Little Haiti's &gallery Returns With "Odd Year"

Just a few weeks into 2019, &gallery is already making a bold statement. Since its founding in 2014 by the husband and wife team of Annie Berkowitz (a commercial realtor) and Jordan Trachtenberg (a licensed architect), the Little Haiti gallery has supported South Florida artists — anyone born here, living here, or working here.

“We serve as a platform for these individuals to launch their careers or solidify their practice,” said Berkowitz. “We’re here for emerging artists, but also for those who are established and want to go even further.”

&gallery may have started as an art and exhibition space for contemporary art and design, but after five years, it has taken off in new and exciting directions. “We recently changed our scheduling to be by appointment only in order to focus on one show per quarter and studio visits in the summer,” Berkowitz said.

Last year, &gallery expanded, opening a new division called &contract that works with designers and developers on projects throughout South Florida, "which stems from our careers in real estate and architecture," Berkowitz explained. &contract allows artists to expand their scope to places like Key Largo and Palm Beach, as well as get in front of international art collectors — who might not know what or where Little Haiti is — in areas such as the Design District.

This Saturday, &gallery is opening its doors to the public for a new show entitled "Odd Year." It features artists Ernesto Barreto, Thomas Bils, Joe Karlovec, Jefreid Lotti, Krystal Rodriguez, and Richard Vergez, who were all chosen in the most millennial of ways: through an online submissions page.

“This fall we received a lot of amazing submissions through our website, and so we decided to build a show based around the strongest ones,” said Berkowitz. “The show title comes from the fact that 2019 is a numerical odd year, but also, it felt like 2019 would continue to have its oddities and nuances, from politics and art to our own personal lives.”

Apart from Thomas Bils, none of the artists has shown at &gallery before, and all of the work is new. The artists will all be present at the opening, and in February there may be a daytime panel with them, so check back for details. And in the spirit of the curious, once "Odd Year" finishes its run in March, a solo show will follow by Patricia Schnall Gutierrez entitled "Fresh out of the oven," featuring one of the world’s greatest inventions: bundt cakes.

"Odd Year." Opens 6 p.m. Saturday, January 19, and running through March 15 at &gallery, 6308 NW Second Ave., Miami; andgallery.net. Admission is free.