Rising Tide: A Story of Miami Artists documentary features seven visual artists including: Jen Stark, the artist who burst onto the art scene with her meticulously crafted paper sculptures; Venessa Monokian, a photographer and microsculptor whose carefully constructed video works are enigmatic and mesmerizing while her small scale sculptures are playful and inviting; Justin Long and ‘Meatball Lorie’ , an art duo called “Funner Projects” who have built a 14 foot mechanized crossbow that launches a 2 x 4 at over 140 miles an hour which was set up at the De La Cruz Collection as a resulting performance piece; Brookhart Jonquil, a conceptual sculptor who uses mirrors to build illusory shapes; and the TM Sisters, mixed media performance artists who combine nostalgic kitsch with vibrant colors and aggressive collage techniques. Gallery owner Brook Dorsch is also featured in the documentary.
Brook Dorsch
Widely acknowledged as a pioneer of Miami's art district Wynwood, Brook Dorsch was the first to move a commercial gallery to the then run-down warehouse district in 2000. His contributions span from organizing over 300 exhibitions, including those of large-scale sculpture and installations, to hosting important concerts and performances. He was co-founder of Sites Miami, an exhibition of outdoor sculpture at Lummus Park, Miami. He has been a board member of Tigertail Productions, and he was one of the founding members of the Wynwood Arts District. He is currently on the board of iSAW (Interdisciplinary Sound Arts Workshop).
Brookhart Jonquil
Brookhart Jonquil’s solo exhibition, an ambitious installation called Never Odd or Even, was at Dorsch Gallery in April 2011. LegalArt Residency then invited him to be a visiting artist later that year. During this time he made work for Dorsch Gallery’s booth in IMPULSE at PULSE Miami 2011, where he was runner up for the PULSE Prize. A solo project Inverted Night is on view at the de la Cruz Collection in Miami, FL until June 9, 2012. Jonquil was born in Santa Cruz, California in 1984 and lives and works in Miami, Florida. Jonquil received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010, and his BFA and BA (in Art History) from the University of Arizona in 2007.
T.M. Sisters
Monica Lopez De Victoria and Tasha Lopez De Victoria grew up in Miami and collaborate under the name TM Sisters. They work in the mediums of video, digital video performance, VJing, collage, social experiments, zines, clothing, installations, and interactive video created along with their brother Samuel. Their do-it-yourself ethic started by being home schooled together by their parents. They were raised with intense psychological and spiritual discussions regarding behavior, relationships, creativity, and truth. The sisters’ work has been included in the international exhibitions "Uncertain States of America: American Art in the 3rd Millennium" curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Daniel Birnbaum, and Gunnar B. Kvaran, the Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, the Adrianne Ascht Center for Performing Arts, and PERFORMA 07. Their work has been seen and written about in publications like L’Officiel magazine, The Guardian, STEP Inside Design, the New York Times, Vogue Italia, and on the cover of ART news magazine for its 2007 “25 Trendsetters” article.
Robert “Meatball” Lorie
Robert Lorie, more commonly know as “Meatball”, was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He began his art education at Miami-Dade Community College, and then went on to finish at The Museum School of Fine Arts, receiving a Bachelors of Fine Arts in 2006. After graduating, longing for Miami’s weather, he moved back and became immersed in the Miami art scene. His artwork features sculpture, performance, and installation, and most exhibitions include all three elements at once, in effect creating a complete experience for the viewer. His sculptures are mainly kinetic, and require his or the audience’s participation: “It’s about showing what we can do with our own body,” he says, “…the more subtle conceptual backdrop, coupled with the experience of the work, is what sets it apart.” He has shown in Miami’s Design District, as well Boston, and New York.
Justin Long
Artist Justin H. Long often sports the get-up of a wealthy, old, West Palm Beach sea captain. Often appearing in bright pinks and aquas, he's not ashamed to wear a Lilly Pulitzer blazer to an art opening. The young artist isn't just a caricature of a wind-worn, raisin-faced sailor. He's actually a man inspired by the ocean and sun. Raised in a motorcycle shop on the shores of the Miami River, Long is an amateur engineer who crafts somewhat functional sculptures that have a sometimes solid sense of humor, and that speak to man's fascination with machines.
Jen Stark
American artist Jen Stark was born in Miami, Florida in 1983 and received her BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2005, majoring in fibers with a minor in animation. Her kaleidoscopic artwork brings to mind fractals, rainbows, geodes and topographic maps. Although Stark is most recognized for her paper sculptures, she has explored a variety of media including wood, drawing and animation. Her ideas are based on replication and infinity as well as hypnotic, optical designs that mimic mandalas and sacred objects. Stark’s captivating sculptures can be traced back to a study abroad trip in the south of France, during which a declining dollar forced Jen to choose an affordable art medium with great potential. Using her vivid imagination and an X-acto knife, she is a modern day magician who transforms humble materials like construction paper and glue into fantastic, intricate sculptures that mesmerize the eye. Her optically and methodologically baffling sculptures, animations and drawings gather inspiration from plants, outer space, microscopic designs in nature, color, math and science. Stark has exhibited widely across the US with major shows in, NYC, Seattle, Miami, Washington DC, Chicago, Thailand, Canada and Australia. Her work is part of the West Collection in Oaks, PA, the Microsoft Art Collection in Redmont, WA, the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami. Stark lives and works in Miami, FL.
Venessa Monokian
Venessa Monokian is a Miami based artist motivated by her longing to understand how we learn and how we are taught, knowing that integration of the two does not always occur in real life. With a Master in Fine Arts degree from Florida International University, she is an Artist in Residence at the Art/Center South Florida where the public is welcome to visit her and see works in progress or just to chat. To see more of her work go to www.Monokian.com or see her in action at Art/Center South Florida at 800 Lincoln Rd. studio #103.
