Today @ Museum of Contemporary Art / North Miami
Returning to MOCA for a big solo show spanning 1998 to the present, Miami-based artist Mark Handforth electrifies the museum with fluorescent lights spread across 100 feet of wall space, effectively illuminating a land of unearthly delights. Demanding territory with their grand scale and contorted figuration, many of the sculptures here glorify forms and materials we see on a day-to-day basis, forcing us to admire objects that aren't typically perceived as possessing artistic character. You'll encounter a candlelit scooter fit for a birthday party, a large painted streetlamp curled into itself, and even galactic bodies sparkling onto an oversized coat hanger. Additional installations are included outside on the plaza, in the courtyard, and at offsite locations.
Coming Up
Today @ Grand Central
Kid Sister bends, then transcends boundaries: she's successfully taken rap to house-filled clubs, giving hip-hop an electro spin, while getting the dancefloor moving. Case in point: Ms. Young has worked with Kanye West ("Pro Nails") and her 2011 single, "Kiss Kiss Kiss", was produced by Afrojack. This is your chance to see worlds collide, as the rapper/DJ brings her show to Grand Central....
Today @ Mamushka's
Having opened for bands like Animal Collective and with buzzing shows at Pop Montreal and CMJ, Miami's ANR is a precocious duo (a core base of Michael-John Hancock and Brian Robertson, featuring Luke Moellman on drums) who've made quite a name for themselves. With deserved praise coming from across the country and the UK, their stadium sound should be plenty to shake the stage. Also, don't miss ever-emerging singer/songwriter Sam Friend who ditches his NYC winter coat to return to Miami, leaning more acoustic for this free show at Mamushka's....
Today @ GableStage at the Biltmore
GableStage often puts on plays that don't mirror its location at the opulent Biltmore Hotel, rather showcasing less polished versions of reality. Case in point: The Motherf**cker with the Hat, penned by New Yorker Stephen Adly Guirgis, and focusing on a young couple battling addiction. Veronica (played by Gladys Ramirez) and Jackie (Arturo Fernandez) fear the intimacy they so desperately need, and the void between them grows as she still does coke and other drugs, while he's sober and on probation. Then he finds a hat in her apartment — and one that doesn't belong to him, which catalyzes a series of events, including a confrontation with his own parole counselor, Ralph D. A play for those itching for a dark, foul-mouthed comedy.
Today @ Bass Museum of Art
With wistful, elegant forms and a rich range of mediums to pool from, French multimedia artist Laurent Grasso arrives at the Bass with a solo exhibition called Portrait of a Young Man. Reminding viewers of the essential relationship between the past, present, and future, Grasso brings his sizable resume and airy sentiments straight into view: a blue neon constellation on a black wall, misty pink swirls on a Mars-like landscape, and outright juxtapositions with classical pieces from Renaissance masters — Grasso's works jump upward towards the academic heavens and manage to land among the stars. C'est magnifique....
