Lincoln Road is known for its tourist attractions, its shops and also for its galleries. I ventured to Miami Beach to see what galleries I can see on this very popular street. As I made my way on Lincoln Road, I noticed that there were a lot of street performers and artists taking advantage that its Art Basel week to show off their artistic qualities for the snow bird tourists as there were more than many this week.
One of the street artists that I encountered had two wonderful art works on canvas. Both artworks were zebra-shaped designed but if you look closely, it had a woman’s silhouette on it which made it amazing to look at. The canvases were life-size and the artists were very pleasant to be with. These and other street art performers and artists rely on generosity to help them get by day by day but are talented in the same way.
I came upon Romero Britto Gallery in the 800 block were the gallery was having an open house exhibition. I totally forgot about Romero Britto and haven’t been there in such a long while so I ventured in. I noticed there were many new pieces that the artist had on displayed. There was even a car on the gallery premises a la Romero Britto. It was a cool site. Obviously, since we were in holiday season, Romero Britto did not forget to display his holiday artwork. I so love to come to this gallery as I never know what to expect.
After Romero Britto, I made my way to CAMPER to explore their new store on 1006 Lincoln Road. Since I missed their store launch party the night before for obvious reasons, I wanted to check it out for myself since I was in the area. CAMPER is a new shoe store designed by Spanish industrial and product designer, Marti Guixe. One of his collaborative design books were also on display at the store. The design was original indeed. As one walks in, the rows of shoes welcomes you. Towards the back, there was another tucked away section displaying another collection of shoes. The store was amazing and not to be missed.
Coming back to the 800 block I noticed ArtCenter/South Florida was exhibiting their current installation, “Good N’ Plenty.” Since I almost missed this gallery completely, I went in. This is a group exhibition that spotlighted ArtCenter artists from the first year that the non-profit organization’s doors were opened in 1984. Artists including Gavin Perry, Luis Gispert, William Cordova, Beatriz Monteavaro, Ellie Schneiderman and more illustrated how ArtCenter influenced their work and this community over the past 25 years.
As I left Lincoln Road, I realized nothing has changed just more people on the roads for Art Basel. The galleries never ceased to amazed me that there is great art talent in South Florida.
Photographs by Betty Alvarez
