It’s Sunday afternoon. Art Week concluded last Sunday afternoon for all intents and purposes. Constant Companion, Daughter, and I stayed in to start to recover from some respiratory crud that caught up with us after a week of intense activity.

It’s not all over for us, though. A smattering of public art remains around town temporarily reminding us that we remain a vital art community before and after the swift efflorescence of Art Week. I actually put together a public art walking tour* for a group of Fulbright students and Fulbright alumni. Three tired hours later, we all had our fill of a wide variety of art.

*Yes, as a sideline, I am a tour guide, walking tours of the art deco district, driving tours of the secrets of the city, and more. Keep it in mind if you find yourself this way!

Here’s a visual guide of some of what we saw and others that were not on our path.

When our Convention Center was updated not too long ago, a number of public art pieces were commissioned and installed inside and outside of the massive building – the annual home to Art Basel Miami Beach.

Joep Van Lieshout’s large-scale sculptures Humaniods are located in the park alongside the historic Collins Canal. These abstract figures are part of Joep’s recent fascination with man and nature. They use the park and the natural environment as their habitat.

As we walked and talked and talked and walked on the way to Lincoln Road, we took in a number of artworks that I learned about on an art walking tour last year (see 5 December 2022 post).

There, we were introduced to Marco Cochrane’s 45-foot-tall, 32,000-pound female silhouette, “R-Evolution^TM“’. This towering female sculpture that first debuted at Burning Man in 2015, is making its East Coast premier. She’s illuminated at night.

Also on Lincoln Road we saw one of several “Living Art” installations, a 5-block festival merging visual arts with the lovely landscape. “Butterfly Wishes” was installed by Studio James Brazil. These displays will be up for the next few months; I have to return again to see them all!

We continued through the Mediterranean Revival and Art Deco landscape of the city to reach delightful Española Way. Built in the 1920s, this so-called Spanish village was meant to be an evening playground of wealthy vacationers in Miami Beach. At least one of the historic hotels hosted Al Capone during his tenure here.

The recently restored Esme Hotel is the temporary site of Leo Castañeda’s “Machine Mangrove Lobby,” a multi-video, AR installation. Viewers are immersed in a landscape and can also record their experiences in Instagram. This is one of the 12 No Vacancy artwork commissioned by the city during Art Week.

For the past few years, one block of Española has been transformed into an art corridor, finally named Elevate Española. This year’s contribution is by the Brazilian collective Assume Vivid Astro Focus (AVAF). Their “Adora Vanessa Athene Fantasia” draws inspiration from the Miami Beach drag scene.* Details honoring local drag personae are featured on the artwork. If you know who wears what makeup, what hairstyle, which fingernails, you might recognize a favorite … or not.

*If you’ve been following news from our state, Flori-duh, you might remember a frakas about drag shows (https://www.npr.org/2023/11/16/1208570685/supreme-court-florida-anti-drag-law). No, neither the governor nor his minions showed up to comment on this artwork.

Serendipity put us at the right time, at the right place, just the other evening as CC and I were going down Espanola on the way to the Betsy Hotel, I saw this mural being painted. The artist is from LA and the names are mural writers from that area. We were among the first to see this new contribution to the murals of Miami Beach.

After a coffee break (thanks Betsy Hotel), we continued our walk, looking especially at the works other No Vacancy artists. The entrance of the SLS hotel this year is surrounded by the work of local muralist Atomik, who pays homage to the historic Orange Bowl.

Here we met this fellow sporting Bored Ape Yacht Club. This old lady surprised this young man; of course I know Bored Apes!

Next door at the Surfcomber, artist Haiiileen (aka Aileen Quintana) recreated a sundial as a metaphor of the cyclical nature of existence. Earlier in the week, CC and I were fortunate to meet the artist who added information about her practice. She painted the glass pieces of the sundial after they have been cut.

Another No Vacancy work, or series of works is “Source of All Hair, Wearer of All Socks” by Samantha Modder.

Our last stop was at Collins Park, outside of the Bass Art Museum. Here, the work of Brazilian artist, Sallisa Rosa, was featured in the historic, underused Rotunda. The Rotunda, built in 1962, was originally part of the Miami Beach Public Library. “The Story of Man,” a sand-cast concrete relief sculpture by artist Albert Vrana, wraps around the building.

Rosa’s work “Topography of Memory,” her first solo exhibition in the U.S. and first installation made entirely of ceramics immersed visitors in an otherworldly landscape of clay spheres and stalagtites.

Elsewhere in town, another temporary installation was unveiled. This selection of brightly colored banners by Miami-based artist Edison Peñafiel use lyrics from Latin American protest songs from the 1960s and 70s, including Victor Jara’s “El Aparecido” and “Run run se fue pa’l norte” by Violeta Parra. Like the songs, “Run run run like the wind” brings to live a story of migration.

One last note to add today. It’s so fun to see how “everyone” tries to get into the picture. A few years ago, Art Basel Miami Beach lit up with THE banana. Well … IKEA cannot leave well-enough alone. This was at their pop-up on Lincoln Road during Art Week …

Yes, I have my tote bag! Could not resist!