As Untitled Art, Miami Beach gears up for its 13th edition this December, we take a moment to look at a selection of new galleries exhibiting with us, and what you can expect to see from them this year. View the full list of exhibitors here, and stay tuned to learn more.
A.I. (London, UK)
Artists Haffendi Anuar and Kent Chan split their time between Europe and Asia, from London and Kuala Lumpur, and the Netherlands to Singapore, respectively, allowing both artists to reflect on cross-cultural dialogue naturally. Across all media, Anuar’s work explores themes of identity and colonialism, often using batik techniques, a traditional South Asian production method using waxes and dyes. Whereas Chan primarily works in video, exploring themes such as the “tropical imaginary,” with a critical lens on the Western gaze towards South Asia. Another presenting artist, Rachel Youn, brings a three-dimensional context to this year’s edition, whose works incorporate machines and artificial plants that can border on absurd and erotic, and reflect on experiences shaped by their immigrant father growing up in the United States.
Carl Freedman (Margate, UK)
Based in Margate, Kent, a British seaside town and growing arts hub now home to the Turner Contemporary and Tracey Emin Studio, Carl Freeman Gallery will present works by Studio Lenca (aka Jose Campos), a contemporary artist in the UK with roots from El Salvador, and Vanessa Raw, the British painter who critically examines the complexities surrounding the female vs the male gaze.
In their studio practice, Studio Lenca and Raw both delve into themes that challenge and expand our understanding of contemporary art. Studio Lenca draws upon his Salvadoran heritage, infusing his works with cultural narratives and personal experience, creating a dialogue between tradition and modernity. Raw critically examines gender dynamics and the intricacies of perception through identity and representation in her work. The two-person presentation is a compelling reflection on cultural identity and the politics of viewing.
CON_ (Nest) (Tokyo, Japan)
This year, CON_ gallery presents “Eyes On The Horizon,” a two-person presentation featuring Yukino Yamanaka of Japan and Russian-born, Europe-based Apollinaria Broche.
Traversing the "Horizon" that lies beyond the boundary between reality and imagination, coexisting in the same time and space through contradictory axes, the artists will bring new works to Miami that, despite living in different continents such as Asia and Europe, the "Horizon" in their vision continues to expand, constantly incorporating new possibilities. The act of "Eyes On The Horizon" in their respective scales and lives is an action of envisioning the future, and within that action lies the power to create the world. Yamanaka’s paintings are illustrated portraits and figures, depicting a physical yet other-worldly existence in her subjects and reflecting on spirituality. Similarly, Apollinaria Broche draws from imagination, primarily using sculpture to capture the existence of “dreamworlds” that acknowledge the need for escape, especially from contemporary political conflict.
Loft Art Gallery (Casablanca and Marrakech, Morrocco)
In a solo presentation by multimedia Moroccan artist Amina Agueznay, Loft Art Gallery showcases her latest pieces that conjure encoded social connections within the layers of a flat-woven rug. Patterned on a wedding veil worn for its protective powers, the work also holds talismanic jewelry in its fibers.
Heavily influenced by her background in architecture and jewelry design, Aqueznay combines the skills of traditional Moroccan weaving techniques to create intersections between cultural heritage and contemporary art. Embedded with symbolic elements, like talismanic jewelry within the woven patterns, invites viewers to decode the layered meanings and historical references embedded in each piece; the presentation reflects on traditional practices reinterpreted and infused with modern relevance.
MOU PROJECTS (Nest) (Hong Kong)
This year, MOU PROJECTS brings a solo presentation by Chinese-born, NY-working artist Huang Baoying, titled “A common exile state of being.” The collection of paintings delve into the themes of longing and deep exploration of family history, drawing from artist's experience as a part of the female Asian diaspora in the US. Baoying’s meticulous attention to detail captures her reality and gentle observations of plants and other intimate objects of affection such as literature, glassware, and mirrors.
Inspired by a recent visit to her family-owned house in the now-ruined Shenzhen suburb in China, Baoying documented thriving flora and abandoned household items left behind by former inhabitants, underscoring the connection between the past and present. Playing with the delicate balance between the two catalyzes her ongoing contemplation of mourning and reconciliation.
Neon Parc (Brunswick, South Yarra, Australia)
Neon Parc presents a solo presentation by Australian contemporary artist Dale Frank, a celebrated voice active since the 1970s. In his decades-long commitment to abstraction, the works trace his development using a range of new painterly mediums, such as translucent dye, with various resins. Oscillating between vivid color palettes, the viscosity of the ink differs from Frank’s use of powdered pigments, which allows the colors to bleed and meld within the frame.
Psychologically charged artwork titles add a new perspective, further implicating the audience in the work's consumption.
Pi Artworks (London, UK and Istanbul, Turkey)
Pi Artworks presents “Within a Budding Grove,” a solo presentation by British artist Jyll Bradley comprising of photography, sculpture, wallpaper, and text works. Throughout all media, Bradley unearths interwoven threads that span her artistic career: work that grapples with her identity as a queer woman and her lifelong interest in structures for growth, particularly the concept of ‘queering minimalism.’
Featuring several photographic self-portraits shot in the late 1980s in conversation with minimal sculptures are a form of self-portraiture through her signature materials of timber and colorful plexiglass and playing with the duality of the figure, casting colorful shadows in the light and shifting one’s perception of space. Questioning how we curate our personal archives and approach memory, Bradley undertakes in this presentation finding the personal in abstract and minimal forms.
Rajiv Menon Contemporary (Nest) (Los Angeles, CA)
Rajiv Menon Contemporary presents “I-Pop,” a two-person presentation of India’s rising talents, artists Tarini Sethi and Viraj Khanna. Exploring elements of embroidery, textile, and craftsmanship, major juncture points for the cultural encounter between India and the West, Sethi and Khanna exemplify new contemporary interpretations of India’s art historical and craft heritage. In their multimedia approach to their works, Sethi and Khanna demonstrate the centrality of youth perspectives in a cultural context while conveying the significance and cultural relevance of Indian art and aesthetic quality.
Stems Gallery (Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium)
Stems Gallery brings a group presentation to Miami Beach, with an artist roster that includes Jin Jeong, Coady Brown, and Arghavan Khosravi, among others. In their dynamic selection of sculptures and paintings, the artists offer a unique perspective on identity and cultural reflection, bridging historical reference and modernity. In a globally diverse conversation, artists such as Jeong’s reflective paintings capture the beauty of everyday moments, drawing inspiration from her South Korean heritage. The paintings reflect a mix of diverse influences from European Expressionist painters, American West Coast landscape painters, and Eastern religious influences through Taoist and Buddhist philosophies. Khrosravi sculpture intertwines elements of Persian culture and contemporary imagery that delve into themes of identity and memory. Born in Iran and now living and working in the United States, she draws on the style of ancient Persian miniature paintings to her surreal. Brown, bringing an emotionally charged diptych, invites viewers into an introspective journey that explores the nuances of existing within an androgynous body, drawing from personal experiences and emotions and examining the psychological geography of the queer experience.
Tulsa Artist Fellowship (Nest) (Tulsa, OK)
Miguel Braceli’s solo exhibition, “EMANCIPATORY LANDS,” presented by the Tulsa Artist Fellowship, encompasses a series of large-scale participatory interventions in New York, NY, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Caracas, Venezuela, and Atacama, Chile. These interventions approach political identities through collective practices and learning experiences in public spaces. His projects present a decentralized and multipolar vision of global politics from East to West, developing poetical gestures to address political challenges from the transformative possibilities of education. Working between rural and urban landscapes, Braceli’s work intertwines architectural imagery of states, nations, and other forms of governmental territories that calls for emancipation of land based on social, environmental, and pedagogical approaches.
Image caption:
Tarini Sethi. Courtesy of Rajiv Menon Contemporary.