Arts

Art All About

There is art all about through December, and, once again, listed here are just a few choice moments.

First off, on Nov. 19, the Dorsch Gallery, which has consistently and solidly highlighted local art, will celebrate its 20th year. To honor the occasion, the gallery will throw a little party, starting at 10 p.m., with some DJs and acts that those who remember the beginnings of the gallery will fondly recall, such as Rat Bastard and Boise Bob. Also, at 2 p.m., there will be a panel called “Psychogeography: Moving Through Miami,” which is in conjunction with an Art Basel installation project “G-Spot” that is made of site-responsive art works across Miami. Oh, and, of course, there is art — two solo shows with quite different aesthetics will be on display. One will come from locally based artist Mette Tommerup, whose paintings at first seem quite ordinary in subject matter, but which, on closer inspection, are darker, more sexually charged and not what they first seem. The other comes from Martin Murphy, whose will combine video and sculpture, “providing installations of nonlinear elements,” according to the gallery.

As for combining video and sculpture, there may not be a better example of this today than the work of Peter Sarkisian, who once again Bernice Steinbaum has brought back to Miami. This show, up through December, is a must-see. Sarkisian’s expert skill in modern technology, which creates phenomenal optical illusions, is contrasted with comments on the loss of “older” skills, such as reading and writing. In one of the best pieces in the exhibit, a tiny video image of Sarkisian climbs around a dictionary, at one point disappearing into the spine.

This is how he describes the work: “This reflects an interest in using new media against itself in an effort to counter its more popular applications. Just as I’m trying to use video to run interference against the experience-sapping effects of, well, video … so does the medium I’m using represent a whole slew of communication-era technologies that threaten to displace the basic underpinning of language and history.  The dictionary represents that endangered cultural legacy, and the small video-rendered figure crawling around on its pages represents a sort of new-era gremlin intent on rewriting it.”  Don’t miss it.

Finally, over on the Beach at South Pointe park, artist Tobias Rehberger is finishing off his public art piece, “Obstinate Lighthouse.” A great permanent addition to the landscape.

Murphy and Tommerup open up at the Dorsch Gallery on Nov. 19, 151 N.W. 24th St.; dorschgallery.com. “Peter Sarkisian: New Work” runs through Jan. 7 at the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, 3550 N. Miami Ave.; www.bernicesteinbaumgallery.com. Rehberger’s work in progress,  www.miamibeachfl.gov.