NADA Miami 2020

2020 has been a year unlike any other in our collective memory, transforming all the things we thought we knew, and forcing us to reconsider everything around and inside of us. 



Generally speaking, months of lockdowns and forced quarantines have created a collective yearning to connect with nature. And while some have had the privilege to venture into the outdoors, most of us have sought to embellish the interiors our homes and surround ourselves with as many plants as possible, creating newfound interest and connections with these vital green beings. 



For NADA Miami 2020, Proyectos Ultravioleta showcases a two-person presentation with new works by Akira Ikezoe and Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, which aim to reconsider our relationships with the plants that make our living spaces far more habitable.



Akira Ikezoe presents a new series titled “Not So Still Life,” reimagining the longstanding tradition of still lifes, through five new oil on canvas paintings. In each of them, the inanimate objects depicted subtly become animated and seem to have a life of their own. Every element that is present in each work is thoughtfully connected to those that surround it, and is painted in his characteristic rich palette and refined brushwork. The result is a series of widely imaginative and delicately composed paintings that showcase his distinctive vision, and ongoing interest in Surrealism and Art History altogether. 



Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa continues his exploration of the body through two new sculptures carved out of polystyrene (Styrofoam) and covered in epoxy resin, fiberglass and acrylic paint. Through them, he imagines our human bodies taking on plantlike qualities; from an arm and torso whose veins become branches and leaves, to a foot that germinates to become an Anthurium flower. Seen together, the works reveal his deep interest in flora, and urge us to reimagine new ways to care for it, suggesting we are far more connected to nature than what we usually think.