By William Fong
Arts Writer 

Finally, I can coin the acronym, YMA (Young Miami Artists) with good conscience. For too long, perhaps culminating with the SENSATION exhibition and subsequent controversy at the Brooklyn Museum, there were the YBA (Young British Artists). Quite a few of the YBA have survived the maelstrom and have proven themselves as talented, challenging, and insightful artists such as Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn and Sam Taylor-Wood. A few others, though, didn’t have much to say after their gimmicks and momentarily scandalous artistic devices wore off.  During the nineties, when Miami (and more importantly, Miami Beach) was putting itself on the map, many artists were making names for themselves in sunny, South Florida, but more often than not picking up and moving to New York, after reaching a level of credibility. Times are beginning to change, though, with many local artists opting for the “big fish in a smaller pond” option, forsaking New York and staying in Miami.   

As I walked into the shared studio of Annie Wharton and her husband, Gabriel Delponte, at the ArtCenter, I was bombarded by a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes and textures produced in a variety of materials and media. The notion of artist/couple has always opened a whole bag of issues from collaboration or competition? Inspiration or aggravation? Who is the artist, who is the muse? Wharton and Delponte, however, seem to thrive and are ebullient while in each other’s company as was the case with other well-known artist/couples such as Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O’Keeffe. 

Gabriel Delponte’s mid-size and large-scale installations are composed of individual translucent blocks, which one peers through to find intriguing scenes. Delponte’s work is strongest when his focus is on a gesture and the thought is left incomplete. I’ve always been fascinated by artists who work in multiples (a process Delponte often and Wharton sometimes explores), but beyond the drama of some of the large installations, it’s the little vignettes explored in each brick or dome that are most compelling. When I inquired about this body of work, Gabriel told me that he utilized “plastic-based materials (resins, acrylic, Mylar), to freeze time.” He added that he was “interested in capturing good and bad moments – the idiosyncrasies, traumas, and delights of the human condition.” 

I leave Delponte’s figurative world for a while to explore the lush, dramatic, contemplative abstract paintings that Wharton has been creating for the past few years. Her strong female voice can be heard loud and clear through her choice of painting materials and colors. Wharton does not use traditional paintbrushes, but rather instruments traditionally associated with cooking. In the creation of her art, she creates an interesting dialogue regarding tools (cake pans, potato mashers) often relegated to the realm of a domestic woman. She feels that the “millennium spawned a really important time for female abstract painting” and that she is part of “a growing league of women” artists.  

Years ago, the Miami art world would virtually shut down until “the season” began in the fall.  Today, this is not so much the case with arts organizations opening exhibits during the summer and exciting events and innovative programming occurring on a weekly basis. Call your local museum, take a walk down Lincoln Road and visit the ArtCenter South Florida or stay tuned to my next column with advice on venturing over to Miami’s Design District.     

ArtCenter/South Florida is located at 800, 810 and 924 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach.  For more information call 305-674-8278 or visit their website at www.artcentersofl.org 

William Fong is an art consultant who assists private collectors and corporate clients in the acquisition of artwork.  He divides his time between Miami and Los Angeles.