We love the idea of nightclub as gallery. Next-door neighbors Bar and the Vagabond change their walls so frequently it's like a never-ending series of different venues each month. One night you can party in a graffiti-clad urban jungle and the next in a cartoonish play-land. And in April, the Vagabond will be the nightclub of bubbles and jellyfish, and paintings that change at every angle.
For its "Artist of the Month" series, in which a local painter gets to
For its "Artist of the Month" series, in which a local painter gets to
deck out the space with their own vision, the Vagabond chose Lorie
Setton for April. The Fort Lauderdale-based artist this week installed
large-scale compositions from two series of works, "Hybrid Landscapes"
and "Clouded & Clear."
The first, which Setton says "is still a baby," is inspired by the painter's travels. It's composed of different objects, weathers, and terrains paired together realistically but that are not found together in real life. For example, in Stars and Sleep a mountain landscape is made from bed sheets that use color and light so they appear to undulate. "It is a sort of homage to sleeping under the stars, something I did very often while traveling cross country," the artist explains.
And the works in "Clouded & Clear," an especially fitting concept for a trippy bar, have no top or bottom, can be viewed from any angle, and change imagery depending on the direction in which you look at them. One painting looks like raindrops when viewed vertically and a floating jellyfish when viewed horizontally. Forget glow sticks, that's enough to keep any Miami Music Week reveler occupied for hours.
Setton, who studied art at Florence University and University of Florida, landed her work on the club's walls almost by chance. She had started dating a guy who was friends with Vagabond's owner. He saw her paintings and immediately suggested her as an artist to feature at the club. "I'm pretty sure he was just trying to impress me by playing agent," Setton says. But she loves the way Vagabond's light effects and spotlights change the look of her paintings at night. Plus, she says, "having my work on the walls means that people from all walks of life get to see it. It's not limited to gallery goers, but it's the artists, musicians, the amazing Vagabond crowd that sees it."
You can catch "Hybrid Landscapes" and "Clouded & Clear" throughout the entire month of April at the Vagabond (30 NE 14th St., Miami). Call 305-379-0508 or visit thevagabondmiami.com.
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