53. Rocky Grimes

 In honor of our MasterMind genius awards, Cultist proudly presents “100 Creatives,” where we feature Miami’s cultural superheroes in random order. Have suggestions for future profiles? Email cultist@miaminewtimes.com with the whos and whys.

Rocky Grimes is a self-taught artist. But more than that, he’s a problem solver and an innovator who continues to grow and learn. His artistic path started out not as expressive art but as a desire to teach himself how to screen print in the garage of his parent’s house in the Florida Keys. It was the 90s and he wanted to make punk t-shirts and patches with his brother and friends.

Since then he has used his knowledge and innovative spirit to create some of the most unique prints in all of South Florida, applying them to t-shirts, walls, furniture, and anything else that crossed his path. Grimes also toys with a project known as Faction which seeks to “defy the conventional methods of the silk screen medium.”

During Art Basel 08′ he rolled a hospital food cart through the streets of Wynwood loaded with several silkscreens, ink, and a rinse-bin filled with water while printing live for willing and unwilling crowds. Currently, his shirts can be found at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami as well as various boutiques and galleries throughout the U.S.

Grimes has also expanded his artistic repertoire to include making stop motion films and installations out of found and built objects. The South Dade artist continues to push the boundaries of creation, his own and those of others. “I’m not interested in following any set rule. I’m more interested in the path unfolding before me rather than following some premeditated paradigm that can become stifling,” he says. His work continues to evolve, while remaining relevant and thought provoking. And like a true catcher in the Glades, he has a son named Holden, which is pretty damn cool . . . 

 1. List five things that inspire you.

 – Small movements or individuals operating in obscurity for the sake of doing whatever it is they do.
– Limitations
– Extremes in weather
– My son
– Memories brought on by the senses

2. What was your last big project?

My solo show, “Anxious Filth.”
 

3. What’s your next big project?

 Preparing for SCOPE New York, a video show at the Dali Museum in St. Pete and completing my hand screen printed zine tentatively titled Grind.

4. Why do you do what you do?

To experience a path that unfolds as I unlock inner worlds. To communicate. To experience life in the moment. To exist. To push back. To struggle. To get dirty. To internalize my experiences in travel and conversation in order to grow. To resist. To learn. To listen. To feel better.
 

5. What’s something you want Miami to know about you?

I have a studio in a non for profit space known as Art South at the southern tip of Dade County… down by the gators and Everglades National Park. It is open to the public and I am sometimes present during operating hours.

What’s something you don’t want Miami to know about you?

I am really bad with names.

The Creatives so far:

54. Teresa Barcelo