Bodies of art: Museum of Art show matches brawn with brains

Museum of Art show matches brawn with brains

ART PICK

'Fuego en el batey' at Cernuda Arte

Cernuda Arte is exhibiting for the first time in South Florida a seminal work of Cuban modernism -- Fuego en el batey from 1943 -- by one of the island's most important artists, Mario Carreño.

NEW GALLERY

An artful gift to the South Florida landscape

At a time when most art institutions are cutting costs, collectors Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz are adding another significant player to the Miami art scene -- a long-anticipated warehouse space in the Design District to showcase their world-class collection of contemporary art.

VISUAL ARTS

New Rivera exhibit explores his Cubist phase

A new exhibit on Diego Rivera explores a not-often-seen aspect of the Mexican artist's work -- the portraits he painted while living in Paris.

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'The Endless Renaissance' at the Bass Museum

In The Endless Renaissance, guest curator Steven Holmes pairs historical works from the Bass Museum of Art Collection with contemporary works on loan from local and national collectors ''to create a dialogue between the past and present.'' You'll see works by masters from the 17th to 18th centuries -- Delacroix, Rubens, Goya, Rigaud and Hoppner -- alongside those of such contemporary artists as Pieter Hugo, Joseph Beuys, Martin Puryear, Wim Delvoye, Charles Ledray, Byron Kim, Jonathan Monk...

Best in Show: Exploring the warp and woof of our love affair with dogs

Yoga dog. Puppet dog. Dog as Pope. Old dog. Snarling dog. Tail of a dog. Even dead dog in a blankie. Humankind's best friend becomes a subject of adoration and exploration in the most charming art show in South Florida, Dog Tales: Words and Images, Fact and Fiction at the Miami-Dade Public Library System's downtown Main Library. Some 30 South Florida artists celebrate their canine relationships in painting, sculpture, photography and video.

POP ART

Sign of the times: EAT to light up after 44-year hiatus

Robert Indiana never saw his oversized EAT sign illuminated after it went up at the New York World's Fair in 1964. A day after being turned on, the sign with its hundreds of light bulbs was turned off because it was attracting hungry tourists who thought it was a restaurant, not a piece of art.

POP MUSIC

Bed-in images on exhibit at Woodstock site

John and Yoko hung out in their pajamas for eight days during their ''bed-in'' at a Montreal hotel in 1969. Reclining on a king-size bed, the famous Beatle and his new wife read Lao Tzu, snuggled and recorded the anthem Give Peace a Chance.

EXHIBITION

Pop goes the easel for Lauderdale show

On Saturday night, more than 30 local, national and globally renowned artists will continue the modern pop-art ethic by showing new, original works inspired by pop culture at the opening of Pop! Pop! -- an exhibit running through the end of July at Fort Lauderdale's designer toy store-slash-mini gallery PinkGhost.

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Summer-themed shows at Wynwood Arts District

Cool off from the heat indoors and check out these summer-themed shows in the Wynwood Arts District: Bernice Steinbaum Gallery is celebrating its ninth year in Florida and its 32nd year in business this summer with plenty of humor and an invitation to enjoy the exhibit Nine Lives: Dog Days of Summer. Especially notable is Maria Magdalena Campos Pons' tryptic Nesting, above. Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, 3550 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-573-2700; www.bernicesteinbaumgallery.com.

Heroes re-imagined: Giving a pop-culture twist to African-American history

Consider for a moment, if Harriet Tubman, the abolitionist who led dozens of slaves to freedom, were a gun-wielding, take-no-prisoners, doo rag-sporting movie star. What if folks called her Dirrrty Harriet?

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'La Babel de Miami' at Obini Gallery

Cuban artist Félix González Sánchez, known for his humorous depictions of characters in Cuban history and popular culture, on Friday unveils his latest creation -- a 6-foot-tall oil on canvas titled La Babel de Miami. 'A humorous allegory of people and things that are Miami,' the painting features a tower under construction with scores of little people working and parachuting from balloons (some of which bear the colors of flags from around the Americas) as a gathering...

VISUAL ARTS

Exhibit gives visitors artist's point of view

Artist Frederic Edwin Church built Olana, his grandiose, Persian-inspired villa, atop a hill on 250 acres in the Hudson Valley so he could be close to the natural beauty that inspired him. When not traveling the world, he could look out the windows to see the lush landscapes of the Hudson River, the Catskill Mountains and trees stretching for miles -- and paint them just as he saw them.

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Art from garbage at 'The Divine Debris & Glorious Trash'

You gotta love the title: Arts at St. Johns and ArtShare LLC present The Divine Debris & Glorious Trash. Coming to the Miami Beach Botanical Garden from Monday to June 12, the show features artwork created from found, discarded and recycled objects. Participating artists include Aimee Ortiz, Deborah Odwyer, Dina Knapp, Dinorah de Jesús Rodríguez, Eva Ruíz, Daniel Fila (Krave), Laura Cerwinske, Rianne, Steve Forero-Paz, Thomas Banks, Uta, Vanessa García...

ARTS

From Little Havana, Margarita Cano reflects on a lifetime in art

Margarita Cano's domain was once the public library, and within its walls, she made Miami art history. These days, the retired librarian and arts administrator creates her own works of art -- magical naive scenery inspired by memory and longing -- in the storybook surroundings of her Little Havana home.

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Wynwood Arts District exhibits

The Wynwood Arts District -- the 's' was just added to the area's name -- continues to attract newcomers, some of them veterans of the South Florida art scene elsewhere. Now exhibiting:

VISUAL ARTS

Love at first sight inspires collections

Ask Francie Bishop Good -- artist, collector -- to choose a favorite work from among the 73 photographs, paintings, videos and sculptures from her collection on exhibit at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, and instantly you regret putting her on the spot.

VISUAL ARTS

Exhibit of 70 Van Gogh landscapes causing a stir in Basel

Vincent van Gogh may have preferred painting portraits and figures, but his landscapes sparked a revolution in art. Seventy landscapes, among them key works never seen by wide audiences, are presented in an ambitious show at Basel's distinguished Kunstmuseum that is being billed as ``Europe's art event of the year.''

ART PICK

Vickie Pierre at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood

The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood continues to present a terrific slate of Miami artists, this month with the solo exhibition Vickie Pierre: If You Win Me, I'm Forever. Pierre, whose work is inspired by fantasy, design, decoration and childhood memories, creates a site-specific installation that includes vintage Avon perfume bottles from the 1970s paired with vintage Syroco brand sconces. Above is the aesthetically pleasing Enchanted Darlings (Snow White Queens and Ladies in Waiting...