Tapping the dynamic energy of a changing city, Miami in Transition features 21 Miami artists whose work responds to the city’s rapid, dramatic transformation in light of trends in the current real estate market. The exhibition, curated by MAM Assistant Director for Special Projects/Curator Lorie Mertes and Curatorial Research Assistant René Morales, will be on view from April 27 to October 29.

The exhibition features more than 50 works that range from focused responses to construction and demolition to more general meditations on art and life amid an environment in flux. While some works mourn the loss of cherished sites, others deal with the city’s future. The media employed by the artists on view are as varied as their responses to the building boom. In addition to drawing, installation, painting, photography and sculpture, the exhibition includes everything from a zoetrope to the latest in digital technology.

Artists represented in Miami in Transition are: Daniel Arsham, Natalia Benedetti, Vicenta Casañ, Xavier Cortada, Patricio Cuello, Andrés Ferrandis, Mark Handforth, William Keddell, Leila A. Leder-Kremer, Nicolas D. Lobo, Michael Loveland, Glexis Novoa, Martin Oppel, Placemaker, Tao Rey, Leyden Rodríguez-Casanova, George Sánchez-Calderon, Tina Spiro, Ivan Toth DePeña, Thomas Brian Virgin and Purvis Young.

Miami in Transition is the first Miami Art Museum exhibition dedicated entirely to Miami artists since the highly successful, year-long New Work series in 2001.

“Artists and developers helped spark the Miami cultural renaissance, sometimes symbiotically” Mertes said. “Miami in Transition is intended to expand upon the ongoing dialogue concerning the current transitions Miami is undergoing and its close ties to Miami’s growing art scene.”

Some of the artists in the exhibition, including Daniel Arsham, Natalia Beneditti, Martin Oppel and Tao Rey were affiliated with “The House,” which served as both residence and exhibition space for many emerging Miami artists in the 90s. “The House” was demolished when the community in which it was located was redeveloped. Miami art critic Alfredo Triff, author of the recently released book Miami Arts Explosion -- described as “a rare chronicle of the making of a formidable scene”-- will lead a panel discussion with Arsham,

Benedetti and Oppel, as well as Mark Handforth and Leila A. Leder-Kremer, as part of the exhibition’s opening reception on April 26 from 6 to 8 pm. The panel discussion will begin at 6:30 pm.

“Artists’ communities often arise in underdeveloped areas because of affordable housing and studio space. Many artists have thus found themselves physically positioned to serve as witnesses to, for and against development booms,” Morales added. “By channeling these experiences into their work, they clarify the tumultuous social forces at play in urban transformation.”

• Michael Loveland will create an installation centered on discarded advertising signage;

• Glexis Novoa will contribute ephemeral drawings which will appear throughout the exhibition space; and

• Leyden Rodríguez-Casanova will install a spiked metal fence that recalls traditional elements of local domestic houses.

The exhibition is organized by the Miami Art Museum and is supported by MAM’s Annual Exhibition Fund.

Lorie Mertes was promoted to Assistant Director for Special Projects/Curator at the Miami Art Museum in 2004. She has been with MAM as a curator since 1994. Mertes has served as the curator of more than 20 exhibitions including marking time: moving images, and solo exhibitions by James Rosenquist, Shahzia Sikander, Russell Crotty, Jim Hodges, and Liisa Roberts as well as a number of special projects including a site-specific installation by Ann Hamilton in 1998 and the recent Miami skywriting project by Vik Muniz. She has also served as the coordinating curator on 20 large-scale traveling exhibitions for MAM. She currently serves as the editor of Converge, MAM's publication series documenting New Work exhibitions and has participated in the implementation of several education and audience development initiatives including Visitors Gallery, JAM at MAM and the museum's website. Mertes, a South Florida native, graduated from the University of Florida with a BA in art history.

René Morales was named Curatorial Research Assistant at the Miami Art Museum in 2005. He played a significant role in the adaptation of the retrospective Ana Mendieta: Earth Body for its presentation at MAM and co-curated the MAM exhibition Mapping Space. He iscurrently curating exhibitions in MAM’s Video Gallery. Prior to joining MAM, Morales served as a curatorial intern at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and as Curatorial Assistant at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. Morales, who immigrated to Miami from Cuba in 1980, earned a Master’s degree in Art History from Brown University.

Available in the galleries. Free.

6 to 8pm

DJ, hors d’oeuvres, donation bar

6:30 to 7:15pm

Guided tours of the exhibition every Sunday at 2pm. Sponsored by The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald

Second Saturday of every month, 1 – 4pm

Drop in to enjoy fun, interactive programs. Families of all ages explore MAM together, find inspiration to create works of art, and participate in hands-on activities led by GalleryTeachers.

Media contact:

Mitchell Snow
305-375-1705
griera@miamidade.gov

Accredited by the American Association of Art Museums, Miami Art Museum is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts; with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners.