity and conflicts of interest, consensus and subjectivity, and the art market. You're all invited.