Interrogating Systems Amilcar Packer sits naked on a wooden chair in a dimly lit space. At first glance, it appears the artist is waiting to be interrogated by someone off-screen. Video #15 features two simultaneous, symmetrically opposed video recordings that collar viewers from both ends of the room. A rumbling…

Despite the potentially murky bait-and-switch nature of its new show, Miami Art Museum (MAM) delivers an intelligent spectacle of diversity in “Disappearances, Shadows & Illusions.” The exhibit, which aspires to challenge traditional notions of how the public views art, features upward of 50 works by more than 20 artists. “The…

The Wallflower Gallery describes its open-mike night as a “Free Speech Zone” where local bards and troubadours can cut loose with social commentary among like-minded souls. “Ploppy’s Podium usually features spoken-word performances and a band, but this time we are doing something different,” says gallery director Flash. “At 8 p.m.,…

Since moving here from New York City in 1996, Bill Bilowit and Grela Orihuela have had front-row seats to the art brushfire that has engulfed this town. “Art is the currency of Miami now,” Orihuela says. “It’s become a global nexus where art has found a comfortable home,” Bilowit pipes…

Interrogating Systems Amilcar Packer sits naked on a wooden chair in a dimly lit space. At first glance, it appears the artist is waiting to be interrogated by someone off-screen. Video #15 features two simultaneous, symmetrically opposed video recordings that collar viewers from both ends of the room. A rumbling…

You might feel like a bull in a china shop while visiting the stunning new exhibit of glass sculptures at the Lowe Art Museum. Local collectors and University of Miami alumni Myrna and Sheldon Palley have donated their $3.5 million glass collection, amassed during 30 years, to the museum. The…

“I can’t solve the world’s problems. I paint the world’s problems,” Purvis Young has observed in the past. His work brims with stark symbols conveying the economic and cultural divides in the Magic City and beyond. They typically depict images of horses, pregnant women, convoys of trucks, airplanes and angels,…

Interrogating Systems Amilcar Packer sits naked on a wooden chair in a dimly lit space. At first glance, it appears the artist is waiting to be interrogated by someone off-screen. Video #15 features two simultaneous, symmetrically opposed video recordings that collar viewers from both ends of the room. A rumbling…

With ruthless efficiency, Lee Materazzi calls to mind a gangland slaying in a Jersey gravel pit. Her c-print Head in Rocks knifes the gut, evoking what could easily have been a scene lifted from The Sopranos, in which the Bada Bing brethren send a nasty message to anyone contemplating singing…

Welcome to Coconut Grove — artist community turned hotbed of chichi consumerism bordering balmy Biscayne Bay. At this picturesque crossroads, where battered bohemia meets rampant capitalism, locals fondly remember their subtropical enclave’s freewheeling cultural vibe during the Grove’s Sixties and Seventies heyday. For some folks who recall hitting a bong…

Not unlike blues legend Robert Johnson, considered by many to be the granddaddy of rock and roll, Dominic Molon must have found himself tempted by a Faustian deal. Five years ago, the curator was at the crossroads between rockers and artists, confronting the daunting task of exploring the deep-rooted and…

Stay-at-Home Dad For his current project at Hardcore, Juan-Si Gonzales literally put his balls on the line. The 47-year-old Cuban artist underwent a vasectomy reversal operation, allowing him to create “Stay-at-Home Dad,” featuring several digital prints of his infant daughter along with religious toys and text that reflect a virulent…

Rock and roll swagger might be a great draw onstage, but Windy City curator Dominic Molon knows an exhibit mixing music and art is a cocksure hook for drawing stadium-size crowds to the art arena too. “Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967” taps into the…

There’s a cool breeze of discontent cutting through the sweltering Orange, and Daleena Segui is fanning the blast. Seven months ago, the scrap-happy comedian and her boho chums started a series of Miami ArtParty events as a reaction against their disappointment with the local scene. They began organizing genre-hopping blowouts…

Observing viewers engaging Robert Wilson’s sensational series of high-definition video portraits at the Bass Museum of Art was akin to watching a pet dog discovering its own image in a mirror for the first time. People stood transfixed in front of the celebrity and animal portraits before reeling back with…

Botero, Chihuly, and Lichtenstein With the sculptural works of Fernando Botero, Dale Chihuly, and especially Roy Lichtenstein at every turn throughout its 83 acres, there’s widespread whimsy at Fairchild. Chihuly’s glass pieces resemble plants and flowers boosted by alien DNA; Botero’s languorously bulbous sculptures of people and horses seem pridefully…

Avant theater icon Roger Wilson has raised the curtain on the future of portraiture in his skull-staving series of works at the Bass Museum of Art. “VOOM Portraits” features 25 high-def images of people and animals presented on large-scale HD plasma flat-screens. His subjects range from Johnny Depp to Princess…

When Quisqueya Henríquez mulls an idea, there’s no telling what medium she might use to shape it. The first major survey of the Cuban-Dominican artist’s career in the United States, now on view at Miami Art Museum (MAM), reveals a bold, fertile mind and immaculate craftsmanship. “Quisqueya Henríquez: The World…

Cristina Lei Rodriguez and Paul Morrison Steering clear of her usual gooey weeping willows, the homegrown artist has tapped into the central nervous system of Sixties minimalist and junk art in her new show. Rodriguez deserves kudos for avoiding her comfort zone. New paintings and sculptures by British artist Paul…

During Cuba’s golden age, the island’s Carnival season drew multitudes into the streets for a raucous celebration that delivered revelers to the outer limits of joy. Entire neighborhoods and fraternal organizations rehearsed for months. Elaborate parade floats were created for the giddy affair. Families made the rounds in their snazzy…

Wifredo Lam in North America More than a quarter-century after his death, Cuba’s greatest artist is getting his due in the first large-scale solo exhibition. The beautifully encyclopedic show features more than 60 paintings and drawings spanning the breadth of Lam’s prolific career. The exhibit is beefed up with nearly…