Critics Pick

"Pig to man, man to pig, then pig to man again." The last sentence of George Orwell's Animal Farm is the title of Brandon Opalka's exhibit of paintings and watercolors at Rocket Projects. For his first solo show, Opalka, a native Miamian, has culled figurative elements from Orwell's book -- pigs, donkeys, and horses are prevalent -- to comment on the current political state of America. The self-taught, 26-year-old former graffiti artist has created eye-popping abstract landscapes awash in a utopian color scheme of acid, fluorescent, and muted tones, while weaving a sylvan narrative in which all animals, domestic or wild, might be considered equal. Over the past year, Opalka has been painting aggressively for this show, and his remarkable growth is evident in these works. -- Carlos Suarez De Jesus

"Pig to Man, Man to Pig, Then Pig to Man Again"

Through December 30, Rocket Projects, 3440 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-576-6082. Opening reception December 4, 7:00 p.m.

The closest thing the notoriously conservative residents of Basel have to a Miami blowout is their Fasnacht, a distinctly Swiss version of carnival, where they indulge in well-behaved mayhem and out-of-tune guggenmusik. Well, it appears the Swiss, universally admired for their banking and chocolates, have learned to pack the hangover bromides and loosen their girdles, earning some street cred with this year's happy hour at Art Positions.

Container-village cocktails on the sand and DJs Mark Leventhal and Stephan Luke get the art shaking with a primer on how we transform party into a verb. Baselites can consider this a dress rehearsal for Saturday night, when Miami harlots herself out full throttle in the Design District and Wynwood for Art Bacchanal. -- Carlos Suarez De Jesus

Happy Hour at Art Positions

December 2-4, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., beachfront at Collins Avenue and 21st Street.

The U.S. premiere of Autobiografía by pioneer interdisciplinary Cuban artist Tania Bruguera takes place Friday night as part of the OmniArt "urban intervention." The work, primarily a sound installation, consists of a solitary microphone dangling over a platform in a spare room. Spectators are invited to step up on the stage and speak into the mike.

On opposing walls, speakers blare excerpts of speeches by Fidel Castro while the spectators' microphone remains turned off. A controller at a soundboard across the room adds to the tension between the fragmented elements, creating an unspoken commentary on the illusory aspects of power.

Brugera, who splits her time between Cuba and Chicago, where she teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, explains that the work elaborates on the idea of autobiography and how political speeches -- on an emotionally visceral level -- have been markers in her life. "It relates to the illusion of democracy," she says, "and how a single person's voice can become diluted by the collective." -- Carlos Suarez De Jesus

Autobiografía

December 3, 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., Warehouse 1, NE 2nd Avenue at 13th Street, Miami. 305-576-2950.

Curator Patricia Risso has worked some magic for the Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation Department, organizing "Art Expressions" at the county's Matheson Hammock Park and Tropical Park, where fifteen local artists have created head-turning works to the delight of the unsuspecting. At Tropical Park check out Patricia Van Dalen's Picnic Garden, evoking a field of tri-colored tulips executed from 15,000 marker flags. Visit Richard Medlock's meditative Zen space or ponder Carolina Sardi's delicate, latticed, beehive-like structures.

Over at Matheson Hammock Park, Cesar Trasobares has installed orchids made of dollar bills, Veronica Scharf-Garcia has laced apron poems around palm trees, and Carol Cornelison has created jumbo bird nests. Other artists include Tim Curtis, Corina Maddalozzo, Brian Reedy, Claudia Scalise, Alette Simmons-Jimenez, Daniel Fiorda, Ivan Martinez, Matthew Cox, and Peter Kuentzel. -- Carlos Suarez De Jesus

Art Expressions

Through January 7, Matheson Hammock Park, 9610 Old Cutler Rd., Coral Gables; Tropical Park, 7900 Bird Rd., West Miami-Dade; 305-755-7948. Call for park hours.

Preeminent American conceptual artist Jenny Holzer recently debuted her fist public work in more than a decade. Since October Xenon Projections has visited the surfaces of buildings in New York City, Washington, D.C., Liverpool, and Berlin. In Miami the Freedom Tower will provide the background screen for Holzer's trademark epigrams. A powerful projector will beam across the tower's faade poems by Walt Whitman and others, text taken from declassified government documents, and appropriated slogans such as "Whatever you are, be a good one," a quote from Abraham Lincoln. Though Holzer's aphorisms can be provocative and bewildering ("Protect me from what I want," "Any surplus is immoral"), the act of viewing her luminous, scrolling texts is oddly soothing, and the reaction of the beholder becomes part of the work. -- Jean Carey