Palm trees and ocean breezes set the stage for the latest work by Matthew Ronay, When Two Are In One – a new site-specific installation due to take over the sprawling windows of Pérez Art Museum Miami’s Patricia Papper Project Gallery this week.
Situated next to the museum’s entrance, visitors to the Miami museum will be greeted by an eruption of vivid colour, as brightly hued sculptures with names like Double Penetration and Divided Egg Green Worm cluster behind the window-lined front gallery.
The installation features a series of 11 large structures arranged along a long, low plinth. Each meticulously hand-carved, the pieces are a combination of basswood, plastic, steel, dye and gouache, resulting in cheerful, playful shapes — from stacked towers to misshapen orbs.
‘Matthew Ronay’s work is distinguished by its unique approach to ideas and forms, and to the dialogue it engages across the geographies and temporalities of art history,’ says Diana Nawi, an associate curator at the museum. ‘We are thrilled to have the opportunity to commission new work from such an exceptional artist, one whose practice is continually moving in new and interesting ways.’ Leading up to the exhibition, Ronay was encouraged to spend time in the gallery and to create something in response to the space.
The forms draw their inspiration from biological structures and their reproductive and evolutionary processes – a hallmark of Ronay’s practice. Bright colors and shamanistic symbols are another motif familiar to the New York-based artist, who takes pages from psychedelia and surrealism, as well as folk and non-Western art.
The installation will also serve as the backdrop for Ronay’s own band, LOBOTOMAXX, a collaboration with fellow artists Tony Cox and Nathan Carter, who are slated to perform in the space later this year.
Situated next to the museum’s entrance, visitors to the Miami museum will be greeted by an eruption of brightly hued sculptures. Pictured: Cairn Column Wand, 2016
The new works draw inspiration from biological structures and their reproductive and evolutionary processes. Pictured: Double Penetration, 2016
The installation features a series of 11 large structures arranged along a long, low plinth. Each meticulously hand-carved, the pieces are a combination of basswood, plastic, steel, dye and gouache, resulting in cheerful, playful shapes. Pictured left: Humming Tubes, 2016. Right: Probe, 2016
‘Matthew Ronay’s work is distinguished by its unique approach to ideas and forms, and to the dialogue it engages across the geographies and temporalities of art history,’ says Diana Nawi, an associate curator at PAMM. Pictured: Janus, 2016
Bright colours, shamanistic symbols, psychedelia and surrealism, and folk and non-western art are all are recurring motifs in Ronay's work. Pictured left: Double Orbs, 2016. Right: Divided Egg Green Worm, 2016
INFORMATION
When Two Are In One is on view until 15 January, 2017. For more details, please visit PAMM's website
Photography courtesy of the artist and PAMM
ADDRESS
Pérez Art Museum Miami
1103 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL 33132
-
In Wales, Michelin-starred Gorse celebrates the country’s abundant larderGorse is the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Cardiff, putting Welsh cuisine on the map. We speak with chef and founder Tom Waters about the importance of keeping culinary traditions alive
-
Ludmilla Balkis’ organic, earthy ceramics embody the Basque countrysideThe sculptor-ceramicist presents a series inspired by and created from found natural objects in a New York exhibition
-
At this secret NYC hangout, the drinks are strong and the vibes are strongerFor People's bar, Workstead serves up a good time
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the churchThe American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella ValleyWill Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any otherGia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
-
‘American Photography’: centuries-spanning show reveals timely truthsAt the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Europe’s first major survey of American photography reveals the contradictions and complexities that have long defined this world superpower
-
Miami’s new Museum of Sex is a beacon of open discourseThe Miami outpost of the cult New York destination opened last year, and continues its legacy of presenting and celebrating human sexuality
-
Sundance Film Festival 2025: The films we can't wait to watchSundance Film Festival, which runs 23 January - 2 February, has long been considered a hub of cinematic innovation. These are the ones to watch from this year’s premieres
-
What is RedNote? Inside the social media app drawing American users ahead of the US TikTok banDownloads of the Chinese-owned platform have spiked as US users look for an alternative to TikTok, which faces a ban on national security grounds. What is Rednote, and what are the implications of its ascent?
-
Architecture and the new world: The Brutalist reframes the American dreamBrady Corbet’s third feature film, The Brutalist, demonstrates how violence is a building block for ideology
