Here's Your Guide to Miami Art Shows in June 2024

It may be heating up in South Florida, but Miami art lovers aren't staying in for the summer. On Saturday, June 1, the first Allapattah Art Night coaxed people out of their homes and into local galleries and institutions in the quickly gentrifying neighborhood's industrial section. Nearly all of the area's galleries held late hours, with activity focused on the gallery corridor on Northwest 22nd Street.

Alongside openings at Andrew Reed and Voloshyn, KDR showed off architectural sculptures by Sam Stewart, while Mindy Solomon had a terrific program with Korean pottery from Jane Yang-D'Haene, ink-on-chiffon paintings from Siennie Lee, and a collaborative show from South Florida stalwarts Frances Tromby and Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova, owners of Dimensions Variable. Two of the area's private museums, El Espacio 23 and the Rubell Museum, also got in on the action, and the Rubell even handed out wine at the front desk. Marquez Art Projects and Superblue did not participate, although the latter did host a block party last month.

The evening, which also saw the kickoff of Women Artists' Art Week Miami and a season-finale event for Commissioner at Locust Projects, was a chance for me to get reacquainted with the Rubell's excellent 2023 rehang, which includes the museum-wide show "Singular Views: Los Angeles." In the museum's eyes, L.A. is a font for creative chaos, and the works on view are as diverse in terms of style and medium as the sprawling city is in its demographics. My favorite displays include Nehemiah Cisneros' "Wicked City" series, in which the artist paints theatrical tableaux of lurid Americana, anime erotica, sex workers, and AI dating app ads; Sharif Farrag's bizarre, mutated religious idol sculpture Weighing of the Heart (angel of LA); and Danie Cansino's beautiful sunset landscape I'm Starting to Forget What You Feel Like (Danie's 12th move)." Noah Davis' stark, morose portraits and Patrick Martinez's neon light sculptures also impress.

Another local institution will present a show later this month featuring significant art from Southern California. Read about the Pérez Art Museum Miami's new shows and other key art exhibitions in June below.

Unless otherwise noted, all listed events are free to attend and open to the public.

Now Open

Kerry Philips at Locust Projects

Following up on her Bass Museum show from last year, local artist Kerry Philips continues to explore the nature of memory and how it relates to our material world with a site-specific installation at Locust Projects. Paired with video projections and other effects, "The patience of ordinary things" is anchored by the placement of an actual full-size car, a rusted-out 1950s station wagon that the artist apparently rescued from her grandmother's home in Denton, Texas. On view through Saturday, August 3, at Locust Projects, 297 NW 67th St., Miami; 305-576-8570; locustprojects.org.

Maria de los Angeles Rodriguez Jimenez at David Castillo

Following a formidable show of prints by Belkis Ayón, David Castillo brings another Cuban artist working within themes of Afro-Latin religion. Rodriguez-Jiménez, a Yoruba faith practitioner, draws on the concept of ashé, or life force, in a series of impressive abstractions on canvas, linen, and spandex. Some of the works include sculptural or 2.5D elements such as rope, leaves, beads, and other objects. On view through July 12, at David Castillo Gallery, 3930 NE Second Ave., Ste. 201, Miami; 305-573-8110; davidcastillogallery.com.

Chemu Ng'ok at Central Fine

The artist-run gallery in Normandy Shores is showing work from Kenyan artist Chemu Ng'ok. Her work centers on "psychological landscapes" that present events of collective participation, like weddings and funerals, in a loosely figurative style of amorphous, rounded shapes. Ng'ok makes extensive use of yellows, blues, and greens, especially when depicting the skin color of her predominantly African subjects. On view through July 16, at Central Fine, 1224-1226 Normandy Dr., Miami Beach; 917-306-1218; centralfine.com.

"Haunted II" at Voloshyn and Paula Turmina at Andrew Reed

These two neighboring galleries held openings during Allapattah Art Night on June 1, and both shows delve into the uncanny. "Haunted II" is a sequel to Gean Moreno and Omar Lopez-Chahoud's show with the Ukrainian gallery from May. That one was concerned with the psychic damage of colonialism, but this one's all about creepy crawlies. Paintings of snakes and cheeky photographs of dogs chewing up (fake) human flesh abound. Next door at Andrew Reed, Paula Turmina also gives viewers the creeps with her paintings of bodies in barren landscapes. Long-limbed figures and arms twisted like snakes give the show, titled "Drawn (in)to the Land," a surrealist quality. "Haunted II" is on view through July 20, at Voloshyn Gallery, 802 NW 22nd St., Miami; voloshyngallery.art. "Paula Turmina: Drawn (in)to the Land" is on view through July 3, at Andrew Reed, 800 NW 22nd St., Miami; andrewreedgallery.com.

Upcoming

"Xican-a.o.x Body" at Pérez Art Museum Miami

Traveling from the Cheech Marin Center in Riverside, California, this epic presentation — 150 works by 70 artists across various mediums — aims to give an expansive view of art from the Mexican-American community. Diving into themes such as gender, identity, Black and brownness, indigenousness, and political issues, including immigration and labor struggles, it's a major look at the U.S.'s other significant Latin community through the lens of art. And, yes, there will be lowriders. The show opens in tandem with PAMM's Pride Night on Thursday, June 13. Opens Thursday, June 13 at Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-375-3000; pamm.org. Tickets cost $14 to $18; admission is free for members and children 6 and under.

Julia Garcia at KDR

The Pompano Beach-born artist will show paintings inspired by time and fluidity at the Allapattah-based gallery this month in a show titled "Poor Dog Bright." Garcia's process involves applying paint to a wet canvas, giving her nostalgic images of Floridian suburban life a bleary, runny quality. Think of it as a more complicated version of watercolors. Opens Friday, June 14, at KDR Gallery, 790 NW 22nd St., Miami; 305-392-0416; kdr305.com.

"Everybody I Know is Growing Old Too Quickly" at Laundromat Art Space

Three South Florida-based artists convene on Little Haiti's Laundromat for a show focusing on nostalgia for childhood. Hometown girl Emma Ortiz will present diaristic abstract paintings, Poland-native Justyna Kisielewicz will show pop-focused pastel drawings, and Puerto Rican artist JonLouis Gonzalez will feature a body of work referencing his upbringing on the Space Coast of Florida. The show is curated by Sophia Ballesteros and Ross Karlan, who previously teamed up for the group show "HuMaN Nature" at Laundromat earlier this year. As always, some resident artists at Laundromat may open their studios during the show's unveiling. Opens Saturday, June 15 at Laundromat Art Space, 185 NE 59th St., Miami; laundromatartspace.com.

"Montes No Visibles" at Tomas Redrado Art

The Little Haiti gallery will show three Latin American artists in a group show exploring the body, digestion, and non-Western thought. Peruvian Andrea Ferrero considers food as a spectacle with 3D-modeled sculptures. Julia Retz of Brazil uses moldable materials such as latex to create sculptures that evoke movement. Finally, Henry Palacio of Colombia uses alphabet soup noodles to create text-based art in Spanish. Opens Saturday, June 15, at Tomas Redrado Art, 224 NW 71st St., Miami; 561-765-0695; tomasredrado.com/gallery.

"She's a Knockout" at Lowe Art Museum

Thanks to college basketball all-star turned WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark, women's sports are in the spotlight, and the University of Miami's Lowe Museum has also decided to shine a light on female athletes. Ahead of the Paris Olympics in late July, they're putting on an exhibition that uses sports to explore our ideas of femininity. Guest curator Caitlin Swindell aims to challenge our perceptions of what women are capable of with works that draw on themes of power, identity, and the body, among other themes. Opens Friday, June 21, at the Lowe Art Museum, 1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables; 305-284-3535; lowe.miami.edu.

Calida Rawles at Pérez Art Museum Miami

Rising Delaware-born, L.A.-based painter Calida Rawles gets her first solo museum show courtesy of PAMM. The artist's hyperrealist images of Black bodies suspended in water have a luminous, healing quality, skillfully depicting the shimmer of sunlight on the surface of the water. But there's a deeper history with a local connection: Rawles painted residents of Overtown and took photos of them at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, the once-segregated public beach. Thematic connections to the transatlantic slave trade, where African captives were often thrown overboard, also figure, making these works as much about reclaiming the ocean as a site of Black joy and existence in the present as much as they are about the violence of the past. Opens Thursday, June 27, at Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-375-3000; pamm.org. Tickets cost $14 to $18; admission is free for members and children 6 and under.

"Young Fresh Different Miami" at Zilberman Gallery

Multinational gallery Zilberman opened its Miami space in the Design District last year, and it seems as though it's ready to dip into Miami's buzzing scene. It has teamed up with Fountainhead Arts for a show focused on artists under 35, including some with plenty of buzz behind them. One hundred artists submitted to YFD's call, and only 15 were selected to show work. The inaugural Miami edition will feature work from Zoe Schweiger, Amanda Linares, Ernesto Gutiérrez Moya, Smita Sen, Liz Beltran, Chloe Sailor, Susan Kim Alvarez, and more. Opens Saturday, June 28, at Zilberman Miami, 25 NE 39th St., Miami; 305-360-7763; zilbermangallery.com.