Rusty Scruby's Tree Climbing and Oregon Coast pictured on the inside "L" wall, and William Cannings inflated metal sculptures on the back wall
It's my favorite time of the year! Art Basel Miami Beach and all the satellite fairs, of course! I believe there are 18 fairs this year between Miami Beach and Midtown Miami. Sadly, I am not able to attend this year. But I am enjoying seeing other people's pics of the fairs. Paul Klein posted his pics from the big fair, ABMB, this morning on facebook - all blue chip works by world famous artists.
The pics in the this post were taken by PanAmerican ArtProjects of their booth in this years Art Miami fair. The pic above was sent to Rusty's cell phone on Tuesday of this week. The next two pics were reposted from their facebook page.
Uribe looking over his newest sculpture Jardin de Rosas
Seeing Uribe’s work in pics and videos from the Houston Fine Art Fair, I thought
back to this past January when we visited his studio.
this pic has been reposted from a Glasstire facebook post
tsrapp1700 posted this on YouTube. Uribe's work is pictured here, and more of his works are at 3:25 minutes through 3:51 minutes.
We were fortunate to have the opportunity for an
impromptu studio visit with Federico Uribe.
His studio is in Miami next door to Carolina Sardi’s studio. Janda Wetherington said that we must see his
studio. Sardi phoned Uribe and asked if
she could bring us over. Once inside, I
realized that we had been seeing Uribe’s work at art fairs for a number of
years. Here are some pics of his work we
captured in 2006 at Scope Art Fair Miami.
left top: I'm Helping You (yellow), 2006, colored pencils, 48" x 14"
left bottom: I'm Helping You (green), 2006, colored pencils, 48" x 14"
detail of I'm HelpingYou (yellow)
Alone, 2006, colored pencils, 72" x 48"
Janda had been telling us about a solo installation that
Uribe had created for one of the 2010 art fairs. She said that it was a recreation of the rain
forests of Uribe’s native Columbia
that he had sculpted using books.
Cedar of Lebanon, 2010, books, 114" x 66" x 73"
Uribe utilizes found materials to create his sculptures.
Some of the sculptures such as those seen at the Houston Fine Art Fair are
abstract objects, while many of the sculptures we saw in his studio were more
representational. Uribe uses objects
such as screws, garden tools, Puma shoes, shoe laces, pencils, and books to
create these unique works of art.
Gladiator, 2008, shoe laces and pins, 84" x 60"
Everybody Gets Screwed, 2001/2002, screws, metal mesh, nails, each 29" x 18" x 12"
more than five sculptures in this section of his studio, plus his car, Carolina Sardi pictured with me in the yellow shirt far right
Gladiator, 2010, books, 34" x 34" x 70"
information not available
information not available
After the studio visit, I walked up the block from
PanAmerican ArtProjects to visit NOW Contemporary Art gallery who represents
Uribe’s work in Miami. NOW Contemporary Art published a hardback
catalog of Uribe’s work and I purchased it on the spot. 394 pages of glossy photos, essay, bio and
descriptions of the work – it weighs 4.4 lbs, but we carried it home in our
carry-on bag so that we could marvel at the sculptures as we flew home.
PanAmerican ArtProjects' booth at the 2011 Houston Fine Art Fair. This picture features the works of Carolina Sardi on the left and Rusty Scruby on the right. Rusty's installation piece, Oregon Coast, is hanging on the inside wall, while Atari Windshield and All I See is Gray hang to the right on the back wall. All of Rusty's works have been created in 2011.
I love to visit artists studios. They are all a bit different especially depending on the media the artist employs. But there is also a similarity between most studios. New works in progress on walls or on tables. Older completed works stored in bins, or in crates, or leaning up against walls. New completed works hanging on walls or standing in space in mock gallery settings. Organized chaos.
Sardi was born and raised in Argentina. She earned her MFA in Sculpture at National University of La Plata, where she also studied Architecture with the artist Enio Iommi. She has been living and working in Miami since 1995. I first encountered her work at PanAmerican ArtProjects when they had a gallery in Dallas. I have seen Sardi's work at art fairs around the world with several galleries.
Sardi is quite expressive as she speaks about her ideas and process. Her studio is in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami in a building originally owned by Bernice Steinbaum. The space looked to be about 4000 sq ft with a 15 ft ceiling. Large. And well adapted for the work of a metal sculptor.
"My art it's my way to express my world vision. I try to convey the maximum of information in the most minimal but essential forms .The concept is as important as the image and the space as important as the shapes. What appears as simple at first glance, becomes upon closer registration much more intricate . The interaction with the spectator brings forth multiple personal interpretations.
Material source for my art comes from various places including everyday life and my own personal experiences . Each form is a symbol that can stand alone, signifying one idea. Together, they can grouped and arranged in an installation that will represent a new or more complex idea and will enhance the central theme. Although I work mainly with steel, my pieces have an organic sensibility that reflects my interest in the basic interactions of life.
My latest wall installations are created by a combination of oval or round painted steel pieces arranged over an invisible grit .The egg shapes are placed in an structured but organic composition that creates a visual effect of mathematical repetition in the space . Each element of the whole is different, they keep their individuality and they maintain their particular presence inside the totality . The embryonic forms can be seen as particles or entities of what it will be. The white stark wall become the background or the medium in which this atmospheric landscapes are created . The steel pieces are placed against the wall , but separated from its surface with a distance of one or two inches, creating a floating effect in the space that is enhance by lights and shadows .The color reinforces the concept of each composition , in which eggs , circles or particles are a symbol of infinity and origin and can become anything and everything when changing color , shape and placement in the space; allowing new compositions , subjects and messages."
I see this evident in these sculptures in her studio:
The Miami Art Guide had this to say about Sardi's work presented in the Spring of 2010 at PanAmerican ArtProjects:
"Carolina Sardi’s wall installations are poetic equations that dissect the artist’s world. Titling many of her pieces “Associations” Sardi makes precise use of formal artistic elements that resonate beyond aestheticism. As the artist best explains, “Although I work mainly with steel, my pieces have an organic sensibility that reflects my interest in the basic interactions of life.” Sardi’s latest series titled “Constellations” delicately trace celestial paths. The sophisticated Calder-like sculptures are a departure from her previous series of colorful free-flowing installations. Even though these works are made of single pieces rather than individually installed shapes, they possess the speed, and sleek mobility of shooting stars."
the yellow sculpture on the right above is part of Sardi's Home Cell series
Here is one of the Constellation pieces
PanAmerican used an image of this piece for their 2010 Happy Holiday card
My favorites are these that are sculpted from stainless steel and have been plated in gold, silver and bronze
the ones above were in styrofoam preparing to be shipped
the one above was in the gallery in Miami, but I see that it is now sold.
