Deering Estate: Juliana Torres, "See Through from Inside" (Photo by Irene Sperber).
Today boys and girls, we are going to discuss “fragility”. . . of time, place, beauty and possessions from two different sources: nature and man-made objects made from nature. I braved the attitude adjusting (and not in a good way) clogged winter Florida highways to bring you the report. You’re welcome. And the drive was worth it.
Expedition I: Heading south of Miami to the (Charles) Deering Estate, I pondered examples of how eight artists meditate and interpret the extent of ecological vulnerability, and the part we play, with the outdoor exhibition “Deering Contemporary: Unraveled Tales.”
My trip to the estate was a balm to overflowing tension of modern life as it swirls around, eddy style, threatening to get a choke hold on our usual serene demeanor. May I suggest we remember nature is a chill pill to rising anxiety. I remembered the Counter-Cultural Author and Journalist Hunter Thompson who is credited with the quote “half of life is just showing up.” An obscure someone else added “the other half of your life depends on whether you did.”
Deering Contemporary: "Unraveled Tales” exhibition is encapsulated in 450 acres of Miami’s natural landscape, covering 10,000 years of information nestled in this expanse of multiple ecosystems. Merely seeing a place does not always mean we learn. An exhibition encourages viewers to dig deeper.
Deering Estate: Artist Carol Jazzar (at right) in front of her installation "The Remains of the Days" with visiting creative beings Laetitia Adam-Rabel and her daughter. (Photo by Irene Sperber)
Next to the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, the estate’s new exhibition honors Miami denizens of yore, a fact of our past becoming more elusive as times fades into time. I’m thinking how the Joni Mitchell 1969 lyrics apply here: “You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone . . .” The contributing artists, both Miami-based and offshore in this collective are cognizant of the need continuing to highlight ancestral stories and how we are the stewards in preserving historical, archaeological, and environmental reality. There is evidence of prehistoric and Indigenous Tequesta on the site, way before the Deering family (early 1900s) graced its shores. Fossil bones have been found as far back at 50,000-100,000 years in the area. We need to take an afternoon to honor the past with current day artist’s site specific connections using sculpture, installation, performance, textile based and photographs. Look on the Deering website for workshops and programs around the showing that walk you back into a deeper past.
Deering Estate, Pamela Suasti, Performance piece "TEJIDO HUMANO," Tejido de papel maché (Image courtesy of Deering Estate)
The eight artists exhibiting throughout the park.
- Arcs of Time - Claudio Marcotull
- See-through from Inside - Juliana Torres
- I was Here - Laura Villarreal
- Badyear, Tejido humano - Pamela Suasti
- I will hold, / will be held - Nicole Pedraza
- Day Before Yesterday - Amanda Linares
- The Remains Of The Days - Carol Jazzar
- Planes of Discord - Dona Altemus
The exhibition is organized by Angela Chaine, art historian and guest curator for this show and Liliam Dominguez, Ph.D., head curator, museum and collections manager at Deering Estate.
Liliam Dominguez: “The Deering Contemporary is a signature exhibition series that occurs annually. A different curator is chosen every year to determine the participating artists and the theme. I serve as a consultant to the guest curator, given the natural and historical restrictions of the site, as well as preserve the integrity of the series by making sure the theme chosen for the year aligns with our mission and vision as well as to suggest the participation of a few current Artists In Residence."
Angela Chaine, guest curator: “The Deering Estate revealed itself to us (the eight artists) in new ways, and we all agreed that it might be Miami’s most special place for what it represents. It is truly a hidden gem in our city.” This historic site, first and foremost, is a park that serves diverse audiences and offers various recreational activities. As such, we had to carefully consider how the artworks would interact with the natural habitat, wildlife, and ongoing activities at the Deering Estate.”
Deering Estate: Amanda Linares "Day Before Yesterday" (Photo by Irene Sperber).
Irene Sperber: What was the balance you hoped to achieve with the specific artists?
Chiane: “ Through various disciplines, I aimed to create a balanced exhibition, showcasing different interpretations of 'Unraveled Tales.' Nicole Pedraza, a contemporary dancer and Pamela Suasti, a fiber artist, collaborated with Claudio Marcotulli, a multidisciplinary, working together to create a performance around his sculpture, Arcs of Time, and on video and editing for another of Pamela’s performances, making this a truly interdisciplinary and enriching project. Despite certain challenges, we (the artists) successfully incorporated outdoor photography, further expanding the range of perspectives presented and to foster dialogue between them.”
Chiane said they explored diverse landscapes, examined Tequesta artifacts, and learned about South Florida’s native flora.
“The works prompt contemplation of the fragility of the environment and wildlife that thrive within the Deering Estate, resilient in the face of ever-changing climate. In this way, visitors themselves become part of the site’s evolving story, another presence adding to its rich tapestry. Everyone who steps foot on the Deering Estate leaves a track, just as each fallen leaf marks the passage of time, so we imprint ourselves upon this landscape too, even as it, in turn, leaves its indelible mark on us.”
WMODA: Dale Chihuly, "Purple Persian" (Photo courtesy of WMODA).
Expedition II: Next, I turned my vehicle around and headed north of Miami to the extensive WMODA museum in Hollywood in Broward County. Focusing in on glass and ceramic, I was informed of how glass artists have, for thousands of years harnessed sand, chemicals, minerals, heat, and air to create useful and decorative objects from the wonders of our natural universe.
The Weiner Museum of Decorative Arts is installed in a large two-story building situated in the South Florida’s Design and Commerce Center, a warehouse area I was previously blissfully unaware of. Just west off I-95 at Sheridan Street in Hollywood, the museum (30,000 square ft) has only been open in the space since mid December 2024. It was closed for two years for the move from Mad Arts on Federal Highway in Dania Beach to here. “Only two years?” I’m thinking. It is a very extensive collection. (Emphasis on “very.”) Collector Arthur Weiner left no vase unturned in the expansive collection founded in 2014 by Wiener and family, winning the 2023 Florida Association of Museums Excellence Award for the project.
I spoke with Louise Irvine, executive director and curator of WMODA to clarify how they went about wrangling the extensive collection into a cohesive dialogue. (have you noticed how many words I’ve used in trying to find synonyms for “vast, extensive, expansive . . . ) It is initially overwhelming until you see the entire two floors from every important glass and ceramic venue, country and movement … only then could I settle and digest decades and centuries of style and content with an overview under my belt.
Louise Irvine: “I decided to curate our vast collection of British and European ceramics to interpret the main design trends of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Victorian, Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. I want to show how ceramics are relevant to social history as well as the history of art and design.”
AT WMODA, "Safari for the Soul" collection. (Photo courtesy of WMODA)
Irvine continued: “This year, they’re celebrating the Centennial of the Art Deco movement, originated at the Paris World’s Fair in 1925, with all the flappers, vamps and divas of the Roaring Twenties made by European porcelain factories.”
WMODA also features contemporary ceramics made by artists working locally and abroad. One of our main attractions is the collection of Ardmore Ceramic Art & Design from South Africa where a remote rural community has been uplifted through art.
"Our contemporary Hot Glass collection is dominated by Dale Chihuly, America’s most famous glass artist, who has changed how we view glass as an important art form. We also provide an opportunity for glass artists in our community to display their work, including Rob Stern, who has a glass-blowing studio in Dania Beach, and Chelsea Rousso, a fused glass artist and fashion designer known for her wearable glass art.”
WMODA’s interactive factor is an effective way to educate and open the community to a genre. “Show don’t tell” is oft repeated advice given to writers. It absolutely applies to art appreciation as well.
Dare to take time off. Plop a favorite day beverage of choice into the cup holder of your vehicle and get away from yourself for a few hours. Your neural network will pay you back generously for the break.
AT WMODA: Rob Stern, "Hot Heels Glass Heel." (Photo by Irene Sperber)
Post Script: I must tell you, after all the phenomenal examples of glass and ceramic artists over many decades of grave import, by the time I got to the back of the upstairs exhibition you would think I’d be on overload. But then . . .there they were. The glass slippers. I gasped. Miami glass blower and mind blower, Rob Stern’s Stilettos in glass were inspired by his wife’s shoe collection. Time stopped as bugles (in my head) heralded 50 outrageous glass shoes glistening out from the shelves . . . I was transported for the drive back to my 33139 postal code. So many beautiful examples of stunning glass at WMODA, but I just can't help being taken in by shoes.
WMODA
3250 North 29th Ave., Hollywood
(954) 376-6690 and www.wmoda.com
- $15 Adults, $12 Seniors
- $5 Military and Students (with ID)
Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Free for Children 5 and younger
Deering Contemporary: Unraveled Tales
Through March 23
The Deering Estate, 16701 SW 72nd Ave., Miami.
(305) 680-5219
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (no admission after 4 p.m., gate closes at 4 p.m.)For more information on the history of The Deering Estate and their Gilded Age family, founders of the International Harvester Company: www.deeringestate.org/about/history/
- $10 - $18
