It was my first visit to the Rubell Collection and I was not disappointed. The exhibition Beg, Borrow and Steal was inspired by conversations that the Rubell family had with the artists Walker and Guyton about artists who use appropriation as a key element in creating their own unique pieces. On view from their permanent collection are 260 works by 74 artists including McCarthy, Koons, Wool, Kruger, Prince, Matthew Brannon, Haim Steinbach, Jim Lambie, and Cindy Sherman. Some highlights for me were:

Cady Noland

Cady Noland’s installation made of beer cans called “This piece has no title yet” from 1989.

detail of Noland work

Jim Lambie works

Colorful works by Jim Lambie did not disappoint.

Jason Rhoades installation

Jason Rhoades work, Untitled Chandelier, 2004 on the first floor.

Ai Weiwei's Ton of Tea, 2005, 39 x 38 3/4 x 38 1/2 in.

Ai Weiwei created Ton of Tea in 2005, a ton of compressed tea on a wooden base.

Jennifer Rubell, Old-Fashioned, 2009

Detail of Old-Fashioned

Jennifer Rubell hung old fashioned plain donuts from nails on a painted white board outside the main gallery space. Visitors were unsure quite what to make of this interactive work. After being reassured that the donuts are replaced every morning, even I grabbed one to nibble on for lunch. A great show to check out.

CIFO (The Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection)

The Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection

At CIFO was a wonderful video exhibition called “Being in the World” curated by Berta Sichel. I am starting to really dig video art. I like that you really need time for it. Most people feel like they don’t have the time but I really think they just don’t have the patience for it. I know I didn’t when I was first introduced to it. It takes time to sit with it and digest it. Included in this show (which examines the way an individual understands his position in the world) are works by Bill Viola, Markus Muntean and Adi Rosenblum, Chantal Akerman, Shirin Neshat, Francesca Woodman, Robin Rhode, and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, some of those names should be familiar.

In Viola’s work a crowd of people are suddenly inundated by water on both sides”reveals the strength of those who, despite suffering, gather the will to survive.” The slow meditativeness of his work draws the viewer in. Disco by the team Muntean and Rosenblum explores the disenchantment of modern day youth. The video makes art historical references to Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa from 1819 as well as religious references.

Chantal Akerman's D'est: au board de la fiction

Akerman’s work is shown on 25 video monitors in a darkened room. In this work she explores her Jewish roots and the work focuses on themes of displacement and transition. Shirin Neshat’s video on view, Zarin, from 2005 is a narrative and becomes almost too difficult to watch at times. It is the extremely powerful story of a young woman working in a brothel whose fear and torment takes over as her clients become faceless, missing eyes and mouths. Neshat creates a child-like creature who looks as if she has raided her mother’s make-up drawer. She flees to the public baths to cleanse herself. As she disrobes one sees a gaunt girl whose bones protrude. Her appearance mimics her fragile emotional state. As one healthy woman tries to help her, she pushes her away and begins to rub her skin until it bleeds. Robin Rhode’s work is playful in its exploration of space and territories in the urban experience. Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s work always has an interactive component which I like. This work is political and memorializes the 40th anniversary of the student massacre in Mexico City on October 2, 1968. The video shows people speaking into a megaphone. As they speak, the words are transformed into a sequence of flashes. There is a similar set up in the gallery so that the visitor can try it out. I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition and recommend it to anyone visiting the greater Miami area.

Margulies Collection

I am so sad to say this but I was disappointed in my visit to one of my favorite spaces for contemporary art in Miami. The majority of the work on view was exactly the same as when I last visited and that was two years ago. If you have never been it is a wonderful space and has a tremendous collection but if you have been there before, you can skip it this time around.

de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space

Interior of de la Cruz Art Space

What a fabulous new space for contemporary art in Miami! This new three-story, 30,000 sq. ft. space designed by John Marquette houses the personal collection of Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz and will serve as an extension of their home, which has been available for public viewing for the past fifteen years.

Felix Gonzales-Torres work

The opening of the inaugural exhibit coincided with Art Basel/Miami Beach 2009. One of the project rooms will provide a forum for local artists to display their works. The beautiful and spacious building looks like a museum. On view is work by a number of artists including:

Jonathan Meese

a Jonathan Meese room,

Guyton/Walker

a Guyton/Walker installation,

Rudolf Stingel

and 3 beautiful Rudolf Stingels for starters. This is definitely worth a trip and bravo to them for putting an emphasis on an educational component in this new collection space.

BASS MUSEUM

I was able to sneak in a visit to the Bass Museum on my very last day in Miami. On view was an exhibition called “Where Do We Go From Here?” with selections from La Coleccion Jumex which I had been lucky to see parts of on my trip to Mexico City last spring. The exhibition that I didn’t know about which was a pleasant surprise was “Dzine” The Chicago former street artist was born Carlos Rolon and is best known for using elements from pop culture, Baroque designs as well as the Arts and Crafts movement in his varied works as well as his use of bling in the form of neon, rhinestones and gold. This allows him to “develop his own language which he translates into sculpture, painting and installations.” He investigates his Puerto Rican heritage and high versus low brow art.

His work The Love Below was my favorite piece that dangles like a chandelier from the ceiling and plays audio of Buddhists chanting “Om” which creates a low meditative drone. He also created a mural for the walls of the once bland cafe. He was the recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for painting and sculpture and his work is included in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum of Art as well as El Museo del Barrio.

Jumex Collection at Bass Museum

The Jumex works on view included Rudolf Stingel pink and white styrofoam works as well as an insulation board piece all oozing with beautiful texture. A wall of photos by Louise Lawler and sculptures by Sherrie Levine melded well together in their theme of appropriation. A work entitled “Carretilla (Wheelbarrow) IV” by Mexican artist Gabriel Kuri was whimsical and consisted of a wheelbarrow filled with Christmas ornaments. Other artists whose work was on view: Orozco, Gober, Judd, Pettibone, Warhol, Koons, Baldessari, Ruscha, and Douglas Gordon.

Gabriel Orozco's Pool Table