The current two-artist exhibition “to meditate on the warmest dream“ at homework, on view until March 15, creates a dialogue between new works by two Miami-based artists: Roscoè B. Thické III and Matthew Forehand. Combining elements and references to architecture, landscape and space, the works juxtapose urbanity and nature, and explore nostalgia and the intersections of memory and self-discovery, as well as Diasporic identities.
Rooted in Miami’s cultural landscape, Roscoè and Matthew’s practices weave personal and collective histories into a powerful meditation on the past, present, and future, that is deeply tied to their Miami experience and the region’s cultural context. Acting as more than just a mere backdrop, neither artist sets out to explicitly capture Miami, but the city retains an underlaying presence and sets the base for their respective inquiries to self and the realities that surround us, especially in relation to the environment and landscape as a holder of cultural identity.
Inspired by a quote from musician Michael ‘Flea’ Balzary- “The limits of my memory are their own reward” - the works come together like the colors and shapes that made up the musician’s world, and align also via a deep desire to connect. This connection takes place in a significant way between the two artists, the artists and their audience, and the art with the space in which the initial dialogues take place, deeply situated within historical and ontological context.
Upon entering the gallery, Matthew introduces us to lush and tropical landscapes and foliage that partially hide yet expose human life. In between and behind trees and flowers, we encounter structures and architectural components as well as glimpses at life via garden chairs or bowls left on a table. Something remains hidden as we don’t encounter anyone directly yet we sense the presence. The depicted landscapes and buildings are in Colombia, where the artist’s family migrated from in the 1980s, but we encounter them in South Florida, the artist’s home since 2018. The paintings go beyond a reconnection to his Columbian heritage but rather provide the groundwork for the viewer to consider memory, identity and how our personal as well as communal journeys shape our existence. The references transcend the artist’s immediate personal experience and serve as a stand-in for conversations and narratives that are less specific and offer an extended relevance, while still grounding many South Florida gallery visitors with a true sense of home, connection and familiarity. With the paintings, the artist constructs a potential future built on a solid foundation made of various components of a past that includes groundworks laid across Diasporic communities.
Across from Matthew’s works, the viewer encounters works by Roscoè B. Thické III, which combine photography with geometric sculptural elements. The works resonate with their rigidity and find points of connection between nature and the urban landscape through architectural references. The lines crossing the imagery seem to also serve as demarcations between personal and collective spaces, exploring the respective sides but also considering them in relation to each other since they exist in unison.
Roscoè’s work feels both deeply personal and widely relatable, much like the region itself—a place where so many identities coexist, intersect, and shape each other in ways that are constantly evolving. As a space where the Americas meet and communities forge new paths that honor ancestry and where memory, cultural heritage and nostalgia take on multilayered meanings past the Atlantic, the South Florida that Roscoè captures captures the vast expanse of what this can mean without loosing its necessary specificity. We encounter various protagonists like a woman gazing into the distance, or runners and their spectators. The works convey stillness yet the movement is evident. We are invited not just to be spectators but to contemplate and participate. The artist’s way of presenting photography changes the perspective. He constructs a visual narrative that points to life aligned with nature yet in an urban setting. We encounter a sense of community and are invited to move freely in deeply personal work that remains relatable.
Both artists create spaces to linger and find points of connection. The viewer can also be home here. The artists’ works come together in the center in a very delineated space. Both artists are considering memory, family life, personal experiences and draw on Miami, connecting to a positive memory
What's the conversation between the two? Both deep understanding of Miami and its culture but a different way of presenting their thoughts and experiences, everyone captures or imagined experiences and lives within the landscape on their own different terms. We cannot see everyone who inhabits and is a protagonist in the narrative. Some are just hinted upon in the margins or referenced without an immediate literal presence. We know they exist although we cannot see them, same as for roscoe the generations who have come before and are part of the cultural legacy.
“to meditate on the warmest dream“ imbues us with feelings of nostalgia and makes us think deeply about our past, our families, our communities and our very personal experiences. It often entails us recalling romanticized versions of what has become the past but the invitation to meditate and immerse ourselves, and connect with our emotions also brings the clarity to know that to know ourselves in this present moment, and to envision the future that lays ahead, we must consider memories, whether personal or collective. How do we understand our present self? How does the past and possibility of a future shape our thinking and understanding of the world we inhabit and our immediate context? Personal as well as communal memory shapes what we perceive and how we respond to our environment. Memories shape our understanding of self and society, and shape our decisions, and guide us in the ever-continuous journey to self-discovery. The works truly are meditations on what's familiar with all its emotional and aspirational context, that ultimately makes us feel alive.
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