MAD Arts, a new initiative within the MAD agency to provide a playground for art and artmaking, is excited to announce two new exhibitions coming to its Bad Space art galleries. The exhibitions will kick off with an opening reception on April 17 from 1 to 5 p.m. The opening reception for Squeeze, Tweeze, Please will take place in the Bad Space Gallery I while the Assemblage exhibition will take place in the Bad Space Gallery III located at 481 S Federal Hwy, Dania Beach, FL 33004.

“Launching the MAD Arts Exhibition Series is our commitment to providing a supportive artistic community where creators, artists, and innovators alike can utilize our facility to advance in their profession,” said Marc Aptakin, CEO and Founder of MAD. “Art is not only an integral aspect of our agency but the culture of this dynamic community and we are excited to announce the next two exhibitions in our series with two unique experiences.”

Squeeze, Tweeze, Please – April 17 through July 24

Tamara Johnson’s Squeeze, Tweeze, Please is a display of three sculptures composed of plaster, neon and enamel paint installed alongside a custom designed wallpaper. The playful sculptures are representations of everyday tools that can be found in a kitchen or bathroom such as a citrus juicer, tweezers, and a wooden screw. These tools are paired with organic fragments, like a crawfish claw and cherries, that reference the human body. The exhibition’s surreal relationships highlight a system of utility between the body and the tools we use to repair, nourish and maintain. The custom wallpaper features a layered illustration of St. Augustine grass, a sturdy grass commonly found in southern and gulf regions in the U.S.

Tamara received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas and obtained her Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her mediums predominantly revolve around sculpture, installation, and video which have been showcased at The Nasher Sculpture Center, The Blanton Museum of Art, the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum, and Socrates Sculpture Park, to name a few. In addition, Tamara has received grants from the Brooklyn Arts Council, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Santo Foundation, and the Faculty Development Grant from Southern Methodist University where she currently works as a visiting lecturer in sculpture. Her achievements have positioned her to become the co-director of Sweet Pass Sculpture Park, where she supports projects by emerging and mid-career artists on a rotating basis.

Assemblage – April 17 through July 17

Richard Vergez’s Assemblage is an audio-visual installation made up of a series of pre-recorded audio performance vignettes such as percussion, a synthesizer soundscape, a guitar, clarinet, piano, and bowed objects. The video and audio exhibition will be created through projectors and a dynamic sound design to create digital replicas that will perform together in the room. The presentation will culminate with an invitation to the MAD team by implementing Vergez’s pre-recorded parts into their own compositional “remix,” which will be presented at the closing of the installation.

Originally from Philadelphia, Richard used to work and live in New York as a member of the Brooklyn Collage Collective. Currently, Richard resides and works in South Florida. Richard utilizes his background in graphic design and audio/visual collaboration as a reflection through his hand-made collage paper works and mixed media. His imagery combines human and technological elements which relate to the surrounding ideas of an ever-evolving modern dystopian identity. Richard’s various music projects explore eclectic sound montages which have been exhibited throughout the world including, New York, London, Chicago, Miami, Sydney, and Fort Lauderdale. He collaborated with choreographer Ana Mendez to provide a sonic palette for her dance pieces that have been presented at the Adrienne Arsht Center, Miami Art Museum, MoCA, Bas Fisher Invitational, and the De La Cruz Collection. Richard’s most recent project, Night Foundation, focuses on the soundscapes composed by implementing analog synthesis and vintage synthesizers from a vinyl release by a London-based label, Lobster Theremin.

-

MAD and MAD Arts kicked off its Art Exhibition Series with The Art of Fishing by Alex Wexler, which is open until May 20, 2021 in the Bad Space II gallery. The Art of Fishing showcases some of Wexler’s most successful Gyotaku (an ancient Japanese art form which involves taking impressions of fish for art) prints alongside illustrations and studies with ink and graphite of his time at sea. There will also be a site-specific Kite Fishing installation which is the main technique used to target Pelagic fish in South Florida (and Wexler’s preferred form of fishing) and a newly commissioned projection mapping video in collaboration with MAD’s team. The exhibition will feature a screen-printing machine for visitors to create their own prints as a tangible memory to take home.

MAD recently upgraded its new office space from an 11,000 square-foot space to a 50,000 square-foot facility which is slated to be completed by May 2021. The new office will include an expansive office workspace for its employees, three full-time art gallery spaces, a VR theater/private viewing room, and a container park featuring a coffee shop, co-working shops, an outdoor stage, and artists’ studios positioning MAD to become the next destination for creation, education, and inspiration.