the Machine Show

3940 North Miami Avenue     Miami, FL 33127

PRESS RELEASE  November 1, 2015

RE: THE MACHINE SHOW at Swampspace

Opening Reception December 1, 2015  7-11pm

"You have to be practical. Doing even crazy things with a logical approach." Martine Rothblatt

The director of Swampspace, Oliver Sanchez announced today the much anticipated December 2015 exhibition THE MACHINE SHOW coinciding with ABMB and Art Week Miami. 

THE MACHINE SHOW at Swampspace is a lighthearted look at the history of mechanization and the influence of machines on the development of modern civilization.  

With the understanding of six simple machines, we negotiate the material world that is defined by physical law. 

With reinvention of the wheel and a betterment of the mousetrap, we concoct unnecessary contraptions that fix what is not broken. We tackle the mundane with urgency and stubbornness to satisfy our innate urge to tinker where no tinkerer has tinkered before.  We dream of obsolescence on the notion of a better tomorrow.

With the combined forces of isolated parts buzzing in unison like a symphony of gears, we conjure behemoth contraptions that unleash the harnessed energy of fossil fuels in a smothering busts of combusted genius.  

With minuscule intrigue,  we delve into the precise world of tiny unseen processes in calculation. We are lulled by a nano-world of undetectable energy transfers and lightning fast computations.  We plunge into the information age of categorical picturesque meta data as users of electronic devices with the attention span of mosquitos. With the refinement of our self-analyses we are unrelenting in an attempt build machines in our likeness.

Without machines, we are what nature intended, dreadfully curious, remarkably unclothed and rusting beautifully.

The Machine Show is a loose-knit guild of artists whose work mirror the struggle and triumphs of humans over machines and visa versa. The roster includes but is not limited to friends of Swampspace such as Bhakti Baxter, Robert Chambers, Mark Diamond, Liz Ferrer, Brookhart Jonquil, Karelle Levy, Justin Long, Daniel Newman, Jeffery Noble, Brandon Opalka, TM Sisters,  Robert Loria, Raymond Brown, Clifton Childree, Douglas Hoekzema, Paloma Izquierdo, Coral Morphologic, Franchesco LoCastro, Hugo Montoya,David Rohn, Jason Hedges and Tao Rey.

"The scientists today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."  Nikola Tesla

Acknowledgements: 

Craig Robins and the Miami Design District Associates.  

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

100% in the Shade - A Survey of South Florida Art.

Harriet Carter, Lillian Vernon and Mrs. Swampthing.

Contact:  swampstyle@gmail.com

Leave No Trace - Red Flag Magazine and The Nature Conservancy

LEAVE NO TRACE

Red Flag Magazine and The Nature Conservancy

When venturing into nature the ethos and creed of every wilderness lover and conservationist is "Leave No Trace". That means we should enter nature humbly, carry out our trash and leave it the way we found it. 

That's how many of us aspire to live in our everyday lives, but that's not what modern man has created through civilization. The very nature of civilizing the planet is to re-organize, re-design and leave our trace. Ironically, in the process we are eradicating entire bloodlines of animal species from the face of this earth. We are in essence leaving "no trace" of animals and habitats that were here for millennia before we arrived. 

RedFlag.org presents "LEAVE NO TRACE", an art exhibition addressing the issue of extinction and featuring special commission works from Bhakti Baxter, David Brooks, Brian Butler, Ernesto Caivano, N. Dash, Benjamin Degen, Mark Dion, Jim Drain, Christina Pettersson, Rebeca Rainey, and Dana Sherwood. Through 3 interactive bodies of work we will explore the story of our relationship to the great web of life.

For this exhibition Red Flag has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to raise awareness and funding that will go directly to their land conservation project in Central Florida. The aim of the project is to expand habitat and access to habitat for the Florida Panther. Throughout the exhibition calendar we will offer several free events. Stay connected atwww.redflag.org

Stop Resisting - a iiiPoints activation

STOP RESISTING a III-Points activation irritation in sound and light

Stop Resisting is a site specific installation by Raymond Brown, Casey Zap and Jessica Martin. It is simultaneously an examination of the relational dialectics between the individual and the acoustic ecology of the contemporary urban environment as well as a reinterpretation through the "materials" of sound and light.

Over half the worlds population now live in cities and while the paranoia and unease generated by the ubiquity of the state within the landscape tends to dominate most dialogue on the subject, paradoxically it is simultaneously an aestheticized environment that is both omnipresent and familiar.

Police sirens, scanners, traffic noise, voices, recorded music, and the the natural sounds of the weather, and whatever flora and fauna that remain all vie for the attention leaving a unique if nearly universal stamp on the psyche made all the more glaring in their absence to the urban denizen upon departure from the built environment.

Aesthetics of Commerce - Eddie Arroyo

AESTHETICS OF COMMERCE by Eddie Arroyo. 

Opening Reception August 29, 2015  7-11PM

The director of Swampspace announced today the premier debut exhibition of selected works by Eddie Arroyo. Mssr. Arroyo resides in Miami Florida where he is a modest civil servant by day and a quasi-anthropological chronicler of the local art scene by night. He is a fascinating enigmatic mainstay in the dynamic arts awakening that has transformed South Florida from the superficially luxurious to the substantially relevant.  More importantly, Arroyo has undertaken the solitary labor of a weekend painter. With regard to creativity, design, mass culture identity and theoretical discourse, Arroyo conjures sentiments championed by Felix Feneon, french writer of neo-impresionist anarchism.  To position Arroyo within the pantheon of landscape painters such as Edward Hopper, Julio Sanchez and Herve Di Rosa is well within the purview of the argumentative criteria. To share the whimsy of Eddie's natural gift for expression is our humble offering to those supportive of the unvarnished and sophisticated.

And so it is with much enthusiasm that Swampspace presents: 

AESTHETICS OF COMMERCE

by Eddie Arroyo

"This series of paintings seeks to explore nuances between the aesthetics of luxury and austerity. We experience the effects of good advertising but the influence on the collective consciousness moves beyond social conditioning. The objective of marketing is to make the consumer feel more acceptable; however, the effect is essentially metaphysical.

Wolfgang Fritz Haug coined the term “commodity aestheticism” deconstructing the relationship between consumer and producer. He also referred to these methods as forms of sorcery. Obviously, Haug uses these

notations in jest but it does speak to the Unexplainable. Why does one feel differently when walking into a Prada store as opposed to the corner market? These constructs are established to house practical items but there is an emotional reaction which is personal and cultural. Visual

specifications are utilized to validate the quality of these commercial businesses through presentations of color and shape. Value is assessed regarding boundaries of class represented in the aesthetics of these structures." Arroyo

SWAMPSPACE

3940 N. MIAMI AVENUE

MIAMI DESIGN DISTRICT

With fond appreciation for the support from the Knight Foundation and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Go For Broke

SWAMPSPACE presents:

GO FOR BROKE - Amalgamation Nation

Curated by Maitejosune Urrechaga & Tony Kapel 

Opening Reception  July 11th  6-11pm

Participating Artist:

Michael Allen

Jessie Askinazi

Bootsie Castillo

Claudia Guerreiro

Eddy Alvarez

David  Bennett

Devin Caserta

Luis Garcia

Alette Simmons-Jimenez

Tony Kapel

Lauren Oswald

Rob Pecchia

Chad Perna

Sarah Hersey

Karen Ramirez

John Rockford

Theo Rodino

Gaby Thompson

Musical Performance by Pocket of Lollipops 10PM

*****JULY 15*****

FLAMING LIPS Listening Party 7-10pm

Listening Party of the 4LP edition of The Flaming Lips’ 1997 experimental opus Zaireeka. A four-record set that requires you to play all four records at the same time. One of the few records in which a communal experience is almost necessary to its full enjoyment.

No Two listens are the same.

We are partnering up with Sweat Records to bring you this Ambitious sound experience.

 Lighting will be by artist Rafael Concepcion of CfabStudios.

*****JULY 18*****

Site Specific Performance Design District LOP-OFF sessions

Starting at 2pm.

The exhibit focuses on the working musician.it will be a one day event.

9-11 bands will record one song each on location These songs will then be made available as a compilation. Each band will have up to 30 minutes to knock out the song.

It will capture the moment/movement we are all involved with. Audiences will watch from the main room.

the objective is to show working musicians and the measures it takes capture a song.

Featured Musicians:

Smut/Spoiled/Shark Valley Sisters/Pocket of Lollipops/Full Time Mother Fucker/ Bootsie/ Snakehole/Kilombo/Oly/ Unicorn Renegades

*****JULY 23*****

Bird Lecture 7pm

Rob is an artist and scientist working on his PhD in Animal Behavior and Comparative Psychology at Hunter College in NYC. In south Florida, he’s researching a recently introduced species, the Common Myna. In his artwork, embroidery provides a medium to unpack fieldwork experiences and scientific concepts. At SwampSpace, Rob’s lecture will focus on his experience at the intersection of science & art.

   

*****JULY 31*****

 ‘Closing Time’ screening

Closing time was filmed between 2005-2008 with additional footage from 1998-2003. The film follows a handful of local artist and musicians it is supposed to give you a glimpse inside of what the artist do during their creative process.

Xclusively Laced and Unvarnished

Soulful Summer 2015

Swampspace presents:

The Unvarnished Art Show by Xclusively Laced

Saturday June 27  7pm-12am

Hosted by: XL Sony, XL Phil and No Emotion

Art By:

Karma, Mayan, Icee, Nicole Zizi, Saeed, Jande Gordon, Big Tony, Kangie West and A.T.G.

With Special Guests:

Apollo Fu$e, Sprizz, Slumps, Smoke Darko and Ryahn

Sounds by DJ Xantanna and DJ Shaktice

Also: Featuring Cathy's house of Sweets!

3940 N. Miami Ave. 33127

Coworker @ Swampspace

Coworker @ Swampspace

Opens April 11 

Brandon Opalka

Dave Marsh

Nicole Doran

Dave Kutzma

Freddy Jouwayed

Erin Thurow

Sarah MK Moody

Steve Moser

Brookhart Jonquil

We are pleased as porcupines to announce an ignominious collaboration among a sampling of the more formidable forces emerging from the cultural geyser of Miami arts awakening. The Coworker is about odds and probabilities but it's also about the mentoring of mindsets and the offering of assistance in the way of a "leg up" to the uninformed, the misinformed and the misaligned. All things considered, Coworker gets the job done, albeit in overdrive.

Obvious/Oblivious by Ottilie Mason

Swampspace Gallery

Press Release February 1, 2015

Toronto Artist Ottilie Mason Premiers OBVIOUS/OBLIVIOUS at Swampspace Gallery in the Miami Design District

Opening Reception: Friday, February 13th, 2015, 7-11pm

The director of Swampspace, Oliver Sanchez announced today the much anticipated Miami depute of Obvious/Oblivious by Ottilie Mason.

Ms Mason has created large-scale photographs of site-specific tableaux that attempt to expose the mystery, beauty and abuse of water - our most precious natural resource.

“In this project, I am taking an entertaining and provocative approach to environmentalism because in the words of experimental filmmaker Jack Smith,  ‘Art must not be used as means of fleeing from thinking... let art continue to be stunning, naturalistic and glamourous – but let it also be loaded with information."  Mason

With OBVIOUS/OBLIVIOUS Mason accesses her experiences in varied disciplines of installation, performance, set & costume design, painting and sculpture for collaborations with photographers Liat Aharoni, Babak Khairi, Brian Patterson, Hill Peppard and George Whiteside.

OBVIOUS/OBLIVIOUS features starkly contrasted, domestic and natural landscapes where the artist’s body appears to become  fluid as water itself.  Memento Mori of environmental apocalypse, coexist within these seemingly perfect realities and suggest the absence of balance. The substantive topic endangered marine life, and the bio-fouling of the water supply are interrogated by scenes of desertification, garbage atolls and melting polar ice. We see a kitchen being consumed in a sea of jellyfish and a table over-flowing with the fruits of the sea as if set for a Caligula feast.

A portion of the proceeds from sale of the artworks will be donated to 5 Gyres Institute a non-profit organization based in LA and dedicated to the elimination of plastic waste in the world’s oceans and watersheds. 

About the Artist:

Mason’s is an Ontario Scholar from Canadian School of Art in Florence, Italy. She also attended McGill University and University of Toronto and OCAD (The Funnel film/video production). In New York she studied acting at both the Neighbourhood Playhouse and the William Esper Studio.  Her work has been exhibited in North America at AGO, ABC No Rio Gallery in New York and Resistor Gallery in Toronto.

Mason's  portfolio includes several Dora Mavor Moore nominations for set costume & lighting design for Theatre Gargantua’s, 1990’s production “The Templar Project”.  She won Dora Mavor Moore Award for best production for the Umbrella Factory’s “Marat Sade”.

Other recognitions include the City of Toronto Millennium Award for 1st prize in Arts & Culture for the Sculpture Garden Project at the McMurrich School, Toronto. Olympia and York awarded her the artistic merit for the ‘Head to Toe’ exhibition at Queens Quay.

Ms Mason designing costumes for Margo Kidder in Patricia Rozema’s popular film, The White Room.  Mason is a founding member of the world-acclaimed Theatre Asylum.

About Swampspace:

Under the auspices of Miami native Oliver Sanchez,  Swampspace was founded in 2005 on the premise that Miami needs authentic grass-roots venues to promote basic arts awareness.   Today Swampspace is a known destination for locals and visitors to Miami and its also a point of interest on the art world stage.  Located in the Miami Design District,  Swampspace presents innovative visual arts and performative productions focused on artistic values rather than profit.  The real dividend is enhanced civility of a broader community. Swampspace is funded in part by the Knight Foundation.

                                 

Ottilie Mason OBVIOUS/OBLIVIOUS

Opening Reception Friday, February 13th, 2015, 7-11pm

February 13th-27th, 2015, Monday-Saturday 11am-7pm

Swampspace Gallery

3940 North Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33127

contacts:

swampstyle@gmail.com

Valerie Dooley

Toots Capital

416.488.2881

val@tootscapital.com

Jerry Powers - Saving Lolita

Jerry Powers Opens an Exhibition of Painting at Swampspace Gallery

Swampspace is thilled to present

JERRY POWERS - SAVING LOLITA

Recent Paintings focused on the effort to Save Lolita, a national campaign to improve conditions of whales in captivity.

Opening Reception January 16  7-11

Jerry Powers has drive. His passion for the arts has recently manifest in a series of painting that depict the sentimental and explosive nature of our existence. From the abrasive celebrity mug-shot painting to the innocence of soothing abstractions in primary palettes, Powers is a force for the good and the honest in a world steeped in capital concerns and intellectual inhibition. Powers the artist may be overlooked but the work deserves a spotlight that Swampspace is pleased to ignite.   

Powers is no stranger to controversy.  Back in the seventies when Richard Nixon and Anita Bryant flooded Miami with conservative dominance, Powers was publisher of the infamous counter-culture periodical the Daily Planet of Coconut Grove.  Powers was often the focus of authoritarians hell-bent on crushing our First Amendment Right to free speech.  In the 80's he socialized with the New York cultural vanguards such as Alan Ginsberg, Larry Flint, Peter Max and Andy Warhol. On his return for the South Beach renascence of the early 90's, Powers the foreword thinker foretold the tumult of luxury with the founding of Ocean Drive Magazine. In time the glitz and excess depicted on the glossy pages became normalized reality for the Miami Beach we know today.  Always the visionary Jerry has moved beyond the fray of publishing and is now focused on his artwork and a lifelong desire to help animal rights organizations. 

Save Lolita is a campaign that strives to educate the public and set policy that protects  wildlife.  Proceeds from sales of Powers artwork will be donated to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  

Exhibition January 16 - 26   Mon - Sat  11 - 7pm

Swampspace Gallery

3940 N. Miami Avenue 33127

Miami Design District