Once the new Miami Art Museum in Bicentennial Park is completed, there will be 120,000-square-feet of space to fill with art. That's nearly three times the amount of space at MAM's current location, where the institution's been since 1986.
Jorge M. Perez, who currently has naming rights for the new MAM, pledged to donate his private collection of Latin Art in addition to $15 million. But there will be a lot of white wall to fill at the Herzog & de Meuron-designed museum.
Fortunately, MAM announced Tuesday they have received a $1 million matching grant from the Miami Foundation's Helena Rubinstein Philanthropic Fund to help finance new acquisitions. Some of these newly acquired works will be presented in the exhibit, 'Restless: Recent Acquisitions from the MAM Collection,' opening February 17.
The museum reports that one of the key works is Dara Friedman's 'Dancer,' a video co-produced by MAM for which the local artist filmed over 60 dancers performing self-choreographed routines throughout Miami.
When 'Dancer' recently screened at a West Village gallery, the New York Times noted: "Dancer,' Dara Friedman's mesmerizing, loose-limbed 25-minute ode to the seemingly extensive, fabulously multicultural dance talent of Miami, extends her longstanding interest in performance, urban space and structuralist film." See an excerpt from 'Dancer' below.
The new acquisitions also include Miami artist Nicolas Lobo and his piece, 'Terrazzo Glide,' a sculptural interpretation of plane's flight paths from Miami International Airport. Another local artist George Sanchez-Calderon presents 'Swimming Pool Falla', in which 'fire' was used to depict Miami's cityscape. Read an interview with Sanchez-Calderon here.
Brazilian contemporary artist Ernesto Neto's 'Cai Cai Marrom' is also a recent purchase by MAM. In this installation, nylon appendages filled with spices hang from above. The museum also acquired South Africa's Robin Rhode's stop-action animation 'Requiem for a Pavilion of Silence.'
"The generous support from the Helena Rubinstein Foundation underscores the importance of our continued focus on building the museum's collection," said MAM director Thom Collins in a statement. "With the construction of our new facility at Museum Park well underway, and our capital campaign at 75 percent of our goal, it is an opportune moment to make visible this equally important area of museum activity."
'Restless: Recent Acquisitions from the MAM Collection' will be on exhibit February 17 to May 13, and MAM will continue to restock its collection as the Rubenstein funds are released in $250,000 installments, pending match timing.