The Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery Opening Reception of Hyphenated Encounters
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Celebrate the opening of Hyphenated Encounters, a two-part exhibition at The Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery in collaboration with the Deering Estate, featuring the work of Lilian Garcia-Roig. Join us Thursday, September 17, 2026, 6–9 PM at The Frank, 601 City Center Way, for an evening of art, conversation, and light refreshments. Free with RSVP online.
Hyphenated Encounters offers an expansive look at the work of Cuban American artist Lilian Garcia-Roig, bringing together a career-spanning survey of her artistic practice with a focused presentation of work created during her 2024 Deering Estate Artist-in-Residence residency. Together, these complementary exhibitions offer the most comprehensive presentation of Garcia-Roig’s work to date, pairing a career-spanning survey with an intimate look at the artist’s site-responsive practice through her 2024 Deering Estate residency.
Presented across two distinct but interconnected curatorial projects, Lilian Garcia-Roig: A Practice of Place, curated by Sophie Bonet, Chief Curator of The Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery, traces more than three decades of Garcia-Roig’s evolving relationship to place through paintings and mixed-media works. Deering Estate Residency: Lilian Garcia-Roig, Site, and the Labor of Belonging, curated by Liliam Dominguez, Head Curator of Deering Estate, centers on work developed during the artist’s 2024 residency, highlighting her site-responsive approach to painting through new works and an accompanying short film by fellow Artist-in-Residence Jorge Gonzalez Graupera.
Lilian Garcia-Roig: A Practice of Place
Spanning more than three decades of artistic practice, Lilian Garcia-Roig: A Practice of Place brings together a selection of paintings and mixed-media works by Cuban American artist Lilian Garcia-Roig. The exhibition traces the evolution of her sustained engagement with landscape, revealing how close observation, material experimentation, and lived experience have shaped a practice rooted in place.
From the subtropical environments of South Florida to the limestone valleys of Cuba, Garcia-Roig’s work invites viewers to experience landscape as something inhabited rather than simply observed. A recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, Garcia-Roig is recognized as one of the leading voices in contemporary landscape painting. Together, the works on view offer a compelling survey of an artistic practice that continues to evolve while remaining deeply connected to the environments that inspire it.
Curated by Sophie Bonet, Chief Curator, The Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery
Deering Estate Residency: Lilian Garcia-Roig, Site, and the Labor of Belonging
Part of the Deering Estate AT program, this exhibition features Lilian Garcia-Roig, who is widely recognized as an on-site painter, though the term only begins to describe her practice. Rather than painting a landscape from a distance, Garcia-Roig paints directly with it, treating each location as a living field of negotiation between memory, perception, and presence. Over time, the tropical landscape has become essential to her visual language. Florida’s banyans, mangroves, sabal palms, and strangler figs offer a natural vocabulary that speaks to her Cuban heritage, one built on entanglement rather than hierarchy, and on lateral growth and survival rather than singular dominance.
During her 2024 residency at the Deering Estate, Garcia-Roig immersed herself in the property’s own tangled terrain, working directly on-site.The resulting body of work reflects a sustained, site-specific engagement, continuing her long practice of letting the landscape shape the painting rather than the other way around. Complementing Garcia Roig’s work, an exclusive short film created by fellow Artist-in-Residence Jorge Gonzalez Graupera deepens the viewer’s connection to these themes.
Curated by Liliam Dominguez, Head Curator, Deering Estate
About the Deering Estate AT program
The Deering Estate AT program consists of a joint venture with other cultural institutions to showcase Deering Estate Artists-in-Residence (AIRs) and artists who had been part of the season’s cultural roster outside the Estate. It aims to enhance each institution’s reach and resources to achieve a common goal: expanding the artists’ cultural reach by making diverse artistic expressions accessible to a broader audience. The program fosters creative synergy and community connections through art exhibitions, cultural performances, and dynamic programming. The Deering Estate AT program exemplifies the Estate’s commitment to supporting current and past AIRs and elevating their practice at every stage of their careers while honoring the spirit of innovation and discovery that the Deering Estate inspires, and underscoring the importance of alliances that bridge institutional boundaries.
About Deering Estate
Deering Estate, located at 16701 SW 72 Ave. in Miami, is a 21st Century house museum, cultural and ecological field station, and a national landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, owned by the State of Florida and managed by Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department. Deering Estate is designated as one of seven Miami-Dade County “Heritage Parks” which have a vital role in our community’s history, environment and in providing recreational and cultural experiences.
Cultural Arts Programming at the Deering Estate is made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, and The Deering Estate Foundation, Inc.
About the Deering Estate Foundation
For those who treasure the Deering Estate, who advocate for its preservation and wish to invest in its future, the Deering Estate Foundation provides opportunities for individuals and corporations alike to partake in membership, signature events, and one-of-a-kind experiences, all in service of providing vital funding and support to the Deering Estate. Through these efforts, the foundation fulfills its mission to uphold the legacy of Charles Deering’s cherished 1920s-era property, to provide funding for the cultural, educational and recreational experiences it offers, as well as its significant scientific and archaeological endeavors to conserve its diverse flora, fauna and the eight native ecosystems that thrive on its 450 acres, and to ensure its longevity as a prized American heritage site. Established in 1989, The Deering Estate Foundation, Inc. is a community-based charitable 501(c) 3 Florida Corporation and the philanthropic partner of the Deering Estate.
About The Frank
Named in honor of former Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank C. Ortis for his longstanding commitment to the arts, The Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery – known simply as The Frank – is the City of Pembroke Pines’ contemporary art center. Through exhibitions, educational programs, public events, and community partnerships, The Frank presents regional, national, and international artists while fostering creativity, dialogue, and lifelong learning.
Located within the Charles F. Dodge City Center, The Frank offers multidisciplinary exhibitions and dynamic public programming that connect artists and audiences through meaningful experiences with contemporary art. As a welcoming space for artistic exploration and cultural exchange, The Frank is committed to making contemporary art accessible to diverse communities throughout South Florida.
