Miami is set for a ground-breaking immersive art experience. It opens in December
Miami’s newest art space is set to debut in December — COVID or not.
Newly launched Superblue announced Tuesday it will launch its experiential art in the Allapattah neighborhood near the Rubell Museum. Superblue Miami will be the first in a planned series of groundbreaking international spaces dedicated to immersive installations by top contemporary artists.
A social change engine founded by Laurene Powell Jobs is Superblue’s founding partner. The enterprise was created by executives of New York-based Pace Gallery but is a separate company.
While Superblue executives stop short of calling the space “permanent,” CEO Christy MacLear said Miami Superblue “is not a pop-up. We have a long-term investment in the space.”
Interest in immersive art has grown along with the overall consumer trend of valuing experiences — such as dining and travel — over consumer goods. Installations. Think Christo’s “Surrounded Islands,” James Turrell’s light sculpture “Aten Reign” and Yayoi Kusama’s mirrored “infinity” rooms, works that seek to transport viewers to otherworldly dimensions. Many works involve complex technology and require large, sophisticated spaces.
“There’s a whole new market. Young people are less interested in objects and more interested in experiences,” said MacLear.
Superblue will encompass an abandoned, 50,000-square-foot warehouse, incorporating both semi-permanent and short-term installations. Entry will be by time ticket and staggered — a plan devised before the pandemic, but one that fits with social distancing protocols, organizers pointed out.
Miami’s ever-evolving art scene and diverse population put it on Superblue’s short list. “We look at a variety of factors going into locations, including the existing arts-and-culture ecosystem,” said Shantelle Rodriguez, Superblue’s Miami director. But such massive installations come with specific needs for infrastructure, she noted. The warehouse, recommended by the Rubell family, offered “the most amazing space to break boundaries,” she said.
It also offered access to a broad audience that Miami-born Rodriguez knows well from her most recent stint as director of arts of Goldman Global Arts and Goldman Properties, including Wynwood Walls.
“With boots on the ground in Wynwood Walls, I was able to see all of Miami’s audiences. I was seeing people so interested in learning about art. It was a comfortable space to ask questions and not feel intimidated.”
Rodriguez wants to create the same feeling at Superblue.
“I grew up a Cuban girl in Miami. My parents weren’t collectors. I know what it feels like to be intimidated, but I really believe art is for everyone,” she said. To that end, Superblue has been working with existing groups in the Allapattah neighborhood and is looking to hire area residents. “It’s an opportunity to engage in a broader community.”
The space will be open year-round and will be programmed primarily for locals, with tourists as a secondary target.
Allapattah, home to produce distribution companies and other warehouse spaces, has emerged as Miami’s latest art-centric neighborhood. Along with the Rubell Museum, it is home to Espacio 23, a permanent art space for the collection of Jorge Pérez, and a growing number of galleries.
Superblue also engages artists in a new business model. Superblue commissions the work, then gives the artists a percentage of the revenue. “This represents an evolution of patronage from collector to the public,” said MacLear. “It supports this artistic practice. It creates a whole new model for an artist that isn’t object-based.”
Superblue artists include leaders in immersive art, including light artist Turrell, Studio Swine (which designed the floating bubbles interactive exhibit for clothing company COS during the 2017 Miami Art Week) and Jeppe Hein, known for his interactive sculptures. Other well-known names include Nick Cave (known for his elaborate sound suits), Mary Corse, Es Devlin, DRIFT, Simon Heijdens, Koo Jeong A, JR, Jakob Michael Rovner, Jacolby Satterwhite, Kudsk Steensen, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Kohei Nawa, Carsten Nicolai, Risa Puno, Random International, Studio INI, teamLab and Leo Villareal.
Superblue was co-founded by Marc Glimcher, president and CEO of Pace Gallery, and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, former president of Pace London, who serves as its chief creative officer.
Investment by Jobs’ Emerson Collective brings more than money, said MacLear. As a partner, she said, “they bring a lot of intellectual bandwith and offer a viewpoint about global issues and themes. They want to amplify those voices.
“We’re going to test some different things – we consider it an incubator.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 5:00 PM.
