Arts & Entertainment

Art Capsules

By Carlos Suarez De Jesus 

Animals: Although you won't find a Napoleon, Bluebell, or Snowball in Juan Erlich's mutant menagerie, his eye-popping c-prints on Plexiglas evoke a sense of Orwell's Animal Farm. His bizarre beasties appear in lush natural settings devoid of any signs of human life, hinting at a dystopian future, or the aftermath of an eco-disaster. — Carlos Suarez De Jesus Through March 22. Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery, 2441 NW Second Ave., Miami; 305-573-1333, www.artnet.com/reitzel.html.

Female Nudes: Blake Fisher's fetching silver gelatin prints are reminiscent of the photography of Bill Brandt and Lucien Clergue, and exude a timeless quality. Some of his models are bathed in soft natural light; others are cloaked in a dramatic chiaroscuro. Fisher's images are often rhythmic and fluid, his models beautiful and athletic. The women stretch out like felines or strike knotted poses. In most of the photos, the women's faces are concealed, or their bodies are truncated like classical Greek statues. They are uncontrived and have a strong universal appeal. — Carlos Suarez De Jesus Through March 29. Miami Center for the Photographic Arts, 1601 SW First St., Miami; 305-649-9575, www.mcpagallery.com.

KX2: This sister act reflects how the sum can become greater than its parts when the creative urge has run into a wall. Feeling they'd hit a speed bump in their respective fields, jewelry designer Ruth Avra and sibling Dana Lynn Kleinman, an abstract painter, fused their talents in 2006 to create a collection marking their solo debut at ArtCenter/South Florida. The collaboration has paid off in spades for both artists: Their lustrous confections will represent the United States this summer at the Beijing Biennale, where Avra and Kleinman are hoping to make a splash with the public during the Olympic games in China. — Carlos Suarez De Jesus Through March 30. ArtCenter/South Florida, 800 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach; 305-674-8278, www.artcentersf.org.

Hipótesis de la Locura, Jardin Hermético, and Ted Larsen New Works: At Pan American Art projects, Gustavo Acosta's large atmospheric acrylic-on-canvas paintings convey a vision of sprawling urban settings as if observed through the window of an airplane. In the project room, Ted Larsen weighs in with an eponymous exhibit that brings what might be described as a Rube Goldberg sensibility to minimalism in his monochrome pieces creaking with immaculate ingenuity. In "Jardin Hermético," Carlos Estevez creates enigmatic mixed-media assemblages that are alchemical in nature. His complex constructions wrap around the viewer like tentacles drawing one into Tim Burton's locker or the cabinet of Dr. Caligari. — Carlos Suarez De Jesus Through April 5. Pan American Art Projects, 2450 NW Second Ave., Miami; 305-573-2400, www.panamericanart.com.

Group exhibition: Art dealer Cristina Rizzo's new 1,900-square-foot space, nestled behind the Bacardi Building on Biscayne Boulevard, specializes in contemporary photography and something else most Wynwood joints can't boast: parking. Rizzo's group show features high-end photography by international talent including Domiziana Giordano, Alejandro Garmendia, Pierre Sernet, Emanuela Gardner, and Valdir Cruz, each of whom she plans to give solo exhibits in the months to come. — Carlos Suarez De Jesus Through April 6. Untitled 2144, 2144 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-576-2112, www.untitled2144.com.

Wifredo Lam in North America: More than a quarter-century after his death, Cuba's greatest artist is finally getting his due in the first large-scale solo exhibition of the master's work. The beautifully encyclopedic show features more than 60 paintings and drawings spanning the breadth of Lam's prolific career. The Miami version of the traveling exhibit has been beefed up with nearly 30 additional works loaned by local collectors, many of them Cuban-Americans. — Carlos Suarez De Jesus Through May 18. Miami Art Museum, 101 W. Flagler St., Miami; 305-375-3000, www.miamiartmuseum.org.