Steel and Mirrors

For aficionados of bold, abstract metal sculptures, two artists at Pan American Art Projects (2450 NW Second Ave., Miami) offer contrasting visions through works that are both unexpected and gravity-defying. Ted Larsen’s show, “Gimrack,” boasts salvaged steel and mixed-media pieces rife with color and unpredictable shapes. The labor-intensive sculptures are often cobbled together painstakingly, like a puzzle. “It can take years to develop the forms, with many false starts and revisions,” says Larsen, whose forms might appear random but are conceptually freighted. Larsen’s daring geometrical eye-teasers will be on view during this weekend’s Second Saturday Art Walk, beginning at 6 p.m. at Pan American, along with Carolina Sardi’s equally stunning suite of works in her show, “Fairy Tales.” Perhaps best known for her beguiling wall installations often reminiscent of cascading organic and uncanny forms, Sardi has introduced fresh surfacing to her pieces. She employs the process of plating steel in chrome, gold, copper, and silver finishes to convey the impression of shining firmaments. The result places the viewer before a fragmented mirror, while the forms cast a constellation of beguiling shadows on the walls behind them. “These effects are addressing the question of form and essence, what is real and what is not, and the mythical idea of the man reflecting in a mirror as Narcissus once did,” Sardi explains.
Sat., Jan. 12, 6 p.m., 2013