At first blush a new exhibit in Wynwood might give spectators the impression that they have stumbled upon crime scene pictures taken in the aftermath of a case of domestic violence during a family dinner. Some of the arresting photographs depict what appear to be blood splatter stains while others show shattered china.
But instead the images are part of Alexandra Rowley's solo exhibit titled "Process," in which the New York-based artist is presenting a suite of large-format photos both abstract and figurative in which she mines ideas of transformation. Rowley's captivating pictures will be on view during this weekend's Second Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. at the Dina Mitrani Gallery.
Our other picks for this edition of Art Walk's top offerings feature everything from an eco fashion line at a pop-up boutique to the contrasting visions of three painters and a Korean artist's intrepid Styrofoam Van Gogh tribute.
See also:
- Wynwood Art Walk: Out of Control or Just a Damn Good Time?
- Miami Herald 's Two Years Too Late to the Wynwood Art Walk Party
Process
Alexandra Rowley explores the experience of "process" from diverse perspectives ranging from her body, her studio, her home, her infant child, and our planet. These works convey notions of life's endless cycles of creation, fruition, and destruction, explains Dina Mitrani, the gallery's owner. "Those red stains in some of her pictures are from beets she was cooking and the broken dishes are family heirlooms she has collected as relics," says the dealer. "Her work is about the process of creating art and creating a life."
Dina Mitrani Gallery, 2620 NW 2nd Ave., Miami. Call 786-486-7248 or visit dinamitranigallery.com.
La Maison du Désir/The House of Desire
Miami's Lea Nickless and her conceptual partner, Conrad Hamather, an artist who lives and teaches in Chicago, are creating a pop-up boutique with atelier garment collections and objects referencing the luxury goods industry as part of their project at Swampspace. The creative duo's collaborative installation will also include a collection of monoprints and a video time-lapse drawing they say will "continue the exchange between the digital and the body, technology and art, and the corporal and the spiritual". To add yet a further dimension to the House of Desire, Nickless and Hamather have invited Atlanta-based design wiz Keith Frutiger to create an atmospheric floor for their boutique.
Swampspace,150 NE 42nd St., Miami. Call 305-710-8631 or visit swamspace.blogspot.com.
Roy Dowell and Alexander Kroll
This two-person show at the Fredric Snitzer Gallery marks the first time ever these Los Angeles-based artists have exhibited together. Boasting one painting and eight collages by Dowell and four paintings by Kroll, the show offers viewers a seamless yet contrasting vision of their disparate approaches to creating art. Where Dowell employs a lexicon rife with graphic design and pattern and decoration elements, Kroll's large-scale works seek to inspire a "relational intensity between artist and object as well as object and viewer."
Fredric Snitzer Gallery, 2247 NW 1st Pl., Miami. Call 305-448-8976 or visit snitzer.com.
The Monuments
For his first US solo show, Kyu Hak Lee channels the spirit of Vincent Van Gogh in what might be dubbed an affectionate homage to one of art history's most iconic masters. The Korean artist spins a new twist into familiar scenes from Van Gogh's oeuvre creating a series of monuments confected from Styrofoam as a commentary on what he calls the "vanity" of contemporary culture. The scale and texture of these works are designed to hijack viewers into a complex visual game says the artist.
Black Square Gallery, 2248 NW 1st Pl., Miami, Call 305-424-5002 or visit blacksquaregallery.com.
Chase Westfall
Making his solo debut at the Design District's 101/Exhibit, Chase Westfall's paintings convey the artist's notions of the opposing forces of the secular and spiritual, order and ecstasy, minimalist tendencies and traditional painting. He combines the abstract and the hidden-in-plain-sight, often referencing concepts of animal sacrifice, surgery and modern medicine, with war and contemporary Judeo-Christian traditions. By exploring themes that are polar opposites, Westfall seeks to create ambiguous imagery where violence is unearthed and the peace is fleeting".
101/Exhibit, 101 NE 40th St., Miami. Call 305-573-2101or visit 101exhibit.com.
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