Events at this location

[instagram-feed feed=75] Founded in 1984 was formerly know as ArtCenter South Florida.  The name change was symbolic to represent their goal of being a bedrock of Miami's visual art culture.  Their acquisition of a much larger facility in Little Haiti demonstrates their commitment to expanding their vision and becoming an epicenter for Miamis visual art culture. The Oolite center offers a residency program that supports some of Miami's top visual artists. Click here for a list of current Oolite residents.Oolite also boasts an expanding Cinematic Arts residency for film makers. Roscoè B. Thické Oolite Arts Stairs to 2nd Floor art studios Oolite Library Miami Beach Jen Clay Studio During the studio visit with Roscoe B Thicke he was kind enough to give me tour through Oolite arts.  And the studio adjacent to Roscoe is home to artist Jen Clay.  My first thoughts looking into her studio were akin to peering across the plains of some mystical magic imaginary landscape or perhaps a scene from the Labyrinth or Alice in Wonderland.  Her studio just emanated the vibe of hard work, complexity, and imagination. Jen Clay Colors and textures which looked to be a jubilant celebration such that one immediately asks themself what is below the surface.  What is the artist trying to communicate.  I strongly suggest you watch the video below, because it is visually fantastic and gives you insights into Jen Clay's practice. In the video Jen speaks to the subject matter with anxiety and depression a subject of the work.  Her intent is helping people dealing with anxiety and depression to feel seen while simultaneously giving insight to those not suffering from the aforementioned.   Inclusion and empathy seems to be a central theme of Jen's work. The breadth of Jen's Practice is interesting as there is pupetry, wearables, videoography which is sometimes recycled into other works and more intricate pieces.   Ambiguity is mentioned by Jen in the video, and ambiguity comes through loud and clear.   And what is interesting is that in their ambiguity the sculptures also seem to be inviting a relationship with the viewer.  To me her work seems to have an undertone of reassurance for he viewer. It was really a pleasure to discover Jen's Work because I think it is really solid in concept and consistent with who she is as a person, if I am able to make that judgment in the 15 minutes we spent chatting.  I feel a kinship with Jen as she is from where I am from, the Hickory, Nc area. Jen is very much a product of the NC foothills and It is great to see a Western NC artist pushing the boundaries with their work.   Im excited to see more from Jen Clay.  And I think the work she has done insofar is fantastic and a blessing to everyone who encounters it. Check out the linked video below, its fantastic. Matt Forehand Entering the print shop downstairs at Oolite I was struck by this jubilant yellow and green work which reminded me of Marion Charlet, a fantastic french painter who is represented by Paris-B. If you have ever tried creating art, you know green is a tough color to work with.  Due to it ubiquitous nature, it challenging for artists to present in an exciting manner.  Psychlogically and subconciously we are programmed to find green boring. However, Matt Forehand does a great job with the greens.  You need to see his works in person, however his work shows a mastery of color.  I think as a printer who deals with color management he has likely developed a deeper connection to the hues and color balances.  Either way, Matt is a not just a printer, he is a very solid painter who does a great job with color, and especially that pesky color green. During my visit visit Matt was helping Mark Fleuridor to pack and prepare for his upcoming show while also finishing some prints Mark Fleuridor ​Mark Fleuridor is of Haitian decent and raised in Miami who works in mixed media.  Mark has also completed some amazing mural commissions around Miami.  On the day of my visit to Oolite Arts, Mark was busy packing some work for an upcoming art exhibition of his work through the Knight Foundation. It was very fun to get an upclose look at Marks work and see the complexity of the color and inks.  It was as if any one portion of the works could have been cut out and made into a separate painting.  Exciting works from Mark Fleuridor.