Despite the slowdown in funding for the arts, Miami institutions are putting on their best looks this fall. Here’s what intrigues us:
Fairs, exhibits and gallery shows: This season’s visual arts calendar
HOMETOWN HEROES
Work by South Florida-born artist Woody de Othello will be showcased this fall at Pérez Art Museum Miami.
It wasn’t so long ago that works by Miami-born artists were a rarity on museum walls, even in Miami. As South Florida’s visual arts community has matured, so has global recognition of our artists.
Such is the case with sculptor Woody de Othello, whose works are now held by institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Miami’s Institute of Contemporary Art and the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Art in Rome, to name a few.
This fall, Pérez Art Museum Miami presents de Othello’s first major museum solo show, “coming forth by day,” showcasing ceramic and wood sculptures. These are no static decorative vases; de Othello’s exude emotion as curve and embrace, reminding viewers of the unbreakable bond between spirituality and human existence. Even if he does live in California now, we’re still claiming him as our own.
Nov. 13-June 28, 2026, Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., pamm.org.
Also at PAMM: Don’t miss the haunting work of Miami photographer-twins Erick and Elliott Jimenez, on display through Oct. 22, and the interactive installation “Chromosaturation” by the late color artist Carlos Cruz-Diez, Oct. 2-Sept. 27, 2027.
MORE FROM THE 305
Let’s stick with the theme. In North Miami, the Museum of Contemporary Art is showcasing works by two local artists whose works have only occasionally been seen here in recent years. Both shows run through Oct. 5.
Work by Miami artist Philip Smith is on display through Oct. 5 in the show ‘Philip Smith: Magnetic Fields,’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art-North Miami.
Despite his strong five-decade long career, Miami-born Philip Smith is just now getting his first museum solo exhibition. “Philip Smith: Magnetic Fields” traces his evolution from a childhood imbued with mysticism, thanks to a father who had shifted his career from interior designer to faith healer, through his own journey through drugs, Scientology and archaic belief systems. For years, he lived and worked in New York, returning to Miami in 2019. While his work has appeared in the Whitney and Beijing biennials and in the permanent collections of a number of major museums, Smith has received less attention than many of his contemporaries. Perhaps this show will change that.
“Vickie Pierre: The Maiden is The Warrior” presents a decidedly different path informed by her Haitian heritage and global mythology. Her first solo show explores magic, memory, culture and the resilience that is fundamental to femininity.
Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, 770 NE 125th St., North Miami; 305-893-6211 or mocanomi.org
The feminine soul continues to bloom here as the year moves to a close. From Nov. 5 to March 16, Pakistani-American painter Hiba Schahbaz borrows from lush Persian and Mughal traditions of intricate gardens to create sensuous multi-layered paintings, while Miami-based Diana Eusebio uses natural dyes and textiles to weave “A Field of Dreams.”
THE MIAMI RECIPE
The Bakehouse, which has long provided studio space for local artists, will celebrate many of them along with its own role as an institution with “Bakehouse at Forty: Past, Present, Future,” opening Nov. 7.
The Bakehouse Art Complex, 561 NW 32nd St., Miami; 305-576-2828 or bacfl.org.
A FAVORITE SON
Captiva Island native Robert Rauschenberg is one of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists and a pioneer in incorporating found objects and images into his paintings, sculptures and prints. As part of the centennial celebration of his birth, the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale in conjunction with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation presents “Robert Rauschenberg: Real Time,” drawn from the museum’s extensive holdings of experimental prints from the 1970s.
Nov. 16-April 5, 2026, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, One E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-525-5500 or nsuartmuseum.org
Also at the museum: the first solo museum show of Fort Lauderdale-based ceramicist Addison Wolff and a show highlighting the gift by Pearl and Stanley Goodman of 88 works by 20th century Latin American artists.
MIAMI YEARS
Nearly everyone, it seems, has a Miami story. Photographer and artist Jack Pierson spent time here in the rough-and-ready but ever-so-cool 1980s, working at Wolfie’s (where he picked up the nickname Jack) and eventually colliding with photographer Bruce Weber and legendary New York gallerist Bob Miller. (Even then, New Yorkers were scooping up Miami Beach pads.) “Jack Pierson: The Miami Years,” examines Miami’s influence on Pierson’s work and includes a monumental commission by The Bass combining printed materials with Pierson’s own work. A
Sept. 24-Aug. 16, 2026, The Bass, 2100 Collins Ave., 305-673-7530 or thebass.org.
DISCOVERING PAST AND PRESENT
The Institute for Contemporary Art is a place of discovery, both for rising art stars and those who may have fallen under the radar. This winter, ICA Miami presents comprehensive solo shows featuring work by two late artists widely known in their own times who have since faded from popular culture.
Joyce Pensato’s rendition of popular cartoon icons, such as her 2007 ‘I Must be Dreamin’,’ explored the imagined psychology behind the cheery facades. Her work will be showcased this fall at ICA Miami.
If you ever wondered what lay behind the placid facades of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Felix the Cat and Batman before he entered his dark era, Joyce Pensato had the answer. Her black-and-white paintings mixed cartoon characters with psychological complexities resulting in sometimes-disturbing interpretations of pop icons. ICA Miami’s comprehensive exhibition features 65 works across the decades, tracing the development of her work before the Brooklyn-based artist died in 2019.
Dec. 2 -March 15, 2026, Institute of Contemporary Art-Miami, 61 NE 41st St., 305-901-5272 or icamiami.org.
Industry and nature often seem to be opposites, if not enemies. Yet late Chicago-based sculptor Richard Hunt, combining steel and other industrial materials into fluid forms that almost seem alive, evokes themes of resilience as he often paid tribute to the Civil Rights movement. ICA will showcase 25 of his works, reminding viewers of his unique vision. (Dec. 2-March 29, 2025).
Also at ICA: an international showcase including a major new site-specific installation by South African Igshaan Adams, the first solo U.S. museum exhibition by German Andreas Schulze and first major U.S. museum exhibition of Japanese ceramicist Masaomi Yasunaga.
PRIVATE SPACES
Miami’s private museums invariably offer a trove of experiences equal to many public museums.
Lewis Hine’s 1911 images of child workers in Fall River, Mass., will be exhibited at the Martin Z. Margulies Warehouse.
This year, the Martin Z. Margulies Collection at the Warehouse wows with Italian works made from 1970 to 2024, early Pop Art (remember Andy Warhol’s Brillo box?) and a heart-rending display of photographs by Lewis Hine depicting child laborers from the early 20th century.
Nov. 12-April 4, 2026, Margulies Warehouse, 591 NW 27th St., Miami. 305-576-1051 or margulieswarehouse.com.
‘Angra,’ by Dora Longo-Bahía, is part of the show at El Espacio 23.
El Espacio 23, the private showcase of the Jorge M. Pérez Collection, explores conceptions of “terra” through paintings, arresting photography and mixed-media works incorporating cartography.
Nov. 13-Aug. 15, 2026: “A World Far Away, Nearby, and Invisible: Narratives of Territory in the Jorge M. Pérez Collection,” El Espacio 23, 2270 NW 23rd St., Miami; elespacio23.org.
At the Rubell Museum, the Rubell family’s outstanding permanent (and ever-growing) collection will include sculptures by British artist Thomas Houseago and paintings by Cecily Brown.
Dec. 1-Sept. 27, 2026, Rubell Museum, 1100 NW 23rd St., Miami; 305-573-6090 or rubellmuseum.org.
FREEDOM ISN’T FREE
‘We Carry Our Homes With Us’ is an exhibition inspired by Cuban exile Marisella Veiga’s memoir on display inside the Miami Dade College’s Freedom Tower. It features art from internationally renowned artists like José Bedia, Maria Martinez-Cañas, Félix González-Torres, Ana Mendieta, and Tomm El-Saieh.
The 1960s folk song, “Freedom isn’t Free,” may be musically old school but always feels relevant in South Florida. Exhibitions at Miami-Dade College’s newly refashioned Freedom Tower underscore the struggles and resilience of our immigrant community. “We Carry Our Homes With Us” explores the enduring sense of identity despite the disruptions of exile and displacement through works by Félix González-Torres, Tomm El-Saieh, Rashid Johnson and María Martínez-Cañas. The show complements the permanent exhibitions “Libertad,” recounting the tower’s history as a Cuban Refugee Center during the 1960s and ‘70s, and “Languages of Migration,” a selection of books, map and drawings from the Kislak Collection.
“We Carry Our Homes With Us,” through Jan. 11, 2026, Miami-Dade College Museum of Art + Design, Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Blvd., 305-237-7700 or mdc.edu/freedomtower.
EVERCHANGING VISION
Video artist Marco Brambilla’s ‘After Utopia’ installation uses AI and incorporates objects from the Wolfsonian’s current show on World’s Fairs.
Video collage artist Marco Bambrilla wowed South Floridians in 2021 with his chaotic satire, “Heaven’s Gate,” at Pérez Art Museum Miami. Bambrilla’s new AI-infused presentation, “After Utopia,” incorporates images from the collection of The Wolfsonian of various world expositions. Many of the original images used for the video are showcased in the exhibition “World’s Fairs: Visions of Tomorrow,” also on display through Feb. 22.
“After Utopia,” Dec. 1-Feb. 22, 2026, Wolfsonian-FIU Museum, 1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-531-1001 or wolfsonian.org.
SLOW AND RARELY STEADY
Snails have it at the ‘S Car, Go!’ exhibition of work by the Haas Brothers at the Lowe.
The Haas Brothers playful sculptures of real and imagined creatures never fail to amuse and confound. Their new installation at UM’s Lowe Art Museum combines glass and stone in a show called “S. Car, Go!” which – you guessed it – puts snails in a delightful new light. The brothers will present the museum’s signature lecture Dec. 7 at its annual Bubbles and Brunch event.
Through Jan. 3, 2026, at the University of Miami Lowe Art Museum, 1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables; 305-284-3535 or lowe.miami.edu
In a far more serious vein, sculptor Petah Coyne uses unconventional materials such as wax, velcro and chains to evoke such influential women as Zora Neale Hurston and Zelda Fitzgerald. Through March 14, 2026.
A HAUNTING VISION
Eduardo Navarro’s ‘Cloud Museum,’ shown here at the Walker Art Center, will be on display at the Frost Art Museum-FIU from Oct. 11-April 5, 2026.
“Cloud Museum,” by Argentinian artist Eduardo Navarro, leans on the familiar trope of angels as it encourages exploration of the metaphysical in ways that transcend language and linear thought. The installation, organized by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, will be on display at the Patricia & Phililp Frost Art Museum FIU from Oct. 11 to April 5, 2026.
Patricia & Phililp Frost Art Museum FIU, 10975 SW 17th St., Miami; 305-348-2890 or frost.fiu.edu.
