By Alessandra D.

ArtCenter re-boots its New York-Miami affair, opening a new window into the future of this symbiotic tale of two cities. The new exhibition I-95 South features 3 artists from Miami, FL and 4 from New York City. Commonly known as New York City’s sixth borough, Miami was the ideal place to host this exhibition. Art Center Miami resurrected the New York/Miami affiliation, revealing the figurative fable between these two notoriously artistic cities. The Miami artists are Johnny Laderer, Gustavo Oviedo and Luis Pinto. The New York artists are Tyler Healy, Dean Levin, Evan Robarts and Kyle Yanagihara.

“These artists’ works are influenced by their environment; whether by the underground art and music scene, the urban landscapes of Brooklyn or Wynwood, or their proximity to each other within the walls of their studio.” Susan Caraballo, Art/Center Art Director

Gustavo Oviedo was born in Paris, France and raised between Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico and finally Miami. He has a Master’s Degree in Motion Graphics and Visual Effects. He works in various mediums including video, photography, silkscreen, collage, sculpture and mural. Oviedo’s work has been exhibited at the Art & Culture Center of Hollywood, Bakehouse Art Complex, Locust Projects, and Primary Projects, among others. Two of Oviedo’s short films have been part of MOCA’s Optic Nerve Short Film Festival. Oviedo lives and works in Miami.

Conceptual artist Gustavo Oviedo is one of the Miami artists that are been featured. He works primarily with film, paint and aerosol.

“My environment has always influenced my work. 3 years ago I changed that environment when I purchased my first boat, it was a 14 feet aluminum boat. I started exploring areas of Miami I had never seen during my 15 years here.Being exposed to this marine environment has had a strong influence on me and my artwork. My first reaction was of regret of not having explored these places earlier and my second was a childlike enthusiasm about everything to do with nature,boating and marine life. My work always involved documentation so the natural progression was to document underwater sites along the coastal waters of South Florida.”

“It is my connection with a Miami curator currently residing in NYC that got me initially involved with this show. I also know Evan Roberts from one of my trips over there a few years back. The pieces I will show for I-95 South are very much a result of working in Wynwood. On the way to my studio I would always pick up coffee, this became part of my process, so much so that I decided to include it in my work. The coffee cups used for the sculpture I ‘m showing were consumed while drawing the illustration I’m showing. The 2 works are connected by cause and effect, each one is the bi-product of the other.”

Tyler Healy, born and raised in New York, holds a BFA in Product Design from Parsons The New School for Design. Healy has participated in group exhibitions at 48 Bowery, Bleecker Street Art Club, Lesley Heller Gallery, RH Gallery, Nicola Formichetti Studio and Temp in Manhattan, and at AMO and Monster Island in Brooklyn. Healy lives and works in New York City. 

Johnny Laderer, originally from Bartow, Florida, received his BFA from Florida State University in 2009. Laderer has participated in group shows at the Hollywood Art and Culture Center (Hollywood, Florida); Miami Beach Urban Studios (Miami Beach); David Castillo Gallery (Miami); among others. Laderer lives and work in Miami.

Dean Levin, born in Johannesburg and raised in Los Angeles, holds a BARCH from Pratt Institute. Levin has participated in group exhibitions at Bleecker Street Art Club, Lesley Heller Gallery, RH Gallery, Nicola Formichetti Studio and Temp in Manhattan, and at AMO and Monster Island in Brooklyn. He lives and works in New York City.

Luis Pinto was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Miami Beach. He received his BFA from New World School of the Arts. He had his first solo exhibition at Kid Robot in 2010 and has been part of community events such as Abracadabra at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood. Pinto was also part of the Downtown Hollywood Mural Project. Most recently, he has been selected to take part in the Seattle Storefronts Project and will be pursuing his MFA at California College of the Arts.

Evan Robarts, born and raised in Miami, holds a BFA in Sculpture from Pratt Institute. Robarts has participated in group exhibitions at Galerie Olivier Robert (Paris), ArtCenter/South Florida (Miami Beach) and the Martin Margulies Warehouse (Miami). He has also exhibited extensively in New York City including White Box, RH Gallery, Temp, Schoolhouse, Still House and Open Source. He lives and works in New York City.

Kyle Yanagihara was born in Oxnard, California and raised in Los Angeles. Yanagihara has participated in group exhibitions at Suede Gallery and Alexis Gross Gallery in Los Angeles, and Alldayeveryday’s Gallery in Manhattan. Yanagihara currently lives and works in New York City.

The I-95 South exhibit is currently on display at the Richard Shack Gallery, 800 Lincoln Road. It is on show until September 28th.