‘Fire, Figure, Fantasy’ Reflects Miami’s Thriving Art Scene

Upon entering ‘Fire, Figure, Fantasy’ – ICA Miami’s first major show to highlight its permanent collection – visitors find themselves immersed in Jonathas de Andrade’s Cartazes para o Museu do Homem do Nordeste (Posters for the Museum of the Northeast Man, 2013), a large display of 77 posters and ten inkjet prints depicting Brazilian men. Some are hard at work; others, bare-chested, stare back at the viewer. All are portrayed as models for fictional advertisements for the Museum of the Northeast Man, an institution founded by Brazilian anthropologist Gilberto Freyre in 1979 in Northern Brazil. The installation, which also includes six transparent acetates of the artist’s notes about his encounters with the men, screened on an overhead projector, acts as a commentary on how museums create and reinforce monolithic cultural identities.

Andrade’s installation is the most prominent work in the ‘Fire’ section of the show, which seeks to examine issues of social justice and inequity. Here, Jared McGriff’s vibrant Overseer, Overseer, Officer (2020) – an oil on canvas depicting two Black policemen in white uniforms against a blotchy blue background – likewise stands out as a work that prompts viewers to  reflect on how institutions often push communities to play a part in their own oppression.

On the third floor, the exhibition’s ‘Figure’ section presents an intriguing selection of works that contend with themes of representation. Guadalupe Maravilla’s Disease Thrower #2 (2019) is a mesmerising, mixed-media sculpture comprising totemic objects from Central America and other unexpected items including a gong, an anatomical model of a spine and loofahs. The piece echoes the Salvadoran artist’s personal experience of migration and illness and belongs to a series of works meant to be used as instruments for sound baths performed by Maravilla.

Elsewhere, Ewa Juszkiewicz’s Ginger Locks (2021) – a large-scale painting of a woman in a silky aquamarine dress against an olive background, her head enveloped by thick curls of auburn hair – surveys power and gender norms through a surreal lens. Nearby, Andra Ursuța’s Soft Power 2 (2013) – a large fist-like sculpture made from patchwork quilts that allude to Romanian traditions – is propped up by wooden poles and activated by a thunderous, unsettling fan. With this piece, Ursuta seeks to address repressive power dynamics and the complex communist history of her native Romania.

The standout piece in the ‘Fantasy’ section – a series of works offering insights into alternative futures and liberation – is Naudline Pierre’s Don’t You Let Me Down, Don’t You Let Me Go (2021). Featuring fierce, angel-like creatures in jewel hues against an ethereal background, this phenomenal painting simultaneously conjures uncertainty, divinity and freedom to draw you effortlessly into an ecstatic, hypnotic state. Similarly, Loie Hollowell’s Stacked Lingams in yellow, purple and green (2018) – an abstract composition comprising oil paint, acrylic, sawdust and high-density foam – depicts biomorphic symbols that playfully explore ideas of spirituality and sexuality.

‘Fire, Figure, Fantasy’ delivers on its ambitious curatorial promise of showcasing recent acquisitions from the young museum’s expansive collection while spotlighting a range of artists working across a variety of media, reflecting the rich diversity of Miami’s thriving art scene.

‘Fire, Figure, Fantasy’ is on view at ICA Miami until 30 October.

_{Main image: ‘Fire, Figure, Fantasy’, 2022, exhibition view, ICA Miami. Courtesy: ICA Miami; photograph: Zachary Balber}