Brooklyn-based artist, Ruby Sky Stiler's conscious constant has been the female figure. But where others might choose more stereotypical representations of the female form, Stiler's work has a firmness and weight that, while celebrating the form, also cements it as a symbol of authority. The artist's firm solo show in Miami, hosted by Locust Projects, is a "sculptural engagement with the female form and its manifestation in the varied dialects of twentieth century abstraction."
This installation at Locust, Sun Breaker, takes its cues from the architectural technique of brise soleil, a decorative and functional application of perforated surfaces that allows for the free flow of air and light through a building's façade. For an example of brise soleil, take a look at Miami's skyline, the tropical, modernist architecture is practically native to the Magic City.
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But where nostalgia for the city's look might underpin the installation, Stiler keeps it within her comfort zone. She plays with the interrelationship between the female body and architecture, examining the interrelationship between the two forms. Her large sculptures present the female form through the distorted lens of modern abstraction. According to Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, Stiler uses "both conventional and everyday materials to create a body of work that mines a productive tension between high and low, the monumental and the prop-like, as well as the geometric and the organic."
Stiler's installation also works beyond the sculptural and the architectural with elements of participation and kinetic art that "create a structure that the viewer looks both at and through." Her sculpture plays with the intricacies of light and reflection, as the "compositions within her cast plaster wall reliefs are illuminated only when light rakes across their ghostly surfaces."
The exhibit will also feature animation created by Stiler from the pattern-creation process on her scanner that incorporates a loose narrative of the female figure. Miami-based Exile Books will be releasing her new book in conjunction with this project.
Aside from offering exciting and fresh art, Locust Projects is also makes savvy use of its new digs. Their project room will feature the collaborative installation, "Sounding Room." The experimental audio project featuring the work of Mindy Abovitz, Terry Berlier, Felecia Chizuko Carlisle, Luciano Chessa, Christy Gast, Valerie George, Daren Kendall, Eli Lehrhoff, Ian Szydlowski, and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung.
Spearheaded by Carlisle and George, "Sounding Room" relies on "space activation" and will run from February 28 tho April 18 with performances on opening night, March 21 and closing night. At each performance, artists will leave behind an artifact or trace evidence of a performance so that a chaotic flux is in perpetual motion.
Each performance has a set format, but visitors will be invited to "interact, experiment and generate their own impromptu compositions during a series of community events." Thanks to the digital age, all of the events will be recorded for the Nam June Psyche Archive, which documents experimental sound projects. A selection of the recordings will be pressed on the superior vinyl format to document the Locust Projects' exhibition.
Sun Breaker and "Sounding Room" at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 28 through April 18 at Locust Projects, 3852 N. Miami Ave., Miami. Call 305-576-8570 or visit locustprojects.org.
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