[ot-caption title=”Outside view of the Perez Art Museum in Miami, displaying its contemporary and modern architecture. (via Alina Carey, senior, October 10, 2014)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/p-rez-art-museum-miami-opening-december-2013_cp-412de3b37487cc7136cc6ea1449d226cded92f0e.jpg”]

In a large and elegant building on the Miami coast sits the Perez Art Museum. The building is lined with wide contemporary windows and eccentric plants and greenery. The Perez Art Museum recently opened and has had over 150,000 visitors come through its doors in the last four months. It focuses mainly on 20^th century contemporary art, as well as art from the Americas, Western Europe, and Africa. The museum focuses on the cross-cultural aspects of Miami, therefore the majority of the artwork displayed also has Central American, South American, and Caribbean elements.

Exhibits:

1. Beatriz Milhazes: Jardim Botanico: Sept. 19^th – Jan. 11^th

Beatriz Milhazes is the first major contemporary Brazilian painter. Milhazes is known for her brilliant colors, tropical paintings, and large-scale pieces. Most of her pieces are influenced by pop culture, the tropics, and European Modernism.

2. General Collection:  Year-Round

The General Collection at the Perez Art Museum combines a variety of works from the Americas during the 20^th and 21^st centuries to form a body of artworks that reflects the ethnic makeup of Miami. Several of the artworks exhibited were created by South American, Cuban, and Central American artists. The collection is comprised of works that reflect the culture, politics, and economy of Miami. The museum has developed its collection and exhibits based on the exchange of people, resources, cultures, and ideas.

One of my favorite pieces when I visited the museum was George Segal’s “Abraham’s Farewell to Ishmael”, 1987. It is a life-sized sculpture illustrating a story in the Old Testament. The sculpture is centered around the emotion-filled story of Abraham. Abraham’s wife Sarah asked him to abandon his mistress and his mistress’s son in order to ensure the inheritance of Sarah’s own son, Isaac. The sculpture is a portrayal of the scene when Abraham says goodbye to his loved mistress Hagar and his mistress’s son, Ishmael. There are raw and intense emotions evoked by this classical sculpture, and I hope to return to the Perez Art Museum again to discover more amazing pieces.