Intersections (after Lautréamont)

"Caught in the dilemma of being both the edge and the center, of being surface and symbol, the idea of reinventing Miami as ‘the capital of Latin America’ presents challenges. A sense of belonging and deep-rooted connections has begun to overshadow stereotypes like 'the city of sun and frivolity' or 'the nostalgic city of temporary refuge.' While this shift carries the risk of replacing old labels with new ones, it is noteworthy that the acceptance—and even pride—in becoming 'another capital for Latin Americans' is significant," said Eugenio Valdés Figueroa, CIFO's new director.

Many key figures of Dada and Proto-Surrealism during the second and third decades of the twentieth century resonated with the famous phrase by the Count of Lautréamont: "Beautiful as the chance meeting on a dissecting table of a sewing machine and an umbrella."

The exhibition's title, Intersections (after Lautréamont), "highlights the notion of beauty and how, in each era, art is tasked with reformulating, subverting, and proposing alternative understandings of beauty. There is no single criterion in this exhibition, which opens up spaces for tense intersections, filled with harmony and friction," says Valdés Figueroa. "Viewing the questions raised by this year's award-winning works through the lens of this new juncture in the city could create moments of estrangement, unsettling crossroads, and poetic collisions. This already serves as an initial point of convergence among the many intersections this exhibition offers: on one side, the changes in Miami's scene in relation to Latin America; on the other, the diverse concerns that engage the award-winning artists.

Artists

Iván Argote (Colombia), Adrián Balseca (Ecuador), Javier Castro (Cuba), Domingo Castillo (El Salvador), Nascimento/Lovera (Venezuela), Alice Miceli (Brazil), Naufus Ramírez (Guatemala), Silvia Gruner (Mexico), Pablo Vargas Lugo (Mexico), Leandro Katz (Argentina).