Gustavo Acosta at Pan American Projects.

Cities have always been associated with civilization. The creation of shared space necessitated laws, and moral codes, so that large groups of people could get along together, unlike the ancient world of their nomadic cousins. But starting in the late 19th century, the idea of the metropolis took on new meaning, as both a hyper-modern center of dreams, and as a numbing place of industrialized anonymity.

In the 21st century, that dichotomy remains – cities are bastions of self-expression, and also homes of hard, cement and steel edifices that crush individualism. Within depictions of this imagery, one can read critiques of society; a city can be a soul-less authoritarian prison, or a monument to excessive greed and capitalism. Gustavo Acosta has painted both scenarios in his de-populated images of cities, from his native Cuba to his current home of Miami.

He is one of four artists that have works in the Pan American Art Projects winter/spring exhibit, “Made in Miami.” Acosta may depict a cityscape of Miami from a non-native, but that’s the crux of this show – we are all somewhat non-natives here, and our views come from all over. The other three artists are Haiti-born Edouard Duval-Carrié, Cuba-born Carlos Estevez, and Argentina native Carolina Sardi. They all transplanted here as Miami was transitioning from a provincial Florida city to a multi-cultural hub, and their art reflects that.

Edouard Duval-Carrié.

This solid grouping of established and now known as Miami artists, will have a second opening this Thursday, well worth checking out. (The project room will be showing photography from more familiar names, Gory and Pablo Soria.)

The “Made in Miami” reception will take place on Thursday, March 6 from 6-9 p.m., and then through April 19 at Pan American Art Projects, 2450 N.W. 2nd Ave., Miami; panamericanart.com.