|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Pinecrest Gardens hosted a special art event on Saturday April 15, called “Gallery Crawl,” featuring the work of many artists in three separate gallery areas. The well attended and well organized event brought together art lovers, artists and those interested in ecology and other issues.
At the Inspiration Center was displayed Annette Bonnier’s photographs in an exhibition titled “Reflections from the Shadows.” Bonnier was on hand to speak with attendees and explained how the collection of photos began during the isolation of the COVID pandemic when she sought to take a photo of her patio through the glass of one of her home’s French doors and noticed how the reflection created an almost ghostlike image. The result inspired her to take more photos using the same approach.
“This is the first one I did and I fell in love with it,” said Bonnier. “It’s my dining room but it’s the patio, too. You can see the steps of the patio and the chimes. There’s all kinds of things and they just mix.”
She said she would reposition herself to change the composite image, and that it was kind of like doing the ballet.
“I’ve got double French doors everywhere in my house,” she said. “The view changed seasonally and during the day, so I would just play with it to find exactly what I wanted.”
Next, in the Hibiscus Gallery, was the Underwater Florida exhibition by Pinecrest Gardens resident artist Xavier Cortada. Cortada went to 54 coastal cities across Florida and placed signs to depict elevation at the various city halls to indicate how sea level rise would affect those areas.
“There was a Flagler Beach City Hall meeting that happened at the same time I was there doing it and they were literally having a whole discussion about Hurricane Ian,” said Cortada. “The homeowners were really upset (about flooding). It was a research project to create a video that will lead to engagement. The engagement hasn’t happened yet. It was more of a solo artist activity to raise awareness about the issue and now I’m going to go and tour those cities and have conversations around it. In a state where our income is solely dependent on property taxes and sales taxes we need to be aware of how climate impacts our economy. I wanted the leaders of those cities to think about the future.”
Outside his exhibition room was a table for Cortada Academy with graduates and interns Veronica Guevara and Cassandra Pita.
In the main exhibit room by the entrance was a display of painted ceramic plates. Exhibit Curator Corala Bravo explained.
“We have 100 plates, painted by 70 artists,” said Bravo. “Some artists did more than one plate.”
Ceramic artist Ivonne Ferrer, who is director of the Fine Arts Ceramic Center at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas, explained further.
“All of the plates were done by Cuban artists living in Mexico, Spain, Argentina and other places around the world,” she said. “The majority were here in Miami.”
Ferrer also created a ceramic heart, working with textile artist Evelyn Politzer who added a twisting red textile element to suggest the flow of blood. She explained what their motivation was for choosing the symbol of the heart.
“During the time of the pandemic we were isolated and preoccupied with this disease and we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Ferrer said. “We thought it was going to be the end of the world. We chose the heart to symbolize the eternal nature of humanity. The heart never stops. We will never die. It’s all about helping each other. The heart never dies.
All of us have a heart and as long as we have a heart we’re able to lift each other up. The heart is always used as a symbol for our feelings. Although all our thoughts are in our minds, it is the heart that feels pain. What we wanted to communicate in this piece was life and hope.”
At the event there was also music, provided by guitarist Adrián Arredondo.
ABOUT US:
For more Miami community news, look no further than Miami Community Newspapers. This Miami online group of newspapers covers a variety of topics about the local community and beyond. Miami’s Community Newspapers offers daily news, online resources, podcasts and other multimedia content to keep readers informed. With topics ranging from local news to community events, Miami’s Community Newspapers is the ideal source for staying up to date with the latest news and happenings in the area. Additionally, the newspaper has exclusive Miami community podcasts, providing listeners with an in-depth look into Miami’s culture. Whether you’re looking for local Miami news, or podcasts about the community, Miami’s Community Newspapers has you covered.
