Artist Carmen Maria Ruiz-Casteneda’s fabric collage at the Jakmel Gallery

In the Heat of the Night….Wynwood Revisited
Gallery Walk Makes for a Satisfying Evening

Stories and Photos by by Irene Sperber

I ventured out to the August Wynwood Gallery Night Walk after a hiatus of some months.  My, how things change in a short period in our hot little town.  I must get out more often.  It was a delight.  Having said that, you do need good sleuthing skills to accomplish the task.  The Walk was advertised, but we came up with almost no info as the which galleries were actually open.  And as they are peppered about Wynwood on some very dark and lonely streets, you may be forgiven for missing a lot.

Artist Joseph Eddy Pierre and his hand painted sofa at the Jakmel Gallery

Starting out on 36^th Street, we went to Dot 51 ((51 NW 36th St), always worth a go.   I was taken with a large piece by Lionel Matheu titled Facing His Fears-The World is a Scary Place: “My work stays in the urban landscape to reflect the powerful life force or vibrations that can be felt when facing a jungle of cement such as today’s modern urban city,” says Matheu.   This clever piece mirrors our own fears of what we will find outside our doors, as the current news reflects.

I am noticing a trend toward several different galleries interconnecting, which successfully enhances our experience in this case, as well as enabling gallery owners to watch over each others’ spaces in order to keep the venues open more often. The Jakmel Gallery (147 NW 36^th St) shares a funky colorful backyard outdoor space with the Salome Fine Art Gallery (151 NW 36th St) next door. The Jakmel Gallery’s exhibition: Festival of the Goddesses (A Celebration of Women’s Spirit and Creativity), benefiting  Papaloko4Kinds Inc, which provides art, dance and music workshops for the cities underprivileged children.

David Perez MacCollum, owner of dpm Gallery, with Pablo Cardoso’s painted travel “photos”

Don’t miss the fine bas relief wood carvings by Mexican artist Fernando Ramos-Prida at Tresart (171 NW 36^th St).

The Chelsea Gallery’s (2441 NW 2^nd Ave) attractive new space interconnects with the dpm Gallery (2441 N.W. 2nd Avenue), which also has a site in Ecuador.  I was taken with several pieces in both galleries.  Dpm exhibition: Dionne Simpson’s “urbanscape” pieces are striking.

Dr. Anthony Japour of the AJ Japour Gallery, Amber Lee, Eleanor Hoh and Rosemary Ravinal at the Scot Lurie Gallery

The young Canadian artist uses an ancient African technique in which other materials are interwoven into the canvas where the threads have been removed, she then adds wax and further deconstructs the fabric. Also check out Pablo Cardoso Martinez’ small paintings exactly reflecting his b/w travel photographs. The Chelsea Gallery’s Images of Carnavale by Daniel Kedar should be viewed also.