Story and Photos by Irene Sperber

	Design District Street music

Wynwood and the Design District’s combined  Gallery Walks  created an explosion of activity on Saturday night, September 9---street music, brightly lit galleries---and an impressive crowd descended.

You couldn’t possibly attend every gallery, and probably wouldn’t want to, as there are such diverse talents, topics and levels of expertise.

My first stop was the Moore Building (4040 NE 2 Ave) for “Horizontes De Architects”, billed as a collection of art by 11 Argentine architects united by their common artistic vocation and by their passion for art.  Each had let go of their protractors---am I dating myself?---long enough to create free hand paintings.  It was interesting to see how each architect expresses himself (yup, all men) when allowing the full flow of energy without constraints, and to juxtapose  (I think that word is now overdone with regards to artwork, don’t you?)  them with the images of  his buildings. Now there’s a parlor game---match the art with the architect.   Architects are crossing the medium barriers more and more, with Gehry and his jewelry, Michael Graves plunge into product design, etc.

Before crossing into Wynwood, I must always hit the Diaspora Gallery in the Design District,  hidden up an enclosed stairway on the second floor (3938 North Miami Ave.) . This gallery is billed as a Cultural Arts Incubator for emerging artists of the Caribbean Diaspora.  Rosie Gordon-Wallace, Diaspora’s director  and curator, is  always warm and welcoming, exhibiting a diversity of artists with  a high degree of control over their chosen media.  Caroline Holder curated this particular exhibition, “Brave New World”, a collection of six participants  exploring our fragility post 9/11.

	Rosie Gordon-Wallace, director of Diaspora Gallery with Fredda Psaltis, jewelry designer

Toronto artist Dorie Millerson‘s incredibly fine detailed needlepoint lace  bridge “sculpture” is lit to reflect its silhouette on the wall behind, making it appear to hang in the air, giving the bridge  a tenuous aura.   Mary-Anne Wensely’s  tiny wafer-thin houses, uniform is size, are scattered  in careful groupings across the floor, neighborhood-style.  The houses appear to be of wax paper, when in fact they are pig-gut, collected by the artist, cleaned, dried then manipulated into 3-D  forms.  The thinness and placement of the houses leave you fearful that you’ll inadvertently kick them aside.

MOCA’s Wynwood outpost, the Goldman Warehouse, (404 NW 26^th St.)  kicked the action up several notches with Mocasonic,  a second Saturday monthly music event showcasing cutting-edge musicians.  Artist Christian Holstad’s The Terms of Endearment was the featured large-scaled soft-sculpture presentation.  I was intrigued by the 1970s video pieces (pondering on my fellow youths offerings with a jaundiced eye), as well as Kevin Arrow’s Polarized Transparency & Projection.

Winding one’s way though deserted streets before discovering your destination is either daunting or energizing, depending on your  attitude as to what amuses your sensibilities.