Diet’s cure for the summertime blues – Knight Foundation
Arts

Diet’s cure for the summertime blues

The Sleeping Cowboy from Christy Gast at Diet Gallery.

What to do in the summer doldrums to make a little noise, get people out for an art visit? Some places close up, others keep an exhibition extended, leaving room for people to catch up during the slow, lazy (and these weeks really rainy) days. But Gallery Diet has decided to add some zing, changing things up a bit every couple weeks – snooze you lose.

Diet is putting up one (or just a few) pieces from several artists throughout the summer, for only several weeks, with the aim of driving “the viewers’ attention to a singular work within each artists practice.” It’s an exciting idea.

Allan Graham at Diet

Allan Graham at Diet.

First off in June, Diet highlighted art from Santa Fe-based Allan Graham, who works often within a text-based form, sometimes under the moniker “toadhouse.” It was the first time he has showed in Miami.

Now, starting from July 16 and running through Aug. 3, Diet will present “The Sleeping Cowboy and Mary/Steven,” from locally acclaimed artist Christy Gast. These are a pair of textile-based pieces, taken in part from portraits from her photography book Source, recently published by [NAME] Publications, a Knight Arts grantee. Gast is known for her art grounded literally in the ground around her – from videos shot in the desert West and the levees around the artificially confined Lake Okeechobee, to artworks crafted from very physical materials gathered from the world around. She addresses what goes into the “landscape” that makes us, literally, metaphorically and historically.

Textile-based work from Christy Gast

Textile-based work from Christy Gast.

Other artists featured in this Summer Diet series: Nicolas Lobo, Emmett Moore and Bhakti Baxter.

“The Sleeping Cowboy and Mary/Steven” runs through Aug. 3 at Gallery Diet, 174 N.W. 23 St., Miami; www.gallerydiet.com.