Art Expressions… By the Bay.

From Jan 21st through Mar 31st, 2006Drive slowly down a long and winding dirt road through a gatehouse in southwest Miami, that reads Matheson Hammock Park, Art Expressions and prepare to discover more than vegetation, water and sand. Where the road ends and the ocean begins, presently stands an exhibition that interweaves the magical relationship between humans and our tropical environment. Barely over a dozen contemporary artists have installed a variety of intricate and diverse sculptures which vividly demonstrate the interaction created between a series of architectural hand made elements and the natural world. Matheson Hammock Park will pay homage to the explorations of these various artists and their cutting edge works until March 31, 2006. Imagine a beautiful bay with sail boats, people fishing and children dipping carefully into the waters of an enclosed pond. Nestled all around the circular barrier that separates the sea from the toddler’s pond are organic and rigid artworks strategically placed to encourage spectators to look, question and most of all enjoy. You’ll first encounter an angular work installed by Eduardo Ramirez Villamizar. His sculpture is reminiscent of a hurricane blown building that remains upright although ravaged by the insistent winds and rains. Made of metal and finished with a rusty patina, the structure laden with small but recognizable slanted windows and doors, aptly defies the forces of nature and stands proudly on the coastal edge of the bay. Metamorphic, voluptuous, polished and sensual, describes the next work done by artist Agustin Cardenas. Where Villamizar’s work stood sharp, tall and defiant, Cardenas’ reclining curving sculpture connotes femininity and patience. These first two large scale pieces juxtapose intuitively as if to consolidate both the male and female entities which rule our cosmos. Freda Tshumy added the third element needed to complete this natural sequence. She has developed a penchant for enticing the viewer to dive into his underwater world. Vegetable in form, with undercurrents that remind us of forests made of miles and miles of swaying kelp, her metallic statues beckon spectators to submerge themselves into the depths of the dark waters and become one with the oceans. Male, Female, Nature: the perfect triangle greets visitors when they enter this artful path. Further on and strategically placed within the rocky barrier walkway, you’ll find various rich and symbolic pieces, like that of Miguel Angel Velit whose sacred bits of resting stones, filled with mystic signs, squaw lines and stars, make one reflect before continuing towards Florencio Gelabert’s sliding glass doors. This glass enclosure forms a rectangle which reminds curios seekers of a lighthouse and its illuminating beam. The traveler is guided safely in from the dark sea towards this unique safe harbor, nightly. Diagonally across Gelabert’s work, is Richard Medlock‘s landmark stone carving. It is crowned with a crescent moon carved onto a dark hued background and surrounded by his signature spiral expressions which gently connote the universe and its cycle of creation. Medlock dedicated two works to this overall artistic endeavor. A visit to the ample beach area at the end of the promenade, will hopefully entice you to figure out how his clever and playful mathematical game, composed of 10’ high, iron rods, in a oval pattern, protruding from the sand, fits into the overall scheme of life. Daniel Fiorda’s three vigils stand guard over the bay, much like the guardians that protect Isla de Pasqua. Scrolled with abundant scratches, groves and ancient symbols the three brightly painted pink, white and gray, wood and metal structures; seem to whisper an ancient language that only the initiated will comprehend. Where the Bay turns back towards the warm sandy beach, Joseph David Kernisky’s shares his vision with visitors. This depiction of a dolphin, an octopus and a ‘fish’ dolphin, will perhaps be the most comprehensible artwork for the masses. Kernisky’s creation stands as a monument to the mammals, cephalopods, and fish that swim in the deep waters of our planet. Alette Simmons-Jimenez has added a touch of dynamics to this group exhibition. Her hand painted triangular flags fly in the warm breezes of the South Florida bay. The 20 flags, flapping in the wind remind sailors and land lubbers alike that flags can seem whimsical, but often also convey warnings of turbulent waves, hidden passages and invisible undercurrents. John Martini’s metallic, featherless fowls seem to gaze over the bathers. Cut with a blow-torch and painted in primary colors, these birds endlessly wade, watch and wait. Grass and rods are the theme that Carolina Sardi has decided upon, for this show. The iron rods she uses, some shaped in straight lines and others in hairpin u-turns, take on a phallic meaning when penetrated into beds of green grass. The rods are lodged deeply into both a living verdant crust and the flowing ever changing atmosphere, creating a man- (woman) made link, between Mother Earth and the universe. Tao Rey seems to sum up the whole outdoor exhibition perfectly with his traffic street sign which is carefully placed at the entrance of the bay. It reads: BE AWARE. By Marguerite Gil. [email protected] For more information, please call: 305.755.5455