This Thursday night, Jose "Pepe" Frances will bring his online +598 Gallery to life in the Design District with a one-night only pop-up show, "Time and Matter." The evening will feature nearly 20 photographs including native Floridian Jill Peters, chronicling Miami's stunning past and a look towards a less soulful future.
"Time and Matter" will feature a new collection of work by Peters that greatly differs from her classic portraiture.
"Matter, in this case, is predominantly landmark buildings, like the Miami Herald, Miami stadium, Stiltsville, she grew up with all those. Now, in this latest boom of economic growth and real estate development, they're dying out, and she's recording them on their way out," Frances says.
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The show will also be the first for Frances, who founded +598 gallery after moving to Miami last year. When he moved in next to Peters, he capitalized on his sales background in the interior design industry and began building a portfolio of young photographers eager to get more exposure. His growing client base currently includes Dean Isidro, Marco Ovando, Isauro Cairo, and Peters.
After traveling back and forth to New York for the past few months to sell prints, "a friend of mine learned about what I was doing and offered me his space. It's a beautiful, empty space right now in the Design District, 1,000 square feet. I asked Jill if she wanted to do a solo show for the first time, and she said 'Yeah, sure.'" says Frances, speaking of the pop-up show's genesis.
Some of the shots to be featured in Thursday night's show can be found on the +598 Gallery's site, though Frances assures us that there will be new, unseen work as well. Stunning aerial shots of Miami and its environs pair with portraits of decay at iconic landmarks like the now defunct Marine Stadium. Frances says that, depending on the success of this first show, he hopes to curate more with his other artists in the near future.
"Time and Matter" will take place this Thursday, March 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. at 3801 N. Miami Ave., Miami. Entry to the event is free, though Frances requests that guests RSVP to [email protected].
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