At first blush, the crumpled 55-gallon oil drum spilling its contents onto the gallery floor gives the impression that Frost Art Museum’s new show might be a knock on the high price of gas or an ironic ode to car culture. “Gran Torino,” however, is not a stab at America’s…

Don’t confuse “Gran Torino,” the new exhibit opening at the Frost Art Museum tonight, as a knock on the high price of gas or an ironic ode to car culture. The exhibit has nothing to do with America’s love affair with the muscle car. Nor is it a nod to…

The intoxicating myth of discovering terra incognita was the inspiration behind Portuguese author Jose Saramago’s tiniest tome. In his dinghy-sized 50-page story, The Tale of the Unknown Island, the protagonist asks a king for a seaworthy vessel to search for an island no one thinks really exists.The scribe’s musings on…

At her eponymous space on one of the southernmost arteries of the gritty nabe, Nina Torres, an international arts consultant who relocated here from New York last year, continues her mission of cultivating emerging South Florida talent. During this month’s gallery walk, Torres inaugurated “Helium Hum,” Cristina Molina’s first local…

Explorers, both ancient and modern, have perennially salivated over discovering mysterious islands whose golden banks might be speckled with pulverized gems or perhaps even be the site of the fountain of youth or buried treasure. Needless to say, they weren’t searching for one of the troves of used condoms, broken…

From a lollipop-head puking gold glitter to a pussy-fixated Chinese artist, a pair of Wynwood galleries offer plenty of eye candy to entice visitors to the booming arts district after the Second Saturday culture crawl. At her eponymous space on one of the southernmost arteries of the gritty nabe, Nina…

When Marcel Duchamp first exhibited his Fountain in 1917 little could he have guessed the men’s urinal would become one of modern art’s iconic landmarks. He probably never thought that his pissoir, entered in an exhibit as a Dadaist prank, would inspire later artists to create works using bodily fluids…

“The Visionary Eye” Through January 15 at O. Ascanio Gallery, 2600 NW Second Ave., Miami; 305-571-9036; oascaniogallery.com. Thursday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Visionary Eye” features the work of eight contemporary and modern masters, including Jesus Soto, Carlos Cruz Diez, Alejandro Otero, Victor Lucena, Francisco Salazar, Carlos…

The organizers of the Miami International Art Fair, the Magic City’s newest arts confab have suffered a sophomore meltdown this year. The midwinter showcase, boasting over a 1,000 artists represented by 65 galleries from 17 countries was to unveil the “Modern Ice Museum” housing dazzling ice painting by Canada’s Gordon…

From a dishwasher full of dildos to a mummy found festering in a Wynwood warehouse to a show celebrating Miami’s criminal soul to torture implements designed to mutilate genitals at the Freedom Tower to a pair of epic clinics on great painting, 2010 marked an unforgettable year in art. It…

The last 12 months marked an unforgettable arts season. In 2010, Miami’s gallery and museum circuit offered a dishwasher full of dildos, a mummy found festering in a Wynwood warehouse, a show celebrating Miami’s criminal soul, and torture implements designed to mutilate cherished genitals.And the unimaginable has happened. In an…

From Ed Ruscha’s swimming pools to Jose Yalenti’s undulating building, a stunning collection of images at CiFo Art Space evoke a deeper reflection on the nature of pictures. “Inside Out, Photography After Form” boasts over 90 photographs from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, and marks the first time in recent years…

“The Visionary Eye”Through January 15 at O. Ascanio Gallery, 2600 NW Second Ave., Miami; 305-571-9036; oascaniogallery.com. “The Visionary Eye” features the work of eight contemporary and modern masters, including Jesus Soto, Carlos Cruz Diez, Alejandro Otero, Victor Lucena, Francisco Salazar, Carlos Cabeza, Victor Vasarely, and Bernar Venet. With the exception…

There’s magic afoot at Little Haiti Cultural Center these days. The once underused space has started attracting foot traffic on weekdays and is now open on weekends. It houses several resident dance companies and some arts classrooms. During Art Basel week, the place just off NE Second Avenue even hosted…

From Ed Ruscha’s swimming pools to Jose Yalenti’s undulating building, a stunning collection of images at CiFo Art Space evoke a deeper reflection on the nature of pictures.”Inside Out, Photography After Form” boasts over 90 photographs from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, and marks the first time in recent years the…

Miami art this week: Black Square Gallery catches dreams

It’s the last Monday in November, a few nights before Art Basel officially opens. Oscar Ascanio, owner of a fresh-hatched eponymous Wynwood gallery, stands outside his joint surveying the anemic crowds. The backfire of a rusty jalopy startles the gallerist and the few people entering his snazzy space. Ascanio doesn’t…

Sometimes you have to die to be reborn. Carlos Eire’s first lesson when adjusting to life in America was to bury his past. His new book Learning to Die in Miami chronicles his coming of age in the ’60s, when he was a Cuban immigrant in South Florida far from…

For artist Jonathan Meese, there are no sacred cows, just the battle between good and evil. In his multifarious practice, which includes drawing, painting, performances, installations, set designs, traditional sculpture, and film, the wildly eclectic German artist remains ferociously committed to the dueling forces populating his head. But his complex…

Fountain Miami artists make a splash

Bert Rodriguez bares all for Art Basel