Arts

Quiet exhibits before the storm

Buika. Photo by Luis Olazabal

Next week at this time, Miami will be in the midst of Art Basel madness. So maybe this week is a good time for quiet time, to take in a few shows that won’t be screaming.

One such show is at the WDNA Jazz Gallery on Coral Way, “World Beat Expression,” music photography from Luis Olazabal. He’s been the art photographer for 10 years for the Rhythm Foundation, one of Miami’s true gems. The non-profit has been bringing amazing world music to our shores and just celebrated 25 years of doing so with a concert from Brazilian great Gilberto Gil. He’s just one of the musicians, singers and dancers that Olazabal has focused on. Others include another Brazilian master Caetano Veloso; Senegalese singer Youssou N’ Dour; Afro-Spanish songstress Buika; Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia; Puerto Rican pianist Eddie Palieri; and too many more to mention.

Oswaldo Vigas.

In fact, while Miami is a multi-cultural Mecca, it would not have been the same musically without this parade of the world’s best for over two decades. And Olazabal has been here to document it. It’s part of Miami’s history, and now it’s part of a nice exhibit of large and small prints. Writes Olazabal: “It has been an amazing journey of music and photos so now, I would like to share with you some of those wonderful moments.”

In Wynwood, the Ascaso Gallery is opening up a show a little early to beat the crowds, works from the abstract, somewhat surrealist painter Oswaldo Vigas. Born in 1926, the works for “Constructivista” are culled from the Venezuelan’s time in Paris during the 1950s 54 works, to be precise. It’s a time when he delved into Cubism and other trends in abstract geometric art, bumping into the works of previous Paris resident artists such as Wifredo Lam, Fernand Leger and Roberto Matta. Vigas may need a wheelchair these days, but he will be at the opening, which will include a panel with the Frost Museum’s Carol Damien.

Eddie Palmieri. Photo by Luis Olazabal

“World Beat Expression” at the WDNA Gallery, 2921 Coral Way, Miami; www.wdna.org. “Oswaldo Vigas: Constructivista” opens on Wednesday, Nov. 28, from 6-9 p.m. at the Ascaso Gallery, 2442 N.W. 2nd Ave., Miami; www.ascasogallery.com.