Spring is the season in which we traditionally embrace notions of rebirth and renewal. It's a time when the weather starts getting warmer, when we become eager to clean house, do some gardening, or to escape the soul-withering environs of the big city to commune with nature.
See also: Locust Projects Debuts Ruby Sky Stiler Solo and "Sounding Room"
But if you can't get away this weekend to enjoy those wide open spaces, then make sure to visit the Wynwood's art walk where a selection of timely shows will remind you of the healing powers of the countryside. Beginning at five tomorrow, you can catch Holly Lynton's inspiring photos of New England farmers and their spiritual connections to animals and nature at the Dina Mitrani Gallery.
Over at the University of Miami's Wynwood Gallery you can also check out John R. Van Beekum's exhibit capturing the everyday life of average people living and working in the blistering landscapes of Texas.
Here are our our top picks:
"Bare Handed" at Dina Mitrani Gallery
For Holly Lynton what we consume both visually and agriculturally has been an enduring source of inspiration. In her first solo at Dina Mitrani, Lynton presents three distinct, yet related series of large-format photographs. She took the photographs over the last seven years, and they tell the stories of rural farmers from New England to South Carolina. The show focuses on their deep spiritual connections to the environment, animal life and the forces of nature.
"I look for moments of wonder and spiritual resonance in my subjects and aim to depict the delicate balance between dominance and surrender, which is at the core of their every interaction," says Lynton whose arresting imagery reference the history of art.
"HORSE" at Gallery Diet
Mateo Tannatt offers a contrasting meditation on the shifting nature of the urban landscape in his first solo at Gallery Diet. The gallery presents Studio Agony (Revisited), the Los Angeles-based artist's most recent project alongside a newly commissioned sound piece. Tannatt's eerie imagery unexpectedly communicates Wynwood's radical transformation over the past decade.
"More Land Than People: Life on the Texas High Plains" at University of Miami Art Gallery at the Wynwood Building.
The symbiotic relationship between man and his surroundings is also the subject of John R. Van Beekum's Master of Fine Arts exhibition at the University of Miami's Wynwood gallery. For his project, Van Beekum returned to his native Texas to capture the everyday experiences of the spirited people who live and work on the vast, arid expanses of the Texas High Plains.
"Their very existence is continually shaped by the ground beneath their feet," says Van Beekum.
"Reliquary" at Pan American Art Projects
If you seek proof that cats aren't the only creatures fascinated with boxes than mosey on over to Pan American Art Projects where a trio of offerings features a broad selection of artists who have created boxed assemblages.
On view is a solo by Carlos Estevez whose works riffs on reliquaries in the religious world. The second show, "Inside the Box," is a group exhibit boasting names such as Luis Cruz Azaceta, Ricardo Brey, Edouard Duval Carrié, and Carolina Sardi among others.
In Pan Am's video room don't miss works that take on political themes, including a wicked "microwave" assemblage by Leon Ferrari that flash fries the Catholic Church while questioning the existence of hell.
Ruby Sky Stiler: Sun Breaker at Locust Projects
Stiler, a New York-based artist, marks her South Florida debut at Locust Projects with her largest installation to date.
Stiler has reconfigured Locust's main gallery space with walls she has created by combining elements of mid-century modern motifs with cast plaster relief sculptures in a site-specific work that refracts light in playful, geometric patterns.
In Locust's project space catch "Sounding Room," a collaborative experimental audio and sculpture project featuring the work of Mindy Abovitz, Terry Berlier, Felecia Carlisle, Luciano Chessa, Christy Gast, Valerie George, Dawn Kasper, Daren Kendall, Eli Lehrhoff, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung.
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