In Ragnar Kjartansson’s 2007 video installation, God, the artist channels a Vegas lounge lizard, warbling “sorrow conquers happiness” over and over again, shattering visitors’ nerves and rattling their brains. The work is on view in “At Capacity: Large-Scale Works From the Permanent Collection” at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The…

In some religions, when you die, you get your ticket punched to Heaven or Hell; never mind the get-out clause. In others, there’s the notion of a sin bin where you receive a time-out until Judgment Day or the Resurrection comes.Catholics, however, have a place called Purgatory, or an in-between…

Visitors to this year’s ArteAmericas can expect edgy works dealing with brutality, says Emilio Callejo, the art fair’s vice president. “One of our exhibits focuses on the violence that follows civic activism in countries like Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador,” he says. “We will have an installation featuring…

Man might be able to erect soaring skyscrapers on postage stamp-size plots of land, but nature remains unimpressed. “Wilderness,” the new exhibit opening Sunday at the Miami Art Museum, explores the real or imagined boundaries between our notions of tamed or untamed nature, says MAM’s associate curator, Rene Morales. At…

Visitors to this year’s ArteAmericas can expect edgy works dealing with brutality, says Emilio Callejo, the art fair’s vice president. “One of our exhibits focuses on the violence that follows civic activism in countries like Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador,” he says. “We will have an installation featuring…

Miami’s MOCA celebrates its quinceanera

To celebrate its remarkable transition from a fledgling upstart to an internationally respected arts destination, MOCA is marking its quinceañera this Thursday night with “At Capacity: Large-Scale Works From the Permanent Collection.” The exhibit features a stunning selection from the more than 600 works in MOCA’s collection, many of them…

When Aldo Castillo was hired as associate director of the Miami International Art Fair (MIA) last year he didn’t expect that the experience would land him a higher profile gig on the international stage. “I was hired by International Fine Arts Expositions to organize the seven fairs the company operates…

During the past five years, photographer Clyde Butcher has journeyed from his studio deep in the confines of the Florida swamps to crisscross the country from sea to shining sea. Perhaps best known for his panoramic views of the Everglades, Butcher who looks a bit like Grizzly Adams or Santa…

During the past two decades, Mark Dion has created a skull-staving catalog of projects exploring how nature is represented in science and culture. Dion, who has snagged an honorary Ph.D from the University of Hartford, has had solo shows in museums across the globe including New York’s Museum of Modern…

There’s no need to line up for free booze at the Second Saturday Art Walk in Wynwood this weekend: The artworks alone will make you think you’re seeing double or at least make you look twice.From the sights and sounds of carnival to visions of goddesses, from brainy op and…

President Reagan had his picture snapped at Vizcaya, as did Pope John Paul II. The grand old manse has made cameo appearances in movies such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Money Pit and in the photo albums of giddy newlyweds and quinceañeras. “When people seek a theatrical setting…

Miami art this week: Man Ray, Roberto Matta, and Wifredo Lam

March 12 Wynwood art walk packs a visual punch

During the past two decades, Mark Dion has created a skull-staving catalogue of projects exploring how nature is represented in science and culture. The artist’s South Florida Wildlife Rescue Unit is a large-scale installation that focuses on the Everglades and human attempts to control the South Florida ecosystem. Dion’s mustard-colored…

Miami art this week: Sweat, politics, and amoebas

During the past two decades, Mark Dion has created a skull-staving catalogue of projects exploring how nature is represented in science and culture. The artist’s South Florida Wildlife Rescue Unit is a large-scale installation that focuses on the Everglades and human attempts to control the South Florida ecosystem. Dion’s mustard-colored…

Contorted human figures, highway larceny, and freshly hatched homegrown talent pepper the neck-craning exhibits opening this weekend during the Second Saturday Art Walk. Beginning at 6 p.m., French artist Keren pushes anatomy through the wringer at the Lelia Mordoch Galerie. In “Body Geometry,” an eye-popping series of digital prints, she…

Pablo Soria and Rusty Scruby split the marquee at Pan American Art Projects, where they twang divergent chords of photography with works riffing on childhood memories and personal experiences. Soria’s “Nocturnal” explores the persistence of memory through the play of shadows. Meanwhile, Scruby’s “Here WiFi” relates the details of a…

“Come Ply,” a group show featuring a bumper crop of talent poised to graduate from the Design and Architecture High School or New World School of the Arts, corrals six young artists who focus searching eyes on sexuality, permanence, technology, privacy, tradition, and convention at Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts. Call…

Just a few months after from lampooning a naked and silver-spackled Kim Kardashian for our Basel cover, Bert Rodriguez is ready to join the queen of reality TV on the silver screen. The artist is the subject of Making Sh*t Up, a feature documentary film by the Miami-based contemporary art…