The Rubell Museum (and SuperBlue!), Miami’s Best Kept Secrets for Art Lovers

You know how much I love art museums, right? Wherever I travel, one of the first things I look for is an art museum to visit. But would you believe there’s a truly remarkable art museum right here in Miami that not only had I never visited – but hadn’t even heard of?(!) That’s right, the Rubell Museum, just a stone’s throw from the Wynwood Arts District (I’m talking a five minute drive!). And I wasn’t even the one who discovered it…

My brother runs a wonderful live music venue in NYC called Le Poisson Rouge (LPR). He was in Miami with his management team a few weeks ago to catch Swedish pop act Tove Lo performing at the Miami Beach Bandshell; LPR was co-producing the show, you see. With a free day to kill after the night of the show, his GM, Sarah, suggested we visit a contemporary art museum called Rubell. “Never heard of it”, said I. “So how good could it really be?”

So we went – and as far as “how good could it really be?” is concerned, it wasn’t just good, it was pretty damn remarkable.

“Modern Day Miracles” (1988) by American artist Robert Colescott [Rubell Museum]

So who is Rubell, you ask? Well the Rubell name is actually Donald and Mera Rubell, who started collecting art in 1965 on a budget of $25 a week when Mera was a schoolteacher and Donald was a medical student in NYC. Their modest resources compelled them to focus on obscure, emerging artists, many of whom would go on to become widely known. Don’s brother Steve Rubell, a co-owner of the nightclub Studio 54, passed away in 1989 leaving the couple a significant inheritance that expanded their ability to purchase and showcase art.

Donald and Mera, now aged 82 and 79 respectively, moved to Miami 30 years ago and can be credited for helping turn Miami into an art world destination. ‘I fought like the devil to bring Basel to Miami,’ Mera says(*). ‘They were flirting with another venue in the United States. But I said, “You gotta come to Miami.” In some crazy way, Miami resembles Art Basel in Switzerland because it’s kind of a neutral zone for north and south.’

The Rubell Museum, a new 100,000 square-foot campus, opened in 2019 in the Allapattah neighborhood in Miami. Housed in a former industrial building transformed by Selldorf Architects, the new museum features 53,000-square-feet of galleries, with 65% dedicated to long-term installations and 35% to special exhibitions, all drawn from the collection, which now encompasses 7,400 works by more than 1,000 artists including Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

The current museum is a second incarnation. The first was a 45,000-square-foot art center known as the Rubell Family Collection, which opened in 1993 and was housed in a Drug Enforcement Administration storage facility in Wynwood. The museum helped transform Wynwood from a down-on-its-heels neighborhood to a magnet for artists and art galleries, shops and restaurants.

“Demos” (2004) by German artist Neo Rauch [Rubell Museum]

On Oct 29, 2022, Rubell Museum expanded once again in Washington DC, with the Inaugural exhibitions Sylvia Snowden and “What’s Going On”. Dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, the Rubell Museum DC reinvigorates the 1906 building of the former Randall Junior High School (which counts Marvin Gaye among its alumni), a historically Black public school in Southwest DC that ceased operations in 1978.

‘Art for us is a childish fascination,’ says Mera(*), ‘and if it makes a difference in the world, then that gives us tremendous pleasure. People are curious about who a collector is. It seems to be such a mystery, though it is not a mystery to me. A collector is a person who falls passionately in love with art and can’t get enough of it.’

Museum Hours (Miami) are Wed & Thur: 11:30 am – 5:30 pm, Fri & Sat: 11:30 am – 7:30 pm, Sun: 11:30 am – 5:30 pm with admission costs running from $15 for adults, $12 for Seniors (65+ with ID) and $10 for students (with ID) and youth (7-18). Free Parking! is available alongside the main entrance located mid-block on 23rd street and valet parking service ($15 cash) is also available across the street.

This post features photographs from two visits to the museum, one with my daughter, brother and GM Sarah (photographed with just my iPhone 13 Pro) and a subsequent visit a few days later with my new ladyfriend Diana (who passed her first art museum test with me in Puerto Rico) using my Sony a7RV with the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 lens (and iPhone). Diana and I also visited Superblue Miami across the street from the museum (scroll down for those images). I think after viewing the photographs, you’ll make it your business to visit this impressive art museum. Enjoy…

Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama’s monumental Narcissus Garden (first presented in 1966) is composed of 700 stainless steel spheres. The work flows 200 feet along the Museum’s central gallery, creating an ever-changing river of reflection (more on her later!).

A collection of “Soundsuits”(surreally majestic objects blending fashion and sculpture) by artist Nick Cave (NOT he of The Bad Seeds)

“Baby I Am Ready Now” (2007) by Brooklyn based artist Mickalene Thomas

“Seven Eleven” (2022) by American artist Jammie Holmes

Anthropomorphic plaster sculptures by British artist Thomas Houseago

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Bird On Money” (1981), an homage to jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker

My favorite painting in the museum (and not for what might appear to be the obvious reason) was NYC based artist George Condo’s alluring “Evening of Destruction” (1984). Condo is referred to in Jay Z’s “Picasso Baby” track off his “Magna Carta Holy Grail” album, “Condos in my condo I want a row of.”

Yayoi Kusama

94 year old Yayoi Kusama, known for her extensive use of polka dots and for her infinity installations, has been acknowledged as one of the most important living artists to come out of Japan and the world’s top-selling female artist. Her work influenced that of her contemporaries, including Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg.
Her “INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER” (2017) can be illustrated best by this video I shot with my iPhone 13 Pro:

Another infinity room by Yayoi Kusama, “Where the Lights in My Heart Go” (2016) is a ten-by-ten-foot polished stainless steel chamber with a mirrored interior. Small holes in the walls and ceiling allow natural light to penetrate the darkened room. To take a photograph inside, you’re gonna need a soft light source, like the flashlight of a mobile phone.
You’re given two minutes in each room for the additional cost of $10/ticket.

Assorted works by NY based artist Clayton Schiff

My daughter contemplating Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based artist Doron Langberg’s “Brothers” (2021)

Doron Langberg’s “Lovers” (2022)

“Kylie” (2022) by Doron Langberg

Jo Messer’s “She is afraid of nothing, especially not the sun” (2022)

A pair of works on canvas from L.A. born, Miami based artist Jared McGriff

“Let Go Of Your Claim on Me 1” (2022) by Tesfaye Geleta Urgessa, an Ethiopian artist from Addis Ababa, based in Germany

Anthropomorphic, totemic sculptures wrapped with strips of elastic, liquid latex, padding, and other materials, make up this exhibition by NYC based artist Patricia Ayres

Alexandre Diop

“L’Incroyable Traversée d’Abdoulaye Le Grand, Troisième de la Lignée [The Incredible Crossing of Abdoulaye the Great, Third in Line to the Throne]” (2022) by Alexandre Diop, a young Franco-Senegalese artist based in Vienna. Diop uses everyday (and discarded) objects such as books, photographs, metal, wood, and recycled materials collected on the street to create his enormous “image-objects”.

Alexandre Diop’s “L’Histoire du Monde – Le Temps et L’Espace [The History of the World – Time and Space]” (2022)

Alexandre Diop’s “Jooba Jubba, l’Art du Defi, the Art of Challenge” exhibition is on view through November 12, 2023

Assorted works by Colombian born, England based artist Oscar Murillo

“Who has yo back?” (1996) by L.A. based artist Henry Taylor

Diana and I taking five in front of Henry Taylor’s “Love Pam” (2008)

Chinese artist He Xiangyu’s “The Man on the Chair” (2008-2009), a group of empty wooden chairs

On the left is Chinese artist Zhu Jinshi’s “Black and White Summer Palace – Black (黑白颐和园－黑)” (2007) and on the right wall “Power and Country (权力与江山)” (2007-2010) triptych with each piece measuring 189 x 114 x 6 inches

American artist John Baldessari’s “Stake: Art is Food for Thought and Food Costs Money” (1985) was inspired by a beefsteak in France called a “palette” steak

My brother and daughter emulating the works of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara

Yoshitomo Nara’s “Dogs from your childhood” (1999)

Me snapping a photograph of “Große Geister Nr. 2 (Big spirit No. 2)” (2003), a polished bronze sculpture by German artist Thomas Schütte

On the floor is “DOB in The Strange Forest (White DOB)” (1999) and on the wall is “PO+KU Surrealism (Blue)” (1999) by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami

We end our visit to the Rubell Museum the same way we started it, with Yayoi Kusama’s monumental Narcissus Garden

In summary, the Rubell Museum was so nice I had to see it twice. It’s really a wonderful art museum and with summer approaching in South Florida, a very nice way to enjoy a visit to Miami without the heat and humidity (for a few hours at least!).

There’s also a lovely restaurant on premises called Leku that brings the pleasures of eating in Spain’s enchanting Côte Basque region to Miami. Most dishes are prepared in the Basque tradition of “Family-Style” and serve two to four people. We stopped in there for a quick bite of gambas al ajillo and an assortment of croquetas (ham, chorizo and cod). Both were delicious. Nuff said.

SUPERBLUE MIAMI

After my first visit to the Rubell Museum, I noticed a venue named SUPERBLUE right across the street (another venue I’d never heard of). A quick Google search later and my interest was piqued. Now, having already decided to return to Rubell with my new ladyfriend, I decided we’d visit Superblue as well. And we weren’t disappointed.

Superblue is a new, innovative arts venture that aims to bring groundbreaking experiential arts installations to broader audiences. Housed in a former food distribution warehouse that was leased from the neighboring Rubell Museum, the space was transformed into a flexible exhibition space designed to accept large scale, immersive art installations. It opened in May of 2021 and features 50,000 square feet of cutting-edge art experiences.

Tickets are best purchased online (you need to not only pick a date but a time slot) and run $36 for adults ($29 for Florida residents) with seniors and children getting $2 knocked off their ticket prices. It’s open every day until 7pm (Fri-Sat until 8pm) and is closed the first Tuesday of each month for scheduled maintenance. Def worth a visit…

Between Life and Non-Life

“Between Life and Non-Life” installation by teamLab, an interdisciplinary art collective founded in 2001 in Tokyo. This immersive experience shifts according to audience interactions within them and with surrounding works, fusing art and science to encourage meaningful interactions with both the work and other people. Check out THIS VIDEO shot with my iPhone to get a better feel for the installation…

Pulse Topology

“Pulse Topology”, by renowned Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, is an immersive biometric artwork consisting of 3,000 suspended light bulbs, each of which glimmers to the heartbeat of different participants…

Lozano-Hemmer’s works are activated by participants’ real-time biometric data such as their heartbeats, breaths, voices or fingerprints – pushing the nature of public engagement to its very limits. Watch the video I shot with my iPhone to get a better example…

Forest of Us

“Forest of Us” (2021) a mirrored labyrinth by Esmeralda “Es” Devlin, an English artist and stage designer. The reflective environment, inspired by the human respiratory system, is a mirror maze that connects the organic geometry of trees, from roots to branches, with the very vital organ, the lungs. The video below, shot with my iPhone, illustrates it best…

Due to limited time, we skipped the additional experience “Massless Clouds Between Sculpture and Life” which invites visitors to interact with clouds made of soap bubbles in an ever-changing installation. Next time…

Blue Rider Café

Outside, the Blue Rider Café features several food trucks and a seating area that has been transformed with a new commissioned work by London-based multidisciplinary artist Yinka Ilori.

So I think I made it unreservedly clear that an afternoon spent visiting the dynamic art duo of the Rubell Museum (add in a lunch or dinner, no?) and Superblue Miami will not only make you a happier person but a much cooler one. Please feel free to thank me afterwards…