Alison Martin's professional writing portfolio: Ugo Rondinone at The Bass Museum

Installation view of Ugo Rondinone, vocabulary of solitude (2014-2016), from the exhibition good evening beautiful blue at The Bass. Photography by Zachary Balber. Courtesy of the artist and The Bass, Miami Beach

The Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach is currently presenting an exhibition by mixed media artist Ugo Rondinone entitled Good Evening Beautiful Blue. For this show, Rondinone presents several works such as poetic installations and life-size drawings from the 1990s to the present that convey themes of euphoria and detachment. The first room in the show consists of 52-mirrored windows (one for each week in the year) set against a backdrop of pages from a local newspaper. This allows viewers to see their reflections while noticing how their brief presence in the room contrasts with the dated newsprint behind the windows, which becomes more distant as the exhibition progresses.

In the next room is the centerpiece of the exhibition known as vocabulary of solitude created over a two-year period between 2014 and 2016. Vocabulary of solitude is an installation of 45 life-size clown figures comprised of 22 men and 23 women of various ages and ethnicities. The work takes inspiration from the artist’s reflection on his daily actions, where each figure is engaged in a different activity, such as sleeping, dreaming, remembering, showering and walking.

Installation view of Ugo Rondinone, clockwork for oracles II (2008), from the exhibition good evening beautiful blue at The Bass. Photography by Zachary Balber. Courtesy of the artist and The Bass, Miami Beach.

In the final gallery is an immersive six-channel video installation created in 1998 making its first U.S. appearance with the lengthy title beginning with the words It’s late, It’s late and the wind carries a faint sound as it moves through the trees. . . The entire room is lit in blue by an illuminated ceiling, as projected slow-motion loops of six men and six women, alone in their frames, perform an unresolved gesture without acknowledging the viewer. Such amovements include opening an apartment door, or floating (or sinking) in water. The final line of the work’s narrative title …A place where nothing happens. aptly describes the cyclical loop of movements performed by each figure, resulting in a thought provoking and introspective space. Together, the selection of works places the visitor in an environment of contemplation and introspection, confronted by installations that stimulate self-reflection.

At , 2100 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, Fl. Through Feb. 19. The museum is open every day except Tuesdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.