Put a Bird on It

Comments (0) By Jacob Katel Thursday, Mar 10 2011

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Oye, Miami. The Bird Road Art Walk is back again, and you’re invited to eat, drink, and tour the working studios of Southwest Dade’s artists. Luis Fuentes says, “There’s something very Cuban, very Latin, about papier-mâché. I’ve got a new sculpture called Twisted Café, a big Cuban coffee pot that I’ll be debuting for the Bird Road Art Walk.” Fuentes calls his fusion of bright colors, sense of movement, 3-D paintings, and papier-mâché sculptures “radical art.” This month he’ll open his studio (4229 SW 75th Ave., Miami) to the world with a show called “Carnaval Groove,” a tribute to Calle Ocho’s street party and Latin culture in Miami. Fuentes operates one of the two dozen studios that make up the Bird Road Art District. Every third Saturday of the month from 7 to 10 p.m., the warehouse area comes to life with a moonlight tour of working studios. Most of them are located off SW 75th Avenue between Bird Road and SW 48th Street. A big yellow school bus transports guests to and from all the other spaces. On 74th Avenue, you’ll find glassblower Matthew Nickel Miller’s Nickel Glass Gallery (4432 SW 74th Ave., Miami). He says, “My art is a collaboration between glassblowing, metal work, and carpentry. I’ve been perfecting these three trades since I was 15 years old, and the work creates unity between the three elements.” The area offers a great diversity of work from emerging to established artists. And Robert Bilbao’s warehouse (4396 SW 74th Ave., Miami) offers sexual imagery edgier than any we’ve seen in Wynwood.
Sat., March 19, 7 p.m., 2011