Miami Biennale Press

2012
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ARTISTIC CROSSWALK INTERSECTION TO HELP MAKE WYNWOOD
A GREAT PEDESTRIAN ARTISTIC NEIGHBORHOOD
February 4th, 4:30pm
NW 2nd Avenue and 25th Street, Miami Florida, 33127

Welcome Wynwood Ways Event

MIAMI- Residents and visitors of Wynwood will soon enjoy the neighborhood’s first permanent artistic crosswalk, marked by a work that seeks to transform the intersection of Northwest Second Avenue and 25th Street.

The effort is part of the Miami Biennale’s Wynwood Ways, an initiative to make the neighborhood a more pedestrian-friendly cultural destination.
The artistic crosswalk, which will be dedicated to visionary Tony Goldman, will consist of a cinetic design by Maestro Carlos Cruz-Diez that changes as the pedestrian is crossing. Cruz Diez;s work can be seen on the walkways of the Marlins Stadium and outside the Museum Fine Arts Houston.
The abstract geometric design is being donated by renowned artist Carlos Cruz-Diez and is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fund at The Miami Foundation.

The Miami Biennale’s Wynwood Ways, in collaboration with Knight Foundation, The Miami Foundation, Wynwood Arts District Association, City of Miami and Cruz-Diez Foundation, is the first step in making Wynwood a great pedestrian neighborhood.
“Since the Wynwood Ways initiative aims to the beautification, education, as well as culturization of the streets in Wynwood, as it was envisioned by Tony Goldman many times during his lifetime, it makes sense to dedicate the first crosswalk to visionary Tony Goldman,” Miami Biennale Vice-President, Ariana Testamarck Orellana said.

Miami Biennale’s goal is to actively seek support from public and private institutions to continue enhancing the Wynwood Community.

ABOUT MIAMI BIENNALE

Miami Biennale is a non-profit organization that works to establish initiatives in the arts that stimulate funding from both public and private institutions; to create projects that develop and promote interactive platforms in the arts for both education and cultural development.

ABOUT WYNWOOD AND WYNWOOD ARTS DISTRICT ASSOCIATION (WADA)

The Wynwood Arts District is home to over 70 art galleries, retail stores, antique shops, eclectic bars, and astounding outdoor murals. The Wynwood Arts District is a cultural and artistic potluck and mélange of Miami at its grittiest best. It is a fabulous district, thriving and ebbing, young and hip. Proof exists on the streets; mural art covered walls of the neighborhood and inside the world-class art galleries.

WADA, a neighborhood association, brings together art dealers, galleries, collectionists, art studios, and alternative art spaces that strengthen the concept of a true art district becoming the catalyst for Miami's international image.

Many of the new Wynwood residents moved here to live a more pedestrian and sustainable lifestyle, with the ability to walk to a restaurant, a gallery/museum, the market, or work. Let's continue the progress and give Wynwood residents and visitors a true and safe urban paradise.

ABOUT THE CARLOS CRUZ-DIEZ FOUNDATION

Carlos Cruz-Diez’s family created the Cruz-Diez Foundation in 2005 in order to promote the artist's work and vision about art, culture and society.

The Cruz-Diez Foundation, hosted since 2008 in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, develops a complete guide of events and programs of cultural and social impact around two main goals:

To give exposure to Carlos Cruz-Diez’s investigations
To extend his ideas and contributions towards new generations

ABOUT THE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit KnightFoundation.org.

ABOUT THE MIAMI FOUNDATION

The Miami Foundation provides civic leadership, bringing stakeholders together to tackle issues of concern in our community. Working together with our Fundholders and community partners, we leverage collective knowledge, creativity and resources for a greater impact than any one of us could make alone.

By connecting philanthropy with community needs and opportunities, we make Miami a greater place to live, work and play.

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2012

Art Basel: LA GRAN FIESTA DEL ARTE Y EL MODELO DE MIAMI PARA ENRIQUECER LA VIDA
by Andrea Nunes.

Diciembre es el mes de las grandes fiestas del final de año, por lo que resulta muy adecuado que sea también el mes en que el arte internacional se reúne en una feria para celebrar el Art Basel Miami Beach (abmb), que en 2011, para marcar diez años de labor, presentó a las mejores galerías del mundo y sus artistas —consagrados y emergentes— en una exposición codirigida por Annette Schönholtzer y Marc Spiegler. Fueron más de 260 galerías en el gran pabellón del Centro de Convenciones. Además, diversos locales públicos de Miami Beach fueron transformados con trabajos artísticos (Art Public). Pero, aparte de la gran exposición del abmb, donde se reunieron los entusiastas del arte global, hubo, en Midtown Miami, más de 12 ferias de arte paralelas, lo que cada año convierte a la ciudad en una escena cultural efervescente y prestigiosa.

Galeristas, artistas y coleccionistas: el punto de encuentro
El festival es también un gran punto de encuentro para galeristas, quienes tienen un papel fundamental en propiciar que los artistas trabajen con curadores y directores de museos y expongan en instituciones de peso para elevar su nivel en el mercado del arte. Esto ayuda a explicar por qué, a pesar del momento actual de crisis, el arte se convirtió en un buen refugio para la inversión y las ventas en esta edición 2011 del festival no se han visto afectadas en nada. Los amantes del arte llegaron a Miami Beach desde América del Norte, América Latina, Europa, Asia y África para prestigiar las diversas secciones del show, incluyendo Art Kabinett, Art Nova, Art Video, Art Film y Art Basel Conversation, donde estuvieron representados 30 países y fueron exhibidas las obras de más de dos mil artistas de los siglos xx y xxi.

La presencia de América Latina en la muestra del Art Basel Miami Beach fue destacada en una sección denominada Art Positions, que trajo 16 trabajos artísticos individuales, como la furgoneta Volkswagen llena de plátanos, vendido cada uno a diez dólares por el artista brasileño Paulo Nazareth, quien quiso retratar así el camino de los migrantes de Guatemala a México. La galería mexicana Kurimanzutto presentó a cinco artistas, entre ellos Damián Ortega y Gabriel Orozco, con una pintura (serie de círculos) alusiva al atentado del 11 de septiembre de 2001 en Nueva York. La pieza tenía un precio de venta de 350 mil dólares. Según la directora, Daniela Zárate, "no se puede generalizar el mercado latinoamericano, pues el arte contemporáneo se ha vuelto un lenguaje universal".

Arte en la ciudad, arte en la vida
En diciembre, todo Miami se llena de arte. Vale destacar la gran carpa en el Midtown de la ciudad, la feria Art Miami, que recibió a 110 galerías e imprimió un trato más personal entre los apasionados coleccionistas y los galeristas. Para el director, Nick Korniloff, esa fusión interesante está aliada "a una buena reputación y a los buenos contactos de clientes de las galerías seleccionadas, que atrajeron muchos coleccionistas que iban a Miami Beach". La galería irlandesa Blueleaf estuvo por segunda vez en Art Miami y decidió traer la obra de la artista mexicana Claudia Álvarez y sus Pequeños Soldados, después de que la prensa irlandesa publicara diversas críticas acerca de los trabajos de la artista. El segundo sábado de cada mes, en el Midtown de la ciudad, se instala el Art Walk entre el Design District y Wynwood. Ahí, galerías, espacios alternativos, museos, estudios de arte y despachos de arquitectura abren sus puertas al público en general. Obras del graffiti y el Street Art, corrientes que por muchos años fueron enseñadas en las calles de forma ilegal, ahora fueron presentadas por los más renombrados artistas mundiales en los grandes murales de Wynwood Walls, concebidos por Tony Goldman y Jeffrey Deitch. Combinando motivos con antiguas imágenes, el artista americano Shepard Fairey (autor del célebre cartel "Hope" para la campaña de Barack Obama) trajo un fascinante mural que incluye referencias a los derechos humanos. El pintor e ilustrador mexicano Miguel Mejía, también conocido como Neuzz, aportó su influencia del folklore mexicano, aliado a imágenes retro y su fascinación por las máscaras. Otro panel muy apreciado por las centenas de personas que transitaban por las calles de Wynwood fue el del artista californiano Retna, quien desarrolló su propio alfabeto a partir de fuentes tan dispares como son las caligrafías tradicionales de Egipto, los jeroglíficos mayas y las escrituras codificadas del Chicano Gang, de Los Ángeles. No cabe ninguna duda de que el modelo que Miami está proponiendo para dar visibilidad al arte en el mundo no solo refleja la visión de instituciones, curadores, artistas y apasionados de este medio: un valor central de este modelo es que coloca al arte como un importante motor para dar calidez a la vida de las personas.

Revista Ojo de Careyes http://ojodecareyes.com/

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Miami Biennale presents Michele Oka Doner's Exhaling Gnosis
November 29–April 28, 2012

Michele Oka Doner, Healing Plants (detail), 2009.
Glass and gold mosaic. 22,5 x 15 ft.

Opening: Monday, November 28, 6:00 –8:00 PM

Miami Print Shop
3000 N. Miami Avenue
Miami, Florida 33127

Miami Biennale is pleased to host Exhaling Gnosis, the first major exhibition of works on paper by Michele Oka Doner, opening Monday, November 28 and on view through 28 April 2012.

The exhibition includes sixteen 40 x 60 inch handmade abaca paper pieces made at the Dieu Donné Papermill in New York City, seven totemic relief prints from organic materials produced at Wildwood Press in St. Louis, a series of prints made with Dykem spray paint on kraft paper, and two oversized books.

The installation, conceived by curator Peter Menéndez, emphasizes the captivating beauty of these feral, organic works of art as they reflect on the imagery of the natural world, of plants, animals, insects, and are transformed into visual statements that take a Rorschach-like quality.

For Michele Oka Doner the natural world is an integral part of her visual vocabulary. Following her recent show, Neuration of the Genus at Dieu Donné, this exhibition reflects and expands on structure, patterns in nature and wordless texts, an understanding that allows the artist to use the substantive endowment provided by nature and materialize it into notes for her "songs."

The abaca pieces and Palm Book incorporate organic palm material, often with tremendous texture and density, directly into the paper, producing a highly charged relationship between the objects they are and the images they create. Similarly, the relief prints are made directly by skillfully arranging various roots, vines and seaweed on the printing plate and inking them. Within these works the specific plant forms Oka Doner chooses and the arrangements she achieves are both suspended in an ethereal veil of sublimity within the abaca sheets and deeply embossed into the diaphanous fibrous essence of the paper; we sense Oka Doner's transformative hand.

These dramatic works express a devotion to nature's detritus and a clear understanding of the distinct, almost hieroglyphic, form of language they represent. The artist uses these materials as a sculptor does, creating a series of unique works that capture the spirit and form of the natural world.

The second oversized book, What is the White, a limited edition artist book published by Dieu Donné Press, sensuously explores the nature of whiteness. The artist tells her story through a convergence of exquisite materials—translucent and opaque papers, sumptuous waxes and felts, original prose letterpressed in the artist's hand—aptly described by the art historian Pari Stave as "an artic jewel box." Forming an exquisite and meditative object, the book transports the viewer from the systematic theories of whiteness, color and perception to nature's more spiritual rewards.

About the artist: The artist is well-known for her numerous public art installations, including A Walk on the Beach and From Seashore to Tropical Garden at Miami International Airport and Healing Plants at the UMDNJ University Hospital Center in Newark, NJ. Her work is in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Miami Art Museum, and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, among others. Included in her many publications are three monographs: Natural Seduction (2003), Workbook (2004) and Michele Oka Doner: HumanNature (2008). Oka Doner is represented by Marlborough Gallery.

About Miami Biennale: Miami Biennale is a non-profit organization whose main objective is to promote the arts. Its mission is to advocate creative dialogues between Miami's multi-layered community and an international audience, stimulating public/private initiatives and funding that generates projects with interactive platforms for education and community transformation through culture.

Exhibition Hours: Thursday through Saturday 10 am–4:00 pm. These hours apply only during exhibition dates. Gallery tours or informal viewings for groups of 5 or more by appointments. Please contact 305.576.2914, events@miamibiennale.org

http://www.art-agenda.com/shows/miami-biennale-presents-michele-oka-doners-exhaling-gnosis/

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"CONVERGENCE Paris, el Paisaje en la Memoria"
by Janet Batet