Locust is taking on the role of neighborhood catalyst, albeit on a much smaller scale than the Rubell Collection. This spring, the venue acquired nonprofit status, enabling it to apply for public grants to fund more ambitious programs and to stay open longer. It has also set up an advisory board composed of independent curator Amy Cappellazzo, Museum of Contemporary Art program manager Jeremy Chestler, Miami Art Museum curator Lorie Mertes, collector Dennis Scholl and the three founding artists. Next month the board will hold its first meeting. Among the items up for discussion, says Charles, is inviting national or internationally known artists to pair with South Florida artists, perhaps to collaborate on site.
Flotsam is awash with barbed references to pollution, both environmental and cultural.
Floating amid oceanic crests of mint-green plastic garbage bags are sea anemones crafted from plastic sponges, ships made of Styrofoam packing pellets and fingers of coral laden with acrylic nails. It's a magical kind of piece, full of treasures that reveal themselves only on close inspection, yet one that's harrowing at the same time. Director Brook Dorsch is presenting an eclectic range of new work by Michael Brandon Landsberg, Andrew Binder and a local composer and artist who goes by the name Olivia Newtron Bomb. Some come with mysterious boxes, suggesting Binder is a soul mate of the late American surrealist Joseph Cornell. Earlier this month, the artists invited 17 colleagues to create new pieces inside bedrooms, the kitchen, hallways and the backyard.