MoCA at Goldman Warehouse

Merce Cunningham: Dancing on the Cutting Edge. Part II From Apr 21st through Jun 24th, 2007Merce Cunningham: Dancing on the Cutting Edge. Part II is currently on view at MoCA at Goldman Warehouse as the second exhibition of the series dedicated to the work and collaborations of the prestigious artist. Part II includes works by Daniel Arsham, a young local artist selected by Cunningham from a group of four other Miami artists, to collaborate in his latest production EyeSpace. The dance, visual art, and music collaboration – that also includes the music of composer David Behrman – had already been premiered at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts last February as part of the “Merce in Miami” celebration organized by the institution. The exhibition features Arsham’s drawings, set and costume design created for the dance company’s new production. Most of Arsham’s works deal with the fusion of natural and architectural forms with the everyday surroundings. His works are inspired by recognizable elements such as fragments of plaster walls or ordinary architectural elements, that he recreates into malleable and movable models. The results are surrealistic, even uncanny objects and shapes that disrupts our perception. Merce Cunningham, who is now eighty seven, has collaborated in the past with renowned visual artists such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella and Andy Warhol. In regards of his surprising selection of a young talent like Daniel Arsham, the executive director of the company has commented: “The selection process was not an easy one as all the artists recommended had qualities that were promising for this project. He emerged as a young artist who is far advanced in his technique and personal vision. Incorporating Daniel’s work is going to be an interesting and exciting challenge.” Daniel Arsham was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1979 and received his B.A. in Fine Art from The Cooper Union in 2003. Arsham’s work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami and it has been featured in some of the exhibitions held at MoCA since 2005.