Brooklyn-based sculptor Ruby Sky Stiler’s stunning solo show opens at Locust Projects in the Miami Design District on Saturday, February 28. Miami, with its rapid development and old Florida charm, will identify and appreciate her juxtaposition of functional design and decorative superficies. New pieces that explore the tropical modernist architecture native to Miami come to life in this exhibit, as do previous works more closely related to the artist's ongoing investigation of the female figure.
The show title, Sun Breaker (translates to brise-soleil), refers to a structural feature that’s meant to deflect, but also allow for the flow of light and air. The baffle technique, used by modernist architects such as Le Corbusier - or even by our very own Shulman + Associates at SOHO Beach House - has been repurposed by Stiler in a modular installation at Locust Projects. The artist’s laser-cut MDF screens will be suspended throughout the space, serving as a perforated veil that when illuminated, will reveal her cast plaster wall reliefs.
Stiler’s penchant for using utilitarian materials often exists in dichotomy with her subject matter and the perceived grandness of her sculptures. This is perhaps most true with “Seated Woman,” a seemingly gargantuan work that depicts the female form through the lens of twentieth century abstraction. According to Nicelle Beachene Gallery, “the artist employs both conventional and everyday materials to create a body of work that mines a productive tension between high and low, the monumental and the prop-like, as well as the geometric and the organic.”
Sun Breaker feels at home in Miami because of its nod to some of our most recognized architectural themes. Often using the “scraps” of her exhibition concepts to inspire new spin-off pieces, Stiler’s installation will be accompanied by a short animation that makes the connection between the brise-soleil effect, patterns from the plaster reliefs, and the female figure.
Locust Projects is located on 3852 North Miami Ave and Ruby Sky Stiler’s Sun Breaker runs from February 28 - April 18, 2015.
