She stands on the front porch of a colonial-era home showing off her gold hair, gold skirt and golden nipples. A metate with half-crushed maize is to her left. Her trendy Telfar bag is to her right. And her neighbors are very dramatic.
At one terracotta house, nude figures run outside as music plays from the ceramic radio. At the other, a man is (likely deservedly) kicked out of the house. A golden boot pushes him out the door. Meanwhile, a person outside is slapped in the face with a hot tortilla.
This isn’t a telenovela. They’re all made out of clay.
Joel Gaitan, a self-taught, Miami-based artist of Nicaraguan descent, leans into drama for his art exhibitions. Last week, he opened “En El Corazón Del Infierno, En Las Alturas Del Cielo,” his second solo exhibition with KDR, an Allapattah art gallery run by Katia David Rosenthal. The show displays his handmade, clay sculptures replete with rich Central American motifs, pop culture references and 22 karat gold accents. It is on view until March 30.
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Gaitan, 28, was born and raised in Hialeah and has annually visited his family’s homeland of Nicaragua since he was a child. His work is inspired by his upbringing in a Miami home he lovingly referred to as “Little Nicaragua,” filled with his parents’ ceramic vessels and decor.
Gaitan’s artwork is what happens when antiquity meets modernity. His work is refreshing yet familiar to Miami’s many Latino communities, said Rosenthal, the gallerist. In 2021, before Rosenthal opened her Allapattah location, the two collaborated on an art show at her Little Havana house by turning it into a pulpería, a type of Nicaraguan bodega.
“When I approached Joel to do the first show, I saw something in his work that I felt a very meaningful connection to. Our backgrounds are both Nicaraguan-rooted,” Rosenthal said. “I felt that when I saw his work, it connected to the past but also showed his present state of being as this young person living in a metropolitan city. That Miami-ness also came through.”
That “Miami-ness” is one of several themes present in the current show. Gaitan was heavily inspired by 1980s Miami architecture and design. It’s hard not to notice the gallery’s newly painted mint green walls and bright pink floor. Rosenthal even had a retro curved wall with vintage glass blocks installed to bring their vision of the show to life.
Everything about the show, from the layout to the artwork itself, is bursting with personality. He wants his art shows to feel like his biggest inspiration, home.
“Only one rule, I don’t like white walls,” Gaitan said. “Everything that we’ve done together has never been white walls and white pedestals. I like this whole idea of installation, giving a different home to these pieces while they’re being exhibited.”
During the show’s March 1 opening party, the three casitas by the gallery’s front door were particularly popular. The works were inspired by the miniature traditional houses that often decorate the homes of Latino families.
“Any secondhand store you go to, you’re gonna find them. I don’t know why they’re constantly abandoned, they’re not appreciated,” Gaitan said. “These specifically are important because they’re recreating something that’s so easily thrown away. I get to put it into gallery space and give it a new message and new importance.” The show’s pieces casually jump from lighthearted modern day scenes to ancient Mayan imagery to Gaitan’s own spirituality.
A rotund figure balancing a golden crown of tubes on her head and pouring the blue waters of life from vessel to vessel may seem like a recreation of an archaeological discovery. She — or he (Gaitan doesn’t assign gender to the figures he sculpts) — is adorned with turquoise earlobes, gold nails and gold jewelry.
Compare that to the clay vessel across the room wrapped in a gold chain, blowing a pink bubblegum bubble. Or the other clay vessel showing off a long black ponytail, a gold-toothed grin and blue sunglasses. Or the ceramic recreation of a designer Diesel purse, inspired by his friend’s handbag.
One of the show’s tallest and most symbolic works is a stack of two vessels sprouting with golden braided halos.
The bottom, larger vessel grins as it sticks out its tongue. It wears an Ibeyi amulet, a protective Yoruba symbol of twins. The smaller, top vessel is stoic. It’s arms are raised up with nails hammered into each wrist, representing the stigmata. Psalms 31 is written in Spanish on it’s stomach: “Me han olvidado como a los muertos; Hasta perezco una vasija hecha pedazos.” (I have been forgotten like the dead; I have become like broken pottery.)
Art is a way for Gaitan to express his spirituality and reconnect with a higher power, he said. He grew up in the Pentecostal church, where “every day is devoted to God.”
“I feel like I’ve ignored that part of myself, but I actually haven’t. Every time I create a show, there’s this constant theme and a new level of me trying to get back to my connection with my spirituality,” he said. “These are all like offerings and a thank you to God for giving me the opportunity and the platform to even create these works.”
There is a lot to be thankful for. Gaitan has worked hard to build an impressive resume as a self-taught artist, Rosenthal said. His work has been featured in museum collections and displayed throughout the Rockefeller Center in New York City. He participated in the prestigious Cité Internationale des Arts residency in Paris, France and in group exhibitions across the country.
Despite the art world’s notorious gatekeeping, Gaitan said he has made a footing for himself with the help of his community. Before the solo exhibitions at KDR, he got his start by showing his work with fellow local artists and musicians at friend’s parties.
Gaitan dedicates his work to his culture, his family, his friends and his Nicaragua. Though Miami is home to a large Central American population, the community isn’t always represented in the arts scene. With this show, and future ones, he hopes to change that.
Rosenthal recalled when a young woman approached her during the show’s opening. She told Rosenthal that after she saw Gaitan’s exhibition at the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale, she was inspired to apply to work there. Gaitan’s work made her feel seen.
En el Corazón del Infierno, en las Alturas del Cielo"
Where: KDR, 790 NW 22nd St. Miami
When: On view until March 30
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Info: Free and open to the public. https://www.kdr305.com/joel-gaitan-2024
This story was produced with financial support from The Pérez Family Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
