MOCA’s Art Basel Miami Beach Week Exhibition Turns Spotlight on Contemporary Art as the Existence of Higher Dimensions

The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA) will launch its Art Basel Miami Beach season with the presentation of The Other Dimension by Cuban-born, Miami artist Antuan Rodriguez. The Other Dimension addresses the constant human concern for universal communication through forms, symbols and codes. Curated by Jorge Luis Gutierrez, The Other Dimension kicks off Art Basel Miami Beach Week with a special meet the artist reception on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The exhibition is then open to the public through January 22, 2017.

The Other Dimension reveals an artist who sees the universe from a range of diverse scientific, philosophical and cultural perspectives, all integrated into one single approach. The exhibition will be presented in seven differentiated rooms, symbolizing five narratives that are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct. Rodriguez’s inventive artistic layout among the exhibition spaces makes The Other Dimension a participatory show for all audiences.

“Within this framework, exhibition visitors encounter Antuan’s works in an expressive itinerary of installations -- mixed media and video – which interprets human thought and reality in the combination and variants of myth, metaphor and archetype,” says Gutierrez. “Antuan’s pluralistic perspective itself constitutes a middle-ground between created and realist approaches to meanings, which leave viewers with more paths to follow and tales to spin.”

“You won’t see Rodriguez’s unique art presentation anywhere else in South Florida,” MOCA’s Interim Director Natasha Colebrook-Williams said. “He will transform the gallery space into a territory of interaction, a space with many questions and not necessarily many answers.”

The Other Dimension follows the idea of the exhibition as a space of discovery, a continuum of stories presented by the artist. As such, Rodriguez’s artworks never seem to cease, as if there is always more to come. Artwork made from objects of use, fragments, parts, and add-ons are characterized more by their components than as a methodological strategy.

The Other Dimension will present five narratives composed of:

1-Words that Kill - Transition Narrative (Poetics of Connectivity)

2-Changing Our Fables (Political Belief Systems)

3-On the Verge of the Other Dimension

4-The Other Dimension

5-Archeology of Paths (The Archive)

Which are followed by:

6-Om Mani Padme Hum (video room)

7-Precarious Balance: Left or Right (installation in the MOCA courtyard)

Born in Villa Clara, Cuba, Rodriguez graduated from the Universidad Felix Varela with a specialty of Fine Arts. With an intense training in visual arts, he left Cuba for France to continue his training and education in art. He also holds a Master’s degree in Bronze Casting under the direction of sculptor Joseph Castell and was granted a Fine Arts Scholarship to receive his Master’s degree specializing in Iron and Resin at the Atelier D’Ros Mari in Valencia, Spain. Since then, Rodriguez designed and produced many prestigious exhibitions around the world, including Base Paint, during Art Basel Miami Beach in 2010.

“The Antuan Rodriguez exhibition is the latest in MOCA’s storied succession of cutting-edge contemporary art presentations,” said Colebrook-Williams. “Our mission continues to be to present diverse programs and serve the entire South Florida community. MOCA is equally proud of the international outlook it is able to present with support from regional artists, especially during the Art Basel Miami Beach season when the eyes of the global art world are focused here.”

The Other Dimension exhibition will run from November 30, 2016 – January 22, 2017. Admission to MOCA is $5, but is free to MOCA members and North Miami residents. The Artist Reception Opening will take place November 30 from 7-10 p.m. with admission of $25 to the general public, free to Art Basel Miami Beach VIP ticket holders, MOCA members and North Miami residents.

About Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is dedicated to making contemporary art accessible to diverse audiences – especially underserved populations – through the collection, preservation and exhibition of the best of contemporary art and its art historical influences. The Museum is located at 770 NE 125th Street, North Miami, FL 33161. It is open Tuesday–Friday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Saturday 1–9 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m. (closed Mondays and major holidays). For more information, visit mocanomi.org or call 305-893-6211.