A tale of awakened passions, Sensatia follows the path of an uninspired ballerina and overworked violinist as they are led by a muse into a fantasy cabaret where their magic is rekindled. Merging film, live music, perfumery, and culinary arts, the show is unique to Faena, and takes audiences on a journey of inspired discovery, promising a transcendent experience for guests. The performance is alluring and deeply engages audiences through activating each of the five senses, with the taste concept of the evening developed in collaboration with Chef Paul Qui, who is at the helm of Pao, one of Faena Hotel Miami Beach’s signature restaurants.

Sensatia invites guests of the hotel, visitors to Miami, and the local community alike to enjoy a memorable show in an unforgettable backdrop. The 3,000 square-foot, 150-seat Faena Theater provides an unmatched venue to enjoy live performances. Designed by Alan Faena, the intimate setting evokes the grand style of European opera houses, juxtaposing it with the glamour of 1950s Miami. The sumptuous space is marked by gold-leaf and red velvet decor, a dramatic curtain, and a gorgeous statement chandelier. Past performances include Macy Gray, Jon Bon Jovi, Spencer Ludwig, Miike Snow, Grace Potter, Caetano & Gil, Andra Day, C’est Rouge!, and many more.

Sensatia will debut October 12 and 13 with a community show for hurricane relief benefitting Feeding South Florida. The shows are limited seating on a first come, first serve basis with a minimum donation request of $15. Sensatia runs through until November 25 featuring a 9:00 p.m. show on Thursday, an 8:00 p.m. dinner show on Friday and Saturday, as well as an 11:00 p.m. show on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased online at www.faena.com and through Ticketmaster.com or Sevenrooms.com, starting at $55, with $5 of every ticket sale donated to hurricane relief efforts. For additional information please visit www.faena.com.

www.faena.com
3201 Collins Avenue, Faena District
Miami Beach, FL 33140

Art Basel Frequently Asked Questions

At last year’s myriad Art Fairs, thousands of patrons politely lined up to gaze at enormous inflatable sculptures, weeping taxidermy sheep, clear lucite handbags filled with gleaming gold plated handguns and dusty bits of twisted twine. Art Basel attracts more than 250 world-renowned Art Galleries representing over 2,000 artists who paint, sculpt, draw, weld and compose digital sound and video installations. Some exhibits fill the Miami Beach Convention Center and others take over local parks, galleries and enormous industrial shipping containers lining the sands of South Beach.

Art Basel divides the Miami Beach Convention Center—and much of the City, for that matter—into particular categories of art including the Nova, Positions, and Kabinett described below.

With days of art tours and nights of industry parties, every guest visiting South Beach may struggle to find the right place to dine. Fine dining restaurants around the Convention Hall are frequently booked well in advance for private art collector’s dinners, so making reservations (via opentable.com) should be a top priority. Some of the most popular tables on the beach are at Katsuya and The Bazaar by José Andrés at the SLS Hotel, Matador Room at the Edition and Bianca at the Delano. For glamorous Italian eateries try Casa Tua or Cecconi’s at the Soho Beach House. Ideally, dinner plans in close proximity to the art events are vitally important when every minute of the day offers so many entertaining options. If you find yourself shut out of the best restaurants and sidewalk cafes, it may be necessary to travel farther away to find good food.

Popular steakhouses Prime 112, Red, BLT Steak and Meat Market will all be in great demand during December. Joe’s Stone Crab does not take reservations, but a carefully loaded handshake can do wonders in moving your party up the maître d’s list. Close enough to walk is Quattro Gastronomie Italiana, Juvia, and Haven on Lincoln Road Mall.

With collector’s brunches, late night concerts and miles of exhibit spaces to explore, finding time to check out South Beach nightclubs seems highly unlikely, but there will certainly be exclusive events at the FDR Lounge at the Delano, Hyde Beach Pool Party and Day Club at the SLS Hotel and Rec Room at the Gale. The DiLido Beach Club at the Ritz Carlton, the Lido Grill at the Standard Hotel & Spa and the Raleigh Martini Bar provide welcome refuge at sunset and the Library Bar at the Wyndham Grand is as cozy a lounge as you’re likely to find on South Beach.

Art Nova comprises galleries representing emerging artists, Art Positions provide a platform for a single major project by one significant artist and Art Kabinett focuses upon smaller groups, singular works and unique installations. The Oceanfront show transforms all of Collins Park at 21st Street Beach where modern art presentations move to a DJ’s beat each night and art patrons get a chance to mix and mingle at alfresco concerts by edgy media darlings like Iggy Pop and Peaches.

Art Basel Conversations and the Art Salon are unique, in-depth seminars that introduce the public to the notion of connoisseurship by connecting the would-be collector to some of the most important personalities in the art world. Guests can learn a great deal about both collecting and exhibiting art through direct encounters with important art collectors, museum directors, gallery icons, artists and architects. Together they review bold new projects, share the experiences they have had in the industry and provide an insider’s view of the upcoming trends. Most of these groundbreaking experiences happen at the Convention Center Auditorium in Hall D. Transcripts and videos of past events are available online at the Art Basel website.

Art Public comprises site-specific installations that appear in and around Miami Beach to help immerse city residents and members of the art community in the Basel experience. Last year’s exhibits included a diverse offering of works at Collins Park, at Sagamore The Art Hotel, the Convention Center and the public library.

Once the daily art show comes to a close, visitors to Miami and Miami Beach host dozens of elaborate parties at resort hotels, at the homes of millionaire art collectors and in the gallery spaces of Wynwood and the Design District. Champagne flows freely, while conversations include tales of savvy art purchases and wistful recollections of “the one that got away.”

One of the primary attractions of Art Basel and its related art fairs is the gambler’s chance of purchasing an artist’s work before fame is bestowed, which sends the price of an artist’s signature through the roof.

A rather elegant game of cat and mouse ensues with gallery owners and artists promoting their collections and trying to suss out the real buyers from the well-dressed party hoppers. Fashionable guests like Calvin Klein, Alber Elbaz, Naomi Campbell and Donna Karan mingle with super dealers like Larry Gagosian or Jeffrey Deitch and the crowds include a diverse who’s who of famous faces such as Keanu Reeves, Nicky Hilton, Yoko Ono, Gerard Butler and Pamela Anderson. Giddy party updates appear in Women’s Wear Daily, the New York Times and all the right blogs.

While many vacationers might underestimate the impact of an international art fair on the Greater Miami area, it is important to note that by the time you read this article, MOST hotel rooms will already be fully booked for the first week in December. Occupancy rates for many rooms in South Florida start to climb in late November and continue well past New Year’s Eve. South Florida is also a transit point for thousands of cruise passengers from across the world and Miami Airport serves as a gateway to the international airports of Central and South America. By December when Art Basel rolls around, the annual pilgrimage of art fans, plus an impressive roster of wealthy VIPS (and the international media who follow them) creates a whirlwind of activity at every hotel, restaurant and lounge in Miami and Miami Beach.

This year’s Art Basel promises to be record breaking not only for attendance but for the sheer number of related activities in and around the primary installations. If you’re new to the art fair experience, know that the Miami and Miami Beach fairs are an endurance exercise comprising more interesting offerings than anyone could reasonably hope to take in during the week-long run. In addition to the main event, satellite fairs like Scope, Bridge, NADA, Photo Miami, Aqua, Art Asia, and the booming Design Miami compete with unofficial side projects and pop-up events under highway bridges and remote public parks. In summary: Pack your most comfortable shoes.

Art Basel at the Miami Beach Convention Center is a short walk from dozens of hotels, both posh and modest. On the top tier, consider the Setai, Ritz-Carlton South Beach, and the W South Beach. Suites at the Delano and Raleigh hotels are always much in demand.

Many of the glamorous South Beach resorts also host exhibitions and art industry parties in their nightclubs and lounges—more info on that aspect of Art Basel as announcements come through. Art Basel celebrity guests frequently choose the Delano where Susan Sarandon hosted an all-star ping pong tournament played on a custom crafted table as part of a full roster of nightly Art Basel soirees. Rumors of midnight skinny dipping keep these exclusive beachfront properties in high demand.

Nearby and equally popular, the all-suite Sagamore bills itself as “the Art Hotel” thanks to its extensive collection of contemporary art curated by hotel owners Cricket and Marty Tapin. The site of Spencer Tunick’s infamous nude photo shoot, the Sagamore balconies and pool were used as a backdrop for hundreds of “real” men and women who volunteered to pose at an all day naked art happening in October 2007. Images of the models frolicking on neon pink rafts in the hotel pool enjoy pride of place in the lobby lounge. If you stay at this hotel, the concierge can coordinate VIP tours of the nearby Wolfsonian or Bass Museum, the Lowe Art Museum, the Miami Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art and important private collections owned by Martin Margulies, the Rubell Family and Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz. Steps away find the Raleigh and the National Hotels, two landmark oceanfront properties which host some of the hottest poolside cocktail events at Basel.

Also considered party hotels, the modern simplicity of Townhouse and the Shoreclub attract the beautiful “gallerina” gadflies who gravitate to the glow of the 21st Street Oceanfront Basel exhibits and late night after parties like moths to the flame. Smaller boutique low-rises like the Cadet, the Catalina Beach Club, the Dorchester and the Albion provide a more intimate setting for an Art Basel getaway. Close enough to walk to all Art Basel events, these petite properties are tucked between the beachfront and the shops and cafes of Lincoln Road Mall. If the larger hotels are already booked, smart travelers should keep these hidden gems in their BlackBerries purely as a back-up plan. Insiders with more dash than cash can also reserve rooms at the Greenview, the Sadigo Court and the Crest to be close to everything yet decidedly off the radar. And don’t over look Miami’s environmentally conscious green hotels certified for their sustainability efforts.

To best experience all of the sights, sounds and tastes of Art Basel, do as much advance research, reservations and planning as you can—and then be ready to drop everything when exciting last minute events and parties scramble your schedule. Reserve ArtNexus guided tours of the show for just $20 through artnexus.com or do-it-yourself by printing out show information in advance and hopping on one of the free air-conditioned shuttle buses serving the remote fairs from stops located just across the street from the Miami Beach Convention Center Hall D.

For more information, log onto ArtBaselMiamiBeach.com

Art Basel Miami Beach runs from noon to 8pm, December 2-6, 2015 at the Miami Beach Convention Center located at 1901 Convention Center Drive, South Beach.

A dynamic 3D Showguide app is available for free download to your smartphone, Blackberry, iPhone or iPad from the website.

Art Public images courtesy MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel) Ltd.

The first stop for any visit to South Beach’s Art Deco District should be the Art Deco Welcome Center at 10th Street and Ocean Drive where the friendly folks from the Miami Design Preservation League (mdpl.org) have established an ad hoc concierge service to help facilitate getting to know Miami Beach! The landmark building is full of information, colorful brochures and event guides. A daily 90-minute Walking Tour of the area hotels, restaurants and historically significant structures kicks off at 10:30am with an additional evening tour Thursdays at 6:30pm. Reservations are not required so long as you arrive around 20 minutes before the start time.

Creating the cultural hub of Lincoln Road Mall, Art Center/South Florida is home to some of South Beach’s most talented young artists who enjoy affordable art classes and studio space in the heart of the busy shopping district. Dedicated to the advancement of contemporary art, the bright and airy gallery space showcases important new works and offers visitors a glimpse of projects currently in progress with impromptu studio tours staged by the craftsmen in residence. As part of an established plan to spread cultural opportunities throughout the community, works from the Art Center are also exhibited all over Miami Beach in storefront gallery windows adjoining many Walgreens pharmacies.

A comprehensive collection of historic and contemporary art resides at the BASS Museum of Art (www.bassmuseum.org/calendar/) in the littoral Collins Park District – a newly renovated cultural arts park facing 21 Street Beach. Experience the unique cultural programming designed to inspire art lovers and families who are challenged to make the cultural connections between historic and modern works. Exhibits include Important Antiquities, Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo Art, North and South American Painting & Sculpture, Asian Art, European Decorative Objects and so much more.

The city-owned, 465-seat Colony Theater, originally built in the 1930s (Art Deco, of course) by Paramount Pictures as a movie theater, is now used to showcase live performances and film festivals. Eartha Kitt, Spalding Gray, Sandra Bernhard, Lypsinka and Ru Paul have all graced its stage, as have numerous local dance companies. The annual South Beach Film Festival, and the Winter Shorts Film Festival are usually held here, and the theater has recently opened that necessary if not sufficient Lincoln Road staple, the outdoor Café which features coffee, desserts, liqueurs and a full bar for those post-performance critical chats.

Originally called the Miami Beach Auditorium when it was built in 1950, in 1987 the theater was renamed in honor of Jackie Gleason, who moved to Miami Beach in 1964 in search of a year-round golfing climate and recorded his The Jackie Gleason Show from the Auditorium. This season marks the 50th anniversary of the theater, whose lobby will showcase images of the theater through the years.

The Jewish Cultural Heritage of Florida is carefully documented and celebrated by the scholars at Florida International University at the Jewish Museum of Florida on South Beach. Focused upon the Jewish experience in Florida and more global issues of discrimination and cultural dynamics, the museum is a center for research, education and community outreach. Collections include a historic timeline wall, more than 600 photographs, documents and artifacts of the era, audio-visual presentations as well as the building in which most of the collection is housed – a 1936 landmark synagogue with 77 stained glass windows, a marble altar and vintage Art Deco chandeliers.

One of the most popular area attractions, The Miami Beach Botanical Garden is a free cultural destination offering adults and children access to native plants and flowers, a diverse array of palm trees and native birds plus many educational opportunities that promote green living. Serving as a backdrop for visual and performing arts, the garden is located just behind the Miami Beach Convention Center. Garden visitors can enjoy ancient cycads, bromeliads and flowering trees plus a Japanese style garden that naturally attracts dozens of butterflies. Saturday tours start at 2pm.

The Miami City Ballet is one of the largest ballet companies in the world, featuring performances such as George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker,” and a Contemporary Dance Series under the direction of Artistic Director Edward Villella.

Since 1987, conductor and artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas has been impressing South Florida audiences with the New World Symphony, housed in the historic Lincoln Theatre on Lincoln Road and Drexel Avenue. The symphony is composed of 85 musicians who have passed a strenuous national audition. Once chosen, they are part of a three-year fellowship program that has had an impressive success rate: in 1999, 43 alumni went on to join professional symphonies nationwide.

One of the most unique presentations of cultural objects, the Wolfsonian FIU Museum houses the fascinating collection of Miami Beach native Mitchel Wolfson, Jr. – a man who spent his life and fortune gathering the world’s treasures and bringing them back to Florida. Turning his personal obsession into a landmark cultural institution, the massive exhibit fills a former warehouse in the heart of South Beach. Be prepared to marvel at British, Dutch, German, Japanese, Italian, Celtic, and American designed objects, graphics and fine art plus all manner of curiosities and rare books. Ideal for teens who may not appreciate traditional art museums, this place is simply filled top to bottom with really interesting stuff.

There seems to be no stopping the surge in growth of adjoining Miami neighborhoods Wynwood and the Design District where crowds of hipsters, fashionistas and art lovers flock to check out art galleries, quirky taverns and a brand new group of top designer stores. Inspired in part by the adoration of the Art Basel Miami Beach crowds, these once forgotten stretches of Downtown Miami are now thriving with monthly Art + Design Walks (www.wynwoodartwalk.com), weekly bicycle tours and plenty of online buzz. While Wynwood is best navigated during Second Saturday evenings (when many galleries host open house parties), the Design District (www.miamidesigndistrict.net) remains a daytime destination; a designer shopping mall filled with furniture showrooms and top European luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada and Hermes.

While Miami Beach was the initial scene of gallery proliferation in the area’s recent art revival, high real estate values and rampant development in blighted areas where artists once flourished have forced many galleries over to mainland-Miami in areas such as the Design District and most notably, the Wynwood Art District.

Local government officials are supportive of Miami’s art scene and the city maintains a very successful Art in Public Places program, while several large community groups have formed to provide studio space to up and coming artists.

The ArtCenter opened its doors in 1984 on a then-barren Lincoln Road. More than two decades later, the gallery is still a cornerstone on the now-bustling pedestrian mall. Boasting artist studios, classes and exhibits spanning the art genre spectrum, the ArtCenter, according to their manifesto, “exposes the public to the artistic process on a daily basis, helping promote the idea that everyone can be connected to the creative energy of art-making.”

924 Lincoln Road / Miami Beach, FL / (305) 538-7887
www.artcentersf.org

Hours:
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday
11 a.m.-11 p.m. Thursday-Sunday
Admission: Free

Located in the center of the Miami Design District, Artformz Alternative features the extraordinary work of acclaimed local names along with some of the most exciting discoveries working today. The gallery is a distinguished artist’s initiative owned and directed by Miami artist Alette Simmons-Jimenez. Artformz produces 6 juried collaborative projects a year, showcasing the experimental, the exciting, and the profound diversity of voices in contemporary art and new media today. Each exhibit runs for 2 months to the benefit of our busy collectors, arts writers, independent curators and general public, and providing optimum exposure for the artists.

Atlas Plaza, Miami Design District / 130 NE 40th Street, #2 / Miami, FL
(305) 572-0040
www.artformz.net

Hours:
Tues.-Fri.: 12:00pm-7:00pm
Sat.: 12:00pm-4:00pm
Other hours by appointment
Admission: Free

Art+ Gallery prides itself on its extensive collection of works by 20th-century masters such as Keith Haring, Arman, Yves, Klein, Robert Indiana and Andy Warhol. The gallery also features a 40-piece sculpture collection by Salvador Dali as well as pieces by several up-and-coming artists.

Village of Merrick Park / 358 San Lorenzo Avenue, #3135 / Coral Gables, FL
786.497.1111

Hours:
10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday
noon-6 p.m. Sunday

The former Art Rouge Gallery is now Kavachnina Contemporary with Director-Curator-Owner Gala Kvachnina at the helm. The gallery offers a wide variety of artworks in different mediums and represents over 30 national and international artists while maintaining a philosophy of nurturing local artists. Whatever the medium presented, the artworks are always visually accessible, technically proficient and of important artistic merit and accomplishment.
46 NW 36 Street, Loft 3 / Miami, FL / (305) 448-2060
www.kavachnina.com
Open: Monday to Friday from 11:00am – 6:00pm.
Saturdays by appointment.

ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries touts itself as the longest-established contemporary fine art gallery in Greater Miami. With a 35-year history, the gallery focuses on both mid-career level and well-established artists. Past exhibitions have included a Volkswagen Beetle covered in over 1,600 lights by Eric Staller and an exclusive exhibition of Doonesbury animation drawings and paintings. In total, owner Virginia Miller boasts five galleries throughout the city, and she has commissioned works and exhibits in various locations throughout South Florida and the U.S.
169 Madeira Avenue / Coral Gables, FL / (305) 444-4493
www.virginiamiller.com
Hours:
11 a.m.-6 p.m. daily
Admission: Free

The Bakehouse Art Complex is housed in the building that, in the 1930s, housed the American Baking Company. The non-profit organization purchased the building in 1985 and turned it into a full-service art complex where artists painters, sculptors, potters, photographers, furniture designers and more from all different nationalities and ethnicities can create, exhibit, teach and network. Studios, exhibition galleries, meeting rooms, classrooms, a darkroom, a print lab, and a clay facility are all available. Their most recent exhibit, titled and you thought you brought it with you, featured works that celebrated Miami’s cultural scene pre-1980.
561 NW 32 Street / Miami, FL / (305) 576-2828
www.bacfl.org
Hours: noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday
Admission: Donation

Barbara Gillman Gallery has featured the work of artists and photographers from both South Florida and around the country since its opening in 1979. The gallery’s exhibits have included contemporary American and Latin American painting, sculpture, ceramics, works on paper, mixed media, photography, its most recent being a collection of images by photographer Herman Leonard of jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday.
4141 NE 2nd Avenue, Suite 200B / Miami, FL / (305) 573-1920
www.barbaragillmangallery.com
Hours: noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday
Admission: Free

The Bass Museum was established in 1963 when John and Johanna Bass donated their collection to the City of the Miami Beach on the condition that it remain open and available to the public. The gallery now features exhibits both from their permanent collection and national and international touring collections.
2121 Park Avenue / Miami Beach, FL / (305) 673-7530
www.bassmuseum.org
Hours:
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday,
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, closed Mondays and holidays
Admission: $8

The Bernice Steinbaum Gallery originated in 1977 in New York City. In 2000, the gallery moved to Miami but kept its mission: To be a microcosm of this multi-cultural, visual environment [by] showcasing women artists and artists. The gallery, which exhibits works dealing mainly with narrative, boasts three Macarthur Genius award winners, five Guggenheim fellows, many National Endowment Winners, and two Annenberg fellows.
3550 N. Miami Avenue / Miami, FL / (305) 573-2300
www.bernicesteinbaumgallery.com
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Admission: Free

Britto Central houses the artwork of Romero Britto. Known for his colorful, black-outlined illustrations, his work can be seen everywhere from Miami Beach City Hall to the White House. His gallery boasts original paintings, sculptures and a shop where visitors can purchase Britto-designed handbags, ties, T-Shirts and more.
818 Lincoln Road
Miami Beach, FL
(305)531-8821
www.britto.com
Hours: 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
Admission: Free

Cernuda Arte has been an integral part of the Coral Gables art community for over 25 years and features a collection of over 1,000 works by Cuban artists both past and present. The gallery also offers restorations and appraisals.
3155 Ponce de Leon Blvd
Coral Gables, FL
(305) 461-1050
www.cernudaarte.com
Hours: noon-6:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
Admission: Free

Damien B. Contemporary Art Gallery is an 8,000 square-foot warehouse space owned by Nice, France transplant Damien Boisseau. The not-for-profit gallery focuses on European art, as opposed to the more typical Latin and Caribbean style found in Miami, and boasts eight work spaces for resident artists. During exhibits, a performance stage allows visitors to enjoy music while perusing the art.
282 NW 36th Street
Miami, Fl
305.573.4949
www.damienb.com
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Admission: Free

Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts has been a staple of the Miami arts scene since its opening in 2000. Promoting Argentine and other Latin American artists (its original location was in Buenos Aires under a railroad bridge) residing both in the States and abroad, the gallery, owned by Diana Lowenstein, has had a presence in many prestigious art fairs over the years, including Art Basel, Art Miami, Paris FIAC, Art Chicago, and Madrid’s ARCO.
2043 N. Miami Avenue
Miami, FL
(305) 576-1804
www.dlfinearts.com
Hours: 10:00 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday | 10:00 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday
Admission: Free

Diaspora Vibe Gallery is Miami’s leading art space for Latin American and Caribbean artists. Through an artist-in-residence program, international exchanges, and community activities, Diaspora Vibe, for the past five years, has made it their mission to celebrate Miami’s rich cultural and social fabric. The gallery’s most recent exhibit featured the works of Ayanna Jolivet McCloud, who, through images, sounds and performance paid homage to the rich and sacred rituals of African-American healers. The gallery also hosts Final Fridays, an event that features the work of the artist of the month and takes place the last Friday of the month May-October.
3938 N. Miami Avenue
Miami, FL
305.573.4046
www.diasporavibe.net
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
Admission: Donations

The Dorsch Gallery opened in 1991 and for the past 15 years has been committed to stretching the viewers definition of what a gallery should be. Representing South Florida artists in all genres, from traditional forms such as painting and sculpture to more experimental art forms, such as sound and performance art, the 7,000 square-foot space also plays host to a variety of cultural events, including the Subtropics Experimental Music and Sound Arts Festival and film screenings.
151 NW 24th Street
Miami, FL
305.576.1278
www.dorschgallery.com
Hours: 1-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
Admission: Free

Fred Snitzer Gallery is considered on of Miami’s most cutting edge galleries when it comes to showing and representing emerging artists. Director Fred Snitzer, who sits on the selection committee for Art Basel, has represented such up-and-coming artists as Hernan Bas, Luis Gispert, and Naomi Fischer. Past exhibits have included “The Manhattan Project,” which featured the work of MFA graduates from Columbia University, and “React: New York,” which featured works by Lynne Golob Gelfman, who uses unconventional tools such as sanders, combs, trowels, chemical reactions, spray paint, and sticks to create her pieces.
2247 NW 1st Place
Miami, FL
305.573.5810
www.snitzer.com
Hours 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
Admission: Free

Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin is the newest gallery from famed Parisian art dealer-collector Emmanuel Perrotin. Opened in January 2006, the gallery boasts 13,000 square-feet of space and Perrotin, along with partner Cathy Vedovi and director Luisa Lagos say they hope the gallery is not just a space to showcase art but also an inspiring work environment for artists-in-residence and curators. The building, which was formerly occupied by a refrigeration company, boasts two floors that contain viewing rooms, space that can accommodate three solo exhibitions at a time, and temporary accommodation space where everyone from artists and collectors to journalists and curators are invited to stay while working in Miami.
194 NW 30th Street
Miami, FL
305.573-2130
www.galerieperrotin.com
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday
Admission: Free

For the past 25 years Gary Nader fine art has been dedicated to the support and recognition of Latin American art. Gary Nader fine art exhibits monthly, featuring established artists and the largest selection of works by Latin American Masters including paintings, sculpture, and drawings.
Gary Nader fine art is the largest and most important fine art gallery in South Florida with a major selection of works by Modern and Contemporary artists worldwide. The gallery represents some of the most important modern and contemporary artist: Pablo Atchugarry, Fernando Botero, Carlos Capelan, Sandro Chia, Guillermo Conte, Manuel Esnoz, Walter Goldfarb, Nicol Leiva, Armando Mari, Manuel Mendive, Guillermo Muz Vera, Carlos Quintana and Frank Stella.
62 NE 27th Street
Miami, FL 33137
305.576.0256
www.garynader.com

In●dependent Gallery at District Lab
175 NW 22nd Street
Miami, FL
(305) 672-1002

The former Art Rouge Gallery is now Kavachnina Contemporary with Director-Curator-Owner Gala Kvachnina at the helm. The gallery offers a wide variety of artworks in different mediums and represents over 30 national and international artists while maintaining a philosophy of nurturing local artists. Whatever the medium presented, the artworks are always visually accessible, technically proficient and of important artistic merit and accomplishment.
46 NW 36 Street, Loft 3
Miami, FL
(305) 448-2060
www.kavachnina.com
Open: Monday to Friday from 11:00am – 6:00pm.
Saturdays by appointment.

The Kevin Bruk Gallery is one of Miami’s rising stars in the arts community. Owned by Kevin Bruk, the six-year-old gallery is committed to showcasing works by mid-level and emerging contemporary artists who normally would not receive exposure in this city and hosts both solo and group exhibitions featuring painting, sculpture and installation works. One of the most recent pieces on display was an airbrushed 1960s Cadillac Coupe by artist Kenny Scharf.
2249 NW 1st Place
Miami, FL
305.576.2000
www.kevinbrukgallery.com
Hours:
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday
noon-5 p.m. Saturday
Admission: Free

The Leonard Tachmes Gallery is owned by cosmetic surgeon Leonard Tachmes, who first opened the gallery, which resides in his home, because he simply loved art. Five years later, the gallery is flourishing and well-respected in Miami’s art community as a promoter for emerging artists in all disciplines. The gallery’s most recent exhibit, titled Besos, featured images dealing with issues of sexuality and femininity by four up-and-coming female photographers.
3930 NW Second Avenue
Miami, FL
305.572.9015
www.leonardtachmesgallery.com
Hours: By appointment
Admission: Free

Locust Projects is one of up-and-coming arts district Wynwood’s original galleries and has been committed to presenting the works of local and national emerging artists in all genres since its inception. Had you ventured into the space on a typical weekend night or during the monthly Wynwood Gallery Walk, you might have stumbled upon such exhibitions as New York-based artist Randy Moore’s The Mile-High Club,” which explored the impact of Playboy magazine on our culture, and an exhibit titled Once There was a Spot, which featured the works of cutting-edge Texas artists. The space also often hosts mixed-media events that include musical performances, fashion shows and more.
105 NW 23rd St.
Miami, FL
576.8570
www.locustprojects.org
Hours: Vary.
Admission: Varies

The Lowe Art Museum is located on the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus and features a 13,000-piece permanent collection focusing on renaissance and baroque, American, ancient and Native American and Asian art. The museum also hosts traveling exhibits, lectures and student works.
University of Miami
1301 Stanford Drive
Coral Gables, FL
305.284.3535
www.lowemuseum.org
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
noon-7 p.m. Thursday
noon-5 p.m. Sunday
closed Mondays
Admission: $7

Miami Art Central, which was recently named Best Art Museum by the Miami New Times, is a sprawling 20,000 square-foot gallery situated just outside the University of Miami campus. It features exhibitions and programs that promote the education of the public about contemporary art and culture. Past exhibits have included The Last Picture Show: Artists Using Photography 1960-1982 and The Forms of Silence: Carmen Herrera Abstract Works 1948-1987.
In addition to art, the MAC also features events focusing on film, such as Cinema Tropical, a screening series of Latin American films; music, including performances by local and national musicians; and literature, including discussions and readings by local and national authors.
5960 S.W. 57 Avenue
Coral Gables, FL
305.455.3333
Hours:
noon-7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday
closed Mondays

The Miami Art Museum is the city’s flagship art museum. Located in the heart of Downtown Miami in the same Spanish fortress-style building that houses the Miami-Dade County Public Library’s Main Branch, MAM opened a decade ago and concentrates on international 20th and 21st century artwork. The museum, which boasts 15,000 square-feet of gallery space, is currently featuring ‘miami in Transition, which features works by local artists that reflect the city’s urban transformation. MAM has also displayed the works of well-known artists such as James Rosenquist, Vik Muniz, and Chuck Close. MAM also hosts the monthly JAM at MAM, an evening cocktail reception and exhibition presentation the third Thursday of each month.
202 W. Flagler Street
Miami, FL
305.375.3000
www.miamiartmuseum.org
Hours:
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday
10 a.m.-9 p.m. third Thursdays
noon-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
closed Mondays
Admission: $5

The Moore Space, previously the Moore Furniture Company, hosted its first exhibition in 2001 when art collectors Craig Robins and Rosa de la Cruz decided they wanted to showcase local artists during Art Basel. Unfortunately, that year the now-established fair was cancelled, but Humid went on, presenting artists from Miami as well as Chicago, New York, Barcelona, Pittsburgh, and London. Four years later, the gallery has hosted group shows focusing on concepts and trends and boasting catchy titles like Butt Seriously and The Art of Aggression. The gallery also features guest curators as well as individual shows, which Moore Space directors emphasize is a very important aspect of their mission. Book have been put together for many of the artists shows, which in turn have helped them document their works for others to experience.
The gallery also showcases performances and hosts educational programs, all together creating an experimental program of cross-disciplinary exhibitions, performances, artists and curators residencies and public programs which reflect the state of contemporary art today: new forms, new voices and new thought.
4040 NE Second Avenue
Miami, FL
305.438.1163
www.themoorespace.org
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday

The Museum of Contemporary Art opened a decade ago and was designed by New York architect Charles Gwathmey. The 23,000 square-foot space hosts concerts, parties, film screenings, lectures, and other events on a regular basis, but its main focus is making art accessible to underserved communities. It does so by exploring the art of our time and its relationship to a broader cultural context. In 8-10 exhibits a year, the museum features young and emerging artists as well as local and internationally recognized artists. The museum’s latest exhibit, ‘metro Pictures, features paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos, and performances by artists capturing urban life.
770 NE 125th Street
Miami, FL
305.893.6211
www.mocanomi.org
Hours:
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays
noon-5 p.m. Sundays
closed Mondays
Admission: $5

Rocket Projects opened their 1,500 square-foot space three years ago in an effort to showcase the latest movements and trends in contemporary art. Featuring artists from both Miami and around the country, Rocket Projects claims its mission is to nurture free expression by supporting and developing the careers of artists working in all media who explore the avant garde to advance their personal vision. The gallery represents 15 artists and features a main gallery, project space and flat file lounge, which displays flat works as well as video and sound installations.
3440 N. Miami Avenue
Miami, FL
305.576.6082
Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday
Admission: Free

The Rubell Family Collection is located in a 40,000 square-foot warehouse previously used as a storage facility for the DEA. Since 1996, however, it has been home to 30 year’s worth of significant art, including works by Keith Haring, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Charles Ray, David Salle, Julian Schnabel and many more.
Don Rubell (brother of Studio 54 co-owner Steve) and his wife Mera began investing $25 a month in original art soon after they met, and their son Jason started his own collection at age 14. Along with daughter Jennifer, the gallery has become a family affair over the years and is now one of the world’s most impressive collections of contemporary art. The gallery also boasts an art library of over 30,000 titles.
95 NW 29th Street
Miami, FL
305.573.6090
Hours:
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday
closed Mondays and Tuesdays
Admission: $5

TRESART in Coral Gables was created by Peter Juvelis, Antonio de la Guardia and Alejandro Salsamendi, private art dealers who have been involved in fine art throughout their professional lives. They have assisted numerous museums and institutions as well as individuals build and refine their collections, and they currently specialize in both Latin American and Contemporary works.
Juvelis, de la Guardia and Salsamendi offer consulting services to both the veteran and young collector alike, and Endeavour to maintain a close relationship with clients as their art collections develop and expand.
550 Biltmore Way Suite 111
Coral Gables, FL
305.648.3007
www.tresart.us
Hours of Operation: Mon-Fri 10 AM – 6 PM , Sat. Appt. only

The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum is owned by Florida International University and features artifacts everything from rare books and periodicals to ceramics and paintings from North America and Europe as they relate to culture and innovation throughout history. The gallery also hosts traveling exhibitions as well as film screenings and lectures.
1001 Washington Avenue
Miami Beach, FL
305.531.1001
www.wolfsonian.fiu.edu
Hours:
Noon-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday
Noon-9 p.m. Thursday, Friday
Closed Wednesdays and major holidays
Admission: $7

The World Erotic Art Museum opened in January 2006 and features the private collection of Naomi Wilzig. 4,000 tapestries, paintings, sculptures, and a variety of other objects from the Roman Empire to the Seventies, including the famous phallic prop used in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.
1205 Washington Avenue
Miami Beach, FL
305.532.9336
www.weam.com
Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight daily
Admission: $15

Just a short distance from South Beach, the Design District is home to some of the city’s top-rated restaurants and a number of bohemian bars, but on the second Saturday of every month, just a few blocks south, the Wynwood Arts Community kicks out all the stops and celebrates Wynwood Art Walk which features the latest in modern art, unorthodox live performances and huge graffiti installations on warehouses and abandoned buildings.

Some of Miami’s most talented artists have reclaimed parts of the city where few dared to tread and in doing so, created a brand new frontier in contemporary art. Located between North Miami Avenue and NW Second Avenue from 20th -36th Streets, this district hosts a night time community art gathering from 7-10pm that is truly vibrant and inspiring.

Showcasing over 60 galleries, the once monthly art walk is an ideal way to explore Miami’s hip new arts district. Art enthusiasts who want to check out what’s happening in visual art, painting, sculpture and photography can wander the streets of the area just east of I-95 and discover Kunsthaus Miami, Spinello Gallery, Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery, PanAmerican Art Projects, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Dorsch Gallery, Locust Projects, Kevin Bruk Gallery, Ambrosino Gallery, and Luis Adelantado Miami. For shoppers, there is an artsy plant gallery combining contemporaty sculpture with small plants called Plant the Future and a unique museum-style gift shop called Elemental. Vintage housewares and period furniture are on sale at the popular consignment shop Las Tias.

If the sheer number of important art objects seems daunting, there are a bunch of cool new bars and restaurants to discover en route including Wynwood Kitchen and Bar, Lester’s, Wood Tavern and Joey’s Italian Cafe. Quirky and casual, these restaurants cater to the local hipster crowd but can get pretty crowded on weekends. To add to the appetizing excitement on Art Walk nights, around 30 of Miami’s Gourmet Food Trucks line up in a field at the corner of NW 23 Street and NW Second Avenue offering a unique variety of budget-friendly ethnic foods and homemade sweets to tempt even the most finicky art fan.

To explore the art scene in a truly unique way, join The Miami Bike Scene (.com) and tour the Wynwood district on wheels. This hale and hearty group of adult riders gathers in downtown Miami to explore the city’s art scene or simply cruise a few happy hours at local bars as a group. A recent Wynwood ride attracted around 70 interested riders who toured the graffiti walls around the district on a leisurely 2 hour guided ride. To get the most updated information on local rides, simply join Miami Critical Mass on Facebook.

While the Wynwood District sometimes seems a little dangerous, the crowds that gather on Art Walk weekends make Miami’s frontier neighborhood seem safe, edgy and fun. Join in April 14, May 12, June 9, July 14, August 11, September 8, October 13, November 10 and December 8, 2012.

Here are some of our favorite haunts:

Wynwood Kitchen & Bar
2250 NW Second Avenue

Lester’s
2519 NW Second Avenue

Cafeina Lounge
297 NW 23 Street

Joey’s Wynwood
2506 NW Second Avenue

Wood Tavern
2531 NW Second Avenue

JimmyZ Kitchen Wynwood
2700 North Miami Avenue

Elemental
2399 NW Second Avenue

Follow Furniture
80 NE 29 Avenue

Las Tias Consignment
2834 North Miami Avenue

Plant the Future
2511 NW Second Avenue

Primary Flight
4141 NE Second Avenue

Miguel Paredes Fine Art Gallery
173 NW 23 Street

Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts
2043 North Miami Avenue

Atelier 1022 Studio & Fine Art Gallery
2732 NW Second Avenue

Artformz Alternative
171 NW 23 Street

AE District
3852 North Miami Avenue

Buena Vista Building Space
180 NE 39 Street

Maor Gallery
3030 NE Second Avenue

Butter Gallery
2303 NW Second Avenue

Dorsch Gallery
151 NW 24 Street

Artseen Gallery
2215 NW Second Avenue

Dina Mitriani
2620 NW Second Avenue

Nina Torres
2033 NW First Place

Calix Gustav Gallery
98 NW 29 Street

Wynwood History
Wynwood wasn’t always the hotbed of artistic innovation that it is today. Years ago it was an apparel and warehouse district next to a massive train yard, which is now the colossal Mid-Town complex. As rail shipping disappeared, the area became blighted, and just a few years ago walking through Wynwood at night would’ve been inviting danger at worst, and extremely boring, at least.

Resurgence of the arts in the Miami area actually started in Miami Beach, but as real estate prices increased dramatically, most artists and galleries moved to the mainland around 40th Street and North Miami Avenue where the Design District was born. As this area also became gentrified, prices again became too expensive to support most galleries, and the bleeding edge arts community slowly migrated south to the old, blighted warehouse district where rents were low and ceilings were high.

Art Walk Genesis
Years before Wynwood became known, David Lombardi, principle of Lombardi Properties and area investor, had the idea of doing an arts party at his Wynwood properties to promote the arts and to increase the value of his buildings. These were called Roving Fridays and were one of the inspirations for the eventual Wynwood Art Walks.

The Design District had been doing a walk for a few years, though it had slowed down by that time. But, as more galleries moved into Wynwood, they soon put together their own art walk. Originally, it was on the first Saturdays of the month, but at some point it was decided to combine both the Design District and the Wynwood Art Walk onto the same night, and Second Saturdays was born.

In the early days of the Wynwood walk only a few of us brave souls who made it over. You could see maybe a dozen people on the street furtively hurrying from one of the half dozen or so galleries to the next. The streets were dark and the police presence was nonexistent, but even then, people began to realized what was happening and saw the potential. Back then, it was kind of scary getting from one gallery to the next. Not so much, anymore.

Galleries
Today, the Wynwood district is filled with a shifting myriad of galleries. Many of them come and go faster than even the nightclubs over in South Beach, but some have flourished by presenting an interesting array of artistic works. Today, hundreds of people jam the galleries and enjoy the creative vigor flowing through the area. Of course, many attempt to enjoy the free alcohol, as well.

Wynwood galleries represent a broad array of artistic styles and statements, so it’s difficult to make specific recommendations—what one person finds intellectually stimulating, another may find completely bourgeois.

The two oldest galleries in Wynwood are Bernice Steinbaum and Damien B Art Center. Frederic Snitzer and Kevin Bruk are also well established, and all have spent the last few years bringing thought-provoking art to Miami.

The Harold Golen Gallery has suffered through some setbacks, but is tops when it comes to pop art. A couple of new spaces that have emerged and are pushing the northern boundary of the district are PanAmerican ArtProjects and MAC Art Group. Pushing aesthetic, rather than geographical, boundaries are Artformz Alternatives and Hardcore Art Contemporary Space. Numerous other galleries bring their own sensibility, to the mix.

A little bit off the beaten path, and always with plenty of food and beverage on hand, is Edge Zones. This is a different kind of space that seems to cater primarily to young, up and coming artists. It is definitely worth the trek across Miami Avenue to see what they are up to.

During Art Walk most of the galleries provide complimentary alcohol and perhaps snacks to enhance your experience. Get there early if you wish to partake, though, because with the size of the crowds these days, the goodies sometimes runs out fast. Follow the crowd’s energy and let yourself be entertained.

Design District
The Design District is a little older than Wynwood and significantly more staid and stodgy. It has been extensively renovated and is far less sketchy. Most of the businesses there are in interior design, though a lot of those do dabble in art. Most notable  in the Design District is the long-running Art Fusion Galleries. They usually host live music and have a good supply of wine on hand, as well as a wide variety of interesting art to take in.

A newcomer to the Design District, and bringing a lot of enthusiasm with it, is AE District. With a large, open space, they display some truly remarkable works and often have live music.

Wolfgang Roth is also relatively new to the area and seems to specialize in more high-end fine art. There you’ll find a more sedate crowd and some very appealing works. Many of the design houses are open during the walk, as well. CityLoftArt and Luminaire Lab are two you’ll want to catch.

Two more interesting additions to the Design District are Locust Projects and Spinello Gallery. Locust Projects is a non-profit space dedicated to presenting avant-garde installations. (Locust was originally in Wynwood, but has moved up to the Design District.)

Spinello is a genius gallerist whose exhibits always generate great excitement as well as good sales. He too was originally located in Wynwood. Neither seem to fit in with the more sober sensibility of the Design District, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

And do not forget to stop by the Cabana Cachaca lounge for all the free alcohol you can stand in line for.

If you really want to get off the regular routes and see something surprising, there are two places you want to hit, O.H.W.O.W. (Our House West Of Wynwood) and the brand new Stash Gallery. Both definitely cater to the younger crowd and it shows. Both are recommended.

Dining Options
When art walks began a few years ago, they were relatively short, lasting maybe two or three hours. Now, they get going as early as 6:00pm and may go as late as midnight for some galleries. You are going to need all that time and more to see even a significant portion of all that’s available. With all that walking, you are likely to get hungry, as well, unless you can manage to snag enough free snacks before the hordes descend later in the evening.

Unfortunately, food is not easy to come by in the Wynwood district. Since it is still growing and expanding, only a few restaurants have taken the leap into the area. My recommendation is to start at the north end of Wynwood, on 36th Street, and eat at Lost and Found Saloon, really good, fresh food at reasonable prices.

From there you can hit Damien B and Bernice Steinbaum, both also on 36th, then stop by the Bakehouse Art Complex on 32nd Street on your drive down to the main part of Wynwood which is around 23rd Street. Bakehouse sometimes does a cookout, making it a fun way to support a deserving cause.

One of the restaurants that has really taken a bold step and moved into the heart of the Wynwood district is Joey’s, on the higher end of casual dining. The service is excellent and the food is very good.

If you get hungry later, but do not want to stop enjoying the art, visit the Fifi Gallery, where they’ve opened their own little cafe in the back yard of their gallery. The food is prepared by the owners and their friends, and it’s inexpensive and fun. Highly recommended.

If you’re in the mood to part with a little more case, the place for that is Michael’s Genuine which always gets high marks for food quality, but you do pay for it.

Nightlife
If you’re still ready to party after hours of traipsing all over the barrio, there are a few places that claim to have after parties for the art walks, but none of them are official, no matter what the flyers say. One interesting option is a new venue called Awarehouse. Part art gallery, part performance space, part empty, the nights here have been hit or miss so far, but once they establish themselves, things may start looking up. As it is, they generally have some interesting acts, free alcohol, and are smoke-free on the inside.

Wynwood Social Club is quite new, and it’s still unclear what it’s supposed to be. Usually $10.00 to get in and bring your own alcohol, they have a somewhat strange variety of live and semi-live music acts. The vibe is very laid back as you can relax on the couches or in the school desks. It’s right in the heart of the Wynwood district, so stick your head in as you walk by and see if it suits your taste.

The closest actual nightclub to the area is the Electric Pickle, which used to be Circa 28. They usually have a number of live artsy bands and DJ music after Art Walk. Aside from the ingrained smell of cigarette smoke, it’s a great place to go for an after party vibe.

The Vagabond (soon to be “Steam”), partly owned by Carmel Ophir who brought us the long-running Back Door Bamby for so many years is not quite into the mess that is downtown Miami and has a very cool vibe.

Wynwood is currently making the transition from blight to artistic innovation, and you can watch its progress, second Saturdays, every month during Art Walk.

(photos 1,3 & 6: Joseph Brown  |  photos 2, 4 & 5: James Echols)

Art Center South Florida
800 Lincoln Road / Miami Beach, FL / (305) 674-8278
Created in 1984 by a small group of beach artists, Lincoln Road’s very own artists? colony, Art Center South Florida is a 60,000 square-foot space with 52 open artist studios. The center is now supported by the city and features the works of numerous local artists, as well as ongoing classes in painting, drawing and photography. There is also a Lincoln Road Gallery Walk on the second Saturday of every month, 7p.m.-11p.m. (And the center knows how to throw a good bash.)

Bass Museum of Art
2121 Park Avenue / Miami Beach, FL / (305) 673-7530
Designed in 1930 by Russell Pancoast, the architect grandson of John A. Collins (as in Collins Avenue), the Art Deco Bass Museum of Art structure was originally a library. Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, who has designed new spaces for the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the Guggenheim Museum SoHo, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, has redesigned the Bass to provide more than three times its original exhibition space. The new museum will include an outdoor sculpture terrace, café and museum shop, and it will be equipped to exhibit both its permanent collection of European and American paintings and sculptures, and collections on loan. Before it closed for renovations, the Bass drew crowds for its exhibit of the dark, brooding works of Maxim Kantor and of Liza Lou’s meticulously hand-beaded sculptures, portraits, and installations.

Colony Theater
1040 Lincoln Road / Miami Beach, FL / (305) 674-1040
The city-owned, 465-seat Colony Theater, originally built in the 1930s (Art Deco, of course) by Paramount Pictures as a movie theater, is now used to showcase live performances and film festivals. Eartha Kitt, Spalding Gray, Sandra Bernhard, Lypsinka and Ru Paul have all graced its stage, as have numerous local dance companies. The annual South Beach Film Festival, and the Winter Shorts Film Festival are usually held here, and the theater has recently opened that necessary if not sufficient Lincoln Road staple, the outdoor Café which features coffee, desserts, liqueurs and a full bar for those post-performance critical chats.

Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater
1700 Washington Ave / Miami Beach, FL / (305) 673-7300
Originally called the Miami Beach Auditorium when it was built in 1950, in 1987 the theater was renamed in honor of Jackie Gleason, who moved to Miami Beach in 1964 in search of a year-round golfing climate and recorded his The Jackie Gleason Show from the Auditorium. This season marks the 50th anniversary of the theater, whose lobby will showcase images of the theater through the years.

Miami City Ballet
2200 Liberty Avenue / Miami Beach, FL / (305) 929-7010
The Miami City Ballet is one of the largest ballet companies in the world, featuring performances such as George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker,” and a Contemporary Dance Series under the direction of Artistic Director Edward Villella.

New World Symphony
541 Lincoln Road / Miami Beach, FL / (305) 673-3330
Since 1987, conductor and artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas has been impressing South Florida audiences with the New World Symphony, housed in the historic Lincoln Theatre on Lincoln Road and Drexel Avenue. The symphony is composed of 85 musicians who have passed a strenuous national audition. Once chosen, they are part of a three-year fellowship program that has had an impressive success rate: in 1999, 43 alumni went on to join professional symphonies nationwide.

Wolfsonian Museum
1001 Washington Avenue / Miami Beach, FL / (305) 531-1001
Founded in 1986, the Wolfsonian Museum joined forces with Florida International University in 1997, and specializes in art and design from 1885-1945. Curated by Cathy Leff, the museum owns over 70,000 objects d’art. As part of the university, its aim is to educate by providing a way of glimpsing history and tracing the evolution of North American and European culture and technology. The Wolfsonian also publishes the annual Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts. This year’s theme is Florida, with a collection of essays on the history and culture of the state. The building itself, while easily bypassed in the bustle of Washington Avenue, features an extraordinary interior and is worth a rainy-day visit even if the particular collection on display does not tempt.

Perhaps nowhere was the postwar craving for the futuristic more evident than on Miami Beach where, during the 1950s and 1960s, wildly inventive hotel designs emerged to satiate the requirements of the prosperous new middle-class on vacation. Resort area architects attempted to realize through their buildings what we of a more cynical age now concede to be science fiction. These architects created a unique futuristic look in Miami Beach that became known as Miami Modern — MIMO.

By the 1980s, this romantic future had already proven itself an abortive dream emanating from a nostalgic past. But after WWII, in an era of prosperity and optimism since unparalleled, the dream was only beginning. Automobiles with soaring fins tacitly sliced through the air with graceful ease; sparkling new appliances promising to alleviate housework appeared in every kitchen. The combination of affordable automobiles, increased disposable income, and more leisure time proved irresistible, and Americans began to vacation as never before.

The name MiMO was created two years ago by Randall Robinson, a planner with the Miami Beach Community Development Corporation, and Teri D’Amico, an interior designer and adjunct professor of hotel design at Florida International University, to refer to the hotel architecture of Greater Miami built between 1945-1969.

The LA Times, which referred to the MiMO style as “Miami Modernist,” praised Mitch Glazer’s Magic City series for its stunningly beautiful set designs, and retraced its origins with the most famous architect of the style, Morris Lapidus, whose Fontainebleau, Eden Roc, Seacoast Towers, Deauville, and Di Lido (now the Ritz-Carlton South Beach), set the stage for MiMO.

Naturally, the idea of MiMO did not spring up from the sea full-fledged; it has its roots in the Bauhaus movement of early 20th-century Germany, as propounded by architects and designers whose ideas soon made their way overseas: Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Breuer. Their conception was in its own way also nostalgically futuristic: they dreamed of streamlined, non-ornamental buildings that were comfortable, functional, and could be enjoyed by the working class, whose values, the Bauhaus school sentimentally believed, had not been corrupted by the overwrought aesthetic of the bourgeoisie. How wrong they were.

The pure Bauhaus vision failed in the United States on every level: working-class people certainly didn’t have the means to engage the services of a Bauhaus architect, and the booming middle-class was intent on showing off its money with as many flourishes as possible. After WW II, elite college campuses clamored for the Bauhaus style, known as Modern (Le Corbusier designed a building for Harvard, Breuer for Vassar), but elsewhere architects began adapting Modern to the prevailing mood of their clients. In Miami, this meant ornamentation galore, but in clean, geometric forms: Tropical Art Deco, a combination of streamlined moderne and the art deco of 1920s Paris.

At first glance, it can be difficult to differentiate MiMO from Art Deco. “We fall into a little bit of a trap when we make these distinctions,” admits Robinson of the MBCDC. “Anything old and vaguely decorative is called Art Deco.” Although there seem to be many similarities, MiMO comes closer to Modern in its use of certain features like asymmetry; kidney-bean and oval shapes and curves; carports with angular, amoeba-like, or winged shapes; semi-circular driveways at the entrance rather than front porches; and brise-soleils (sun shades).

Although South Beach is almost exclusively filled with examples of Art Deco, some MiMO buildings do exist: the Miami Beach Fire Station Number 1 (11th and Jefferson), the 1688 Meridian Building, The Penguin Hotel (1418 Ocean Drive), The Shore Club (1801 Sunset Harbor Drive), The Di Lido (155 Lincoln Road), and Burdines (17th and Meridian). For the most part, however, MiMO architecture tends to congregate in mid and North Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, and Bay Harbor Islands.

One architect who bridged the Art Deco-MiMO gap was Albert Anis, who created such Art Deco South Beach landmarks as the Clevelander, the Savoy, the Leslie, the Waldorf Towers, the Avalon and the Winter Haven before he moved on to his equally dramatic yet more organically shaped MiMO hotels of mid-beach, the Royal York (5875 Collins Ave.) and the Bel-Aire (6515 Collins).

Both hotels were recently the subjects of community protests against developers and calls for preservation, to date without success — the Bel-Aire’s fa’de has already been destroyed. Although preservationists are fighting the good fight, they are hampered by three harsh realities: (1) the current building code allows for far taller buildings than are currently standing, which is a boon for developers (2) The National Register of Historic Places, which would need to certify MiMO buildings in order to protect them from the wrecking ball, is unlikely to list properties younger than 50 years old unless they show “exceptional significance,” and (3) MiMO architecture is not universally considered to be of “exceptional significance.”

Even MiMO architect Morris Lapidus has weighed in against preservation; he was quoted in The New York Times as saying of the Bel-Aire, “Try living in a hotel like that. They were nice hotels for their time, but that time has passed.” Architect Norman Giller, who designed The Carillon (6801 Collins Ave.), lamented to The Miami Herald, “I think something needs to be done. It’s a crime the way [The Carillon’s] just sitting there. It’s an eyesore.” This particular eyesore won a Hotel of the Year award in 1957 for its distinctive glass facade and accordion wall in the ballroom. More than 40 years later, it stands abandoned.

Fortunately for Giller, Robinson, D’Amico, and other would-be MiMO saviors, Miami Beach has a history of vigorous design preservation, and many of its most staunch preservationists are also politicians. The fight to save Art Deco is still relatively fresh in the minds of many commission and city council members, and they are likely to look with a favorable eye on pleas to save the old MiMO buildings.

In the meantime, nostalgia for the future lives on in Miami Beach, where we have the good fortune to be living in our very own Gernsbach Continuum.

For example, pieces in the collection address a vast spectrum of vita issues, from theories of sculpture that date back to the Renaissance, to fascinating questions about the nature of creativity and originality. Even more important, perhaps, a pair of paintings from the Rubell collection can single-handedly inject a credible mediation in art-related political disputes as timely as ex-New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s philosophical altercation several years ago with the Brooklyn Museum of Art over elephant dung as a decorative motif.

More significantly, though, the Rubell collection, which contains 1,500 pieces by celebrated artists including Keith Haring, Peter Halley, Damien Hirst, David Salle and Cindy Sherman, as well as important local talents such as 62-year-old African-American folk artist Purvis Young, is a representation of every major influence in contemporary art over the last three decades. It includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, installation and videos. Fifteen exhibition spaces have concrete floors and corrugated metal ceilings that evoke the aesthetic and ambiance of an artist’s studio. Quite simply, the Rubell collection is a monument to contemporary art.

“It serves the important movements in contemporary art in the last 30 years and it’s probably one of the most complete surveys in the U.S.,” says Bill Begert, who served as curator for one year before departing for New York. Begert cites minimalism, neo-expressionism, neo-geo, photography and identity politics as the art movements best exemplified by the body of work the Rubells’ father Don, mother Mera, and children Jennifer and Jason, have lovingly assembled by seeking out the small studios of emerging but undiscovered artists in the U.S., Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Much to their credit, the Rubells did not use their wealth, largely inherited from the 1989 AIDS-related death of Don’s brother, Studio 54 co-creator Steve Rubell, to do the obvious as new collectors and buy expensive, universally-acclaimed works by the masters. “It’s very easy to buy Impressionist paintings,” says Don Rubell, a 61-year-old, Brooklyn-born former obstetrician who met his future wife in the library of Brooklyn College in 1962. Soon thereafter, the couple began collecting art with a $50 investment in a piece found during a European summer vacation. After that, they established a $25 a month budget for collecting original art. Ten years later, they crossed an important benchmark as serious collectors when they invested in a painting by young Italian artist Francesco Clemente.

Today, the Rubell collection, almost invariably bought from the artists at the earliest stages of their careers, is celebrated in art circles around the world. And Don Rubell enthusiastically points to the fact that they made their reputation without ever buying a single piece by an already “established” artist, much less a master. That’s just too easy, he says. “You buy your Picasso, then you buy your Matisse, then you buy right through Duchamps and Pollack,” he says. “It is more challenging and certainly more interesting to pursue these artists before they were considered Impressionists and to meet the artists. The uniqueness of this collection is not that we have objects from each of these periods. The uniqueness arises from the idea that we have pursued and obtained these objects at the earliest moments, before the definitions of these objects were clear.”

One thing is abundantly clear. Prescience in the world of art can be quite lucrative. For example, 20 years ago the Rubells invested $25 in a black-and-white photograph by Cindy Sherman, whose work injects the artist into scenes from famous movies. Today, the picture, which is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, is assessed at $250,000.

Don Rubell likes to point out that all art is contemporary art at the time it is being created. “A historical master was once a contemporary artist, whose only advantage was probably that he’s been dead longer than some of the other contemporary artists,” he says. “But every artist was a contemporary artist in his time. No one was born an old master.”

In fact, he says, it was often the early work of the masters that was actually the best and most enduring. He cites the example of Rembrandt. “Early Rembrandts were the most popular paintings he did. Those were his social works. When he became what we call quote-unquote the good Rembrandt, he fell completely out of favor.”

Today, Don Rubell and his family have taken on a passionate collective mission to ensure that the most important artists since 1970 never fall out of favor. It is a highly-personal quest, without any constraints from public funding, corporate grants, sponsors or even a board of directors. Put simply, the Rubells can do whatever they want and their tastes run the gamut of the key influences in contemporary art.

Along the way, art has brought the well-educated family closer together. The children are now largely responsible for the collection. Daughter Jennifer, who earned an art history degree from Harvard before relocating to Miami in the mid-1990’s at the age of 25, works with her 31-year-old brother Jason, who earned an art history degree at Duke after launching his first art collection at 14.

In its current incarnation, the Rubell art collection addresses a number of important and controversial issues that are often in the headlines. A perfect example is the extremely controversial work of black artist Chris Ofili, who lives in London. The Rubell collection contains a pair of beautiful, elegant, haunting pieces by the man who created the “elephant dung” school of art so reviled a while back by former New York Mayor Rudolph Guliani, who proclaimed that Ofili’s work defamed the Virgin Mary by having the offending dung smeared across her personage.

According to the Rubells and their former curator, nothing could be further from the truth. “The Virgin Mary piece the mayor talked about was a very beautiful, highly worked and developed painting that involved many layers of paint, resin, glitter and collage elements,” says former Rubell curator Bill Begert. “It emphatically was not smeared or splattered with dung as the ex-mayor of New York presented it. That was a total misrepresentation, a lie.”

In fact, says Begert, noting the two Ofili pieces in the Rubell collection, dung is almost sacred in the artist’s native African culture. “You heat your house and cook with it,” he says. “It’s part of the cycle of life. It isn’t just excrement.”

But, Begert says, the Ofili-Giuliani incident demonstrates that “the amazing thing about art is that it can play whatever role you want it to play. So, for Giuliani, it played the role of being the perfect illustration of the decadence of art.”

Another Rubell collection artist who ignites fierce debate is photographer Sherrie Levine, whose 1987 black-and-white print “Untitled (After Alexander Rodchenko)” is merely a photograph of the Russian master’s original photograph. Levine’s work intentionally provokes a furious debate over the very nature, and definition, of creativity and originality.

A 1992 sculpture by Charles Ray, titled “Oh Charley, Charley, Charley,” consists of eight cast-fiberglass nude males all made in the image of the artist. The work blends homoerotica and egomania, while solving artistic riddles about sculpture that date back centuries.

For such courage and vision, the Rubell collection is praised by art experts.

“Everyone in the art world who comes through Miami goes through the Rubell collection,” says art gallery owner Fred Snitzer, one of the pioneers of the now burgeoning Miami art scene.

Bonnie Clearwater, director of the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), says the Rubell collection has had a major impact on Miami as an art destination. “I have been working with a lot of young artists in Miami,” she says. “And a lot of the, have pointed to the fact that it’s important to them to have the Rubell collection here.”

The Rubell art collection is located at 95 Northwest 29th Street in Miami. The exhibit, which is changed twice a year, is open Wednesday through Sunday  from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $2.50 for students, seniors and anyone under 18. Special tours can be arranged at other times. For more information, call (305) 573-6090 or inquire via e-mail at rubellcollection@mindspring.com.