Miami Art Week 2014: UNTITLED Art Fair Recap

Adrian Esparza at Max Estrella Gallery

One of the first fairs to open during Miami Art Week, UNTITLED boasts a great number of experimental sculptures and installations that utilize unlikely media.

Texas artist Adrian Esparza, featured in Cindy Rucker Gallery’s booth as well as Max Estrella’s, is exhibiting his neon-colored, geometric thread sculptures. Woven from unraveled Mexican serapes, his sleek, minimalist designs emerge from the familiar handicrafts.

Similarly geometric and psychedelic, Jen Stark’s sculptures (featured in HF Vol. 20) in Eric Firestone Gallery’s booth invite viewers to peer into vortexes composed of layers of brightly colored paper. Shannon Wright’s work at ADA also utilizes mathematical designs: Her multifaceted prisms are composed of custom hole-punched notebooks spiral-bound together in interesting shapes.

UNTITLED isn’t short on art with social commentary. Ebony G. Patterson’s installation in Monique Meloche’s booth presents a colorful collection of fabric coffins inspired by Jamaica’s burial traditions, specifically those of its working class communities. The sculptures were taken from Patterson’s previous performance piece, Invisible Presence: Bling Memories, in which she aimed to draw attention to the stark class divide in her native country. Blane De St. Croix’s installation with SiTE:LAB towers over viewers with its organized array of wooden panels covered in moss and dirt. According to the gallery, the work was intended as a commentary on the destruction of Florida’s Everglades.

With its many large-scale works, often composed of resourcefully repurposed media, UNTITLED is filled with spectacle. If you’re in Miami Beach this week, the fair is on view through December 7. Otherwise, take a look at some photo highlights from UNTITLED below and stay tuned for more Miami Art Week coverage.

Adrian Esparza at Cindy Rucker Gallery