Three artists exhibit at MOAD in different phases of their careers
In November 2020, the Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at Miami Dade College opened the issuesheavy “The Body
Electric,” a show that focused on technology’s impact on human interaction.
Rina Carvajal, the museum’s executive director and chief curator, considered it a good fit for the pandemic mood of disconnectedness.
A year later, the museum will unveil “For the Time Being,” a collection of works by Icelandic artist Hreinn Fridfinnsson — which, Carvajal says, brings an entirely different atmosphere to the space.
“I feel like this work returns the power to people, to imagination and how we view the world around us — our connection to nature and our connection to self and time,” says Carvajal, who curated the exhibition, with Isabela Villanueva as consulting assistant curator.
Two other solo shows will accompany “For the Time Being” at MOAD: “Mongrel” by CubanAmerican artist Jorge Pardo and “Constructed Color” by Venezuelan-American artist Loriel Beltrán. The shows, curated by Carvajal, will be on display from Nov. 6, 2021, through May 1, 2022.
“Each of these artists are in a different moment in their careers,” Carvajal says.
She describes Fridfinnsson as a “sophisticated conceptual artist, but also a poet.” Now 78 years old and living in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Fridfinnsson grew up on a farm in Baer Dölum, Iceland.
His art is one of simplicity, propelled by an attraction to the fables and legends of his birthplace. “He is influenced by his own background, having been born in a country that is so vast and immersed in nature that has no limit,” she says.
Carvajal thinks the work exhibited in Miami will