“Trapped in Thought,” by Luisa Mesa

Look Out!
Five Art Center of South Florida Artists Take Their Art to the Street

By Lorraine Boogich

The Art Center of South Florida offers a refreshing sight on the often overtly commercial sidewalks of Miami Beach. In the current installation, “5 Windows 5 Views,” on display through Feb. 16 at the 800 Lincoln Road Gallery, five resident artists, all with their individual visions, display their works side by side in a communal, non-competitive way.

Eurydice’s mixed media pieces immediately grab attention. Loose magazine cutouts, bold colors and the heavy use of negative space coalesce into the energy of an era idolized by the youth of today. “Style” magazine, James Bond and hyper-sexed vixens boldly call out to Lincoln Road pedestrians. Look closely, and notice the form of a woman composed in embroidery, a medium Eurydice uses to represent expression and rebellion.

Behind another glass panel, three women with the same face gaze out. Nina Surel’s creations recognize the stereotypes that women are challenged with. The environment around each paper doll-like figure is strikingly different. One woman with a home inside her body seems to portray a moral, conservative, and domestic, yet ultra-feminine, persona. Perhaps it is a label from the not-so-distant past that society has embedded in our brains. The same flat found in the eyes of each woman contrast the lively colors and geometric shapes that Surel uses to show the metaphorical thread of life.

Around the corner Natasha Duwin shows twigs, twine and feathers woven together in an intricate tribal fashion. Clusters of thorny sticks support basket-shaped elements lending an appearance that is anthropologic in nature, and crafts thought-provoking symbolism. More than art, her hanging sculptures also function as conductors of light.

“Trapped in Thought,” a mixed media by Luisa Mesa, is appropriately placed in solitude. Peer into the eyes of this portrait and emotion seeps out, flowing into a variety of subtle overlaid patterns. Mesa finds inspiration from exploring the nature of human consciousness.

Ena Marrero utilizes a combination of ordinary elements to create a transformed new object with a separate identity. Nylon, plastic toys and wire are strategically composed into the form of an elephant, which suggests an evolutionary process. The animal clearly represents the worlds’ natural environment, yet the material used is anything but organic.

The installations coming together with a common outward-looking purpose is an extraordinary phenomenon in itself, Marrero says.

“This is the first time The Art Center has ever done something like this,” Marrero said. “‘It’s 5 Windows, 5 Views’ but not only is the public looking in, but it’s like the Art Center is looking out.”

See “5 Windows 5 Views,” through Feb. 16. Admission to The ArtCenter of South Florida, 800 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, is free. Call 305-674-8278 or visit artcentersf.org for more information.

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