Arts

Art on the sides

The opening night of Art Wynwood was a spirited affair — there was a lot of energy generated by the large crowds and some good-looking art. A stand-out was the Art Video New Media Lounge in the back, produced by Wet Heat Project’s Grela Orihuela. Individual rooms comprise “Moving” and are filled with some great video, including from Brazilian Rivane Neuenschwander, Teresa Diehl, Martin Murphy and others. Small-scale video from Peter Sarkisian was another star attraction, at Bernice Steinbaum’s darkened booth/room.

But if you want to get a little more edgy and take in far less commercialized art, two shows open this weekend that can satisfy that need.

First off, writer/artist Carlos Suarez de Jesus returns to Little Havana with a new alt space, Mercenary Square — Suarez once had a super cool space there called Lab6, defunct now for a decade. He will unveil his new place with a solo outing from graf and digital man Ahol Sniffs Glue, “Ahol: Full-Time.” He will mix street culture with his works inspired by inner city aesthetics and dull, fulltime jobs (one he slaved at was for a porno company). One site-specific video work “skews consumerism, mass media marketing strategies and the evaporating boundaries between highbrow and lowbrow culture, and also references the performative nature of street mural painting within the office-like confines of a storefront in the migrant neighborhood.”

Next door, Adel Delgado will also be opening at his 6th Street Container Complex, with a collaborative and interactive exhibit from Misael Soto and Alan Gutierrez.

Then, way down at the Deering Estate, several contemporary shows take over the grounds, including one from the artists from the first two years of the LegalArt residency and another outdoor sculpture exhibit curated by Ralph Provisero, called “Wedding Crashers.” The artists have created site-specific work for a place often best know for its wedding receptions rather than challenging artwork. The roster of interventionists is impressive, including Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova, William Cordova, Michael Loveland and Bhakti Baxter, among the dozen garden artists. Dinorah de Jesus Rodriguez will show her alt cinema in the lush mango grove.Art Wynwood runs through Feb. 20, the tent at 3101 N.E. First Ave., Miami; www.art-wynwood.com.

“Ahol: Full-Time” opens at 7 p.m., Feb. 17 and runs through March 11, Mercenary Square, 537 S.W. 12th St., Little Havana. “Wedding Crashers” and the other art events open on Feb. 18 and runs through March 10, the Deering Estate, 16701 S.W. 72nd Ave., Miami; www.deeringestate.org.