Private collection explores erotic instinct through art

Comments (0) By Carlos Suarez De Jesus Thursday, Feb 24 2011

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Le Chant des Oiseaux, an intriguing legal-pad-sized oil-on-panel by Carrington, one of the last living surrealists of her era, conjures the hostile dance between the life and death instincts. In it, the figures of a nude man and woman are portrayed locked in an uneasy embrace, each clutching the other's decapitated head. In 2005, Carrington set a record at auction for the highest price paid for the work of a living surrealist painter.

A large canvas by Lam depicts Leda and the swan at the time of their sexual consummation, as a terrifying horned spirit watches from a jungle clearing. The Cuban artist's opus flickers with an eerie feverish glow, as Lam's pendulous-breasted Leda surrenders to the passionate thrusts of Zeus disguised as a stylized swan. Lam re-envisions the classical myth as the mating between the Afro-Cuban deities of his tropical island and the unbridled forces of nature.

Wilfredo Lam's Leda and the Swan

Details

Through June 30, at Dorissa Building, 2751 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-576-2914; miamibiennale.org. Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Although the collection will strike some as conventional and the presentation as uneven, it does boast many works not typically seen here outside a museum, and several on display in the section on eroticism, despite being denied pride of place at the entrance of the space, alone are worth the trip.