It’s amazing to see Art Basel Miami Beach take over Miami every year, and while most of the arts tend to downplay their creativity in Miami Beach and the Design District, almost every square inch of the city can be transformed. itself by visiting art aficionados. Another place that often goes under the radar is Wynwood, a former drug-busting area where Don and Mera Rubell once kept their collection in a Drug Enforcement Administration-seized facility, but which has since become a global traffic stop. art.
“It’s surreal,” artist Karol Stefanini said of her recently unveiled mural at 550 NW 24th St. in the local Arts District as part of the sixth annual Wynwood Mural Fest. “It is literally a dream come true. Not just anyone gets an opportunity like this. To have a mural here, you need to find your place. “
Stefanini’s latest effort at the old RC Cola Plant combines bold candy colors with cartoony tropical imagery for an upbeat vibe that shows the range graffiti can cover these days. His second project for Art Basel Miami Beach, this new work encourages viewers to ‘Start Dreaming,’ a phrase that conveys a sense of excitement, displacement and inspiration.
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His creative process begins long before the brush and paint touch the wall. “All the murals and artworks I create are born first in the studio and in the workshop,” he told the Observer. Stefanini begins by drawing ideas digitally; not unrelatedly, he describes the iPad as a boon to the art world.
“I often say that there was life before and after the iPad,” he said. “My entire creative process before the introduction of these tools was done on paper using various drawing materials, and it took a lot of time.” Now you can map out a complete artwork very quickly, with all the colors, textures and possibilities for visualization.
Color may perhaps be considered Stefanini’s main theme. “For this piece, I was inspired by the lifestyle and atmosphere of Miami. This city is colorful, diverse, dynamic and magical,” she said. “The sunset here is an explosion of colors.”
After several edits, the design is set, the Disney style writing is complete, and it’s time to start drawing. I asked the artist if his palette was influenced by the surrounding paintings of Wynwood, which can be very dark. “I didn’t consider the surrounding paintings because many paintings in the area where I was painting were done at the same time,” she said. “I only knew the colors they used when I was there.”
But he is happy with the way his work is being discussed with others close to him. The result is an area full of accessible graffiti art that costs nothing to enjoy and allows local residents to participate in the hullabaloo that is Miami Art Week.
“It was amazing to see how it all came together,” added Stefanini. “Furthermore, each artist has his own style, each one is able to work on the theme he likes. I believe that the beauty of art lies in this, each person expresses himself in the way he likes, with the colors that match him.”
