November Art Walk
Last Saturday it was time again for the Miami Art Walk and since it was the last one before Art Basel Miami Beach I was quite excited to see what the galleries were showing. The Art Walk of course has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon and people come out to socialize and have a good time. To some the art walk is about art and to some it is about free wine and beer, food trucks, being seen, music and meeting people. Whatever the reason for attending, there is something for everyone.
I chose to do the Wynwood Art Walk this time around after some amazing pizza at Harry’s! I think the Rock Shrimp Pizza has to be the best pizza in Miami (with the short rib pizza coming in at a close second!).
Actually first of all I went to the Arboleda vintage and craft festival which was an absolute delight. I love markets and being at Arboleda felt like a true treasure hunt with handmade crafts, jewelry, t-shirts, art as well as vintage clothing and craft classes for children. Music and food rounded off the experience while, almost next door, the Stage was setting up for their 1st Anniversary featuring live bands and live mural painting by Miami artists such as Vince Herrera.
The Art Walk itself was the usual mix of absolutely everyone, people who you might not see mix and mingle anywhere else. I checked out quite a few galleries including Locust Project and Gallery Diet as well as Hardcore Art, an interesting space mixing art with furniture, magazines and delicacies such as Romanicos chocolate and Bee Wonderful Honey.
Next up I went to visit the Eleazar Delgado Gallery for the first time, where the Miami-based artist exhibits his own work. The exhibit “Behind the Lights” consists of a series of painting depicting the story of Miami and Miami landmarks in a unique style using layers of paint in geometrical and circular shapes. The outcome are amazingly captivating pieces of art which are straightforward and multi-leveled at the same time. You discover something new every time you take a look.
The walls covered in art behind the Wynwood Kitchen & Bar are a focal point and highlight in Wynwood and there is something new to discover continuously as well. This time it was a new mural by RETNA, some new brightly colored deer here and there as well as a silver trailer hiding a fluorescent neon world inside!
An interesting exhibit was also held at Mosa House. The photography series by young artist David Gray is entitled “Cherished Youth” and deals with conceptions of childhood, beauty and modern culture as well as the changes in growing up in different generations. The young model, age 7, was present herself and proudly pointed out her favorite piece - “The Fairest of Them All”, which alongside “Daydream Believer” was also my favorite. Due to a lot of publicity I decided to also take a look at the Robert Fountaine Gallery but was not too impressed with the exhibit entitled “Sex, Drugs & Profanity”, especially since most of the galley seems to be dedicated to re-prints instead of original work by Warhol, Hirst and De Kooning.
Overall, the Art Walk was yet again an inspiring experience. Ready for Art Basel Miami Beach 2011!
