With Art Basel Miami around the corner, international artists are now trickling in to Miami’s local gallery scene. Puerto Rican street artist Alexis Diaz has returned with his solo show “SUPERFICIE” (“SURFACE”), now on view at Product/81 gallery in Wynwood. His large scale murals (previously featured here and here) are instantly recognizable for their colorful, hybrid animals. In recent months, motfis of raven heads with human elements such as hands or skulls are especially prevalent. Diaz’s exhibition showcases a series of new paintings that mirror this dreamlike, or perhaps nightmarish, subject matter. Both earthly creatures and the imaginary are shown is various stages of transformation, enhanced by detailed black lines and pops of color. Throughout his travels over the past year, Diaz has learned to adapt to different conditions of working, much like the species he depicts. In this way, the idea of change is also representative of the artist’s own experiences.
Miami Art Week welcomed a new fair last week that went against the norm in support of its exhibiting artists. No Commission Art Fair, curated by Grammy Award-winning recording artist and producer Swizz Beatz, provided exhibition space in Wynwood to emerging artists at no cost and with artists keeping 100% of their sales. An avid contemporary collector, Swizz Beatz is no stranger to the art scene, whose namesake "The Dean Collection" drew crowds at SCOPE Miami Beach last year. No Commission was coupled by some of the week's best parties, dubbed the “Untameable House Party”, from musical artists Swizz Beatz, his wife Alicia Keys, DMX, Wiz Khalifa, and Pusha T. As for the art, there were several new and impressive sized works on display by artists like Dustin Yellin, Hebru Brantley, Kehinde Wiley, Miss Van, Gregory Siff, Gabriel Dawe, Hyon Gyon, and Tomokazu Matsuyama, among many others featured in the pages of Hi-Fructose.
There was no escaping the madness that was Miami Art Week. While collectors and art fans alike were inside taking in all of the fairs and staying dry, more street artists than ever before descended upon the Wynwood area to leave their mark. Heavy rains and wind posed a challenge for most, but that could not keep artists like D*Face, Twoone, Nychos, Tristan Eaton, Boxhead, 1010, Caratoes, and countless others from killing several large-scale walls and collaborations. Take a look at our highlights from Wynwood after the jump!
Hailing from the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 