Oolite arts anniversary and open studios

For us, seeing the process is even more interesting than the final form. That’s how you actually build a connection with an artwork — learning about its conceptual nature directly from the artist, seeing their references and what inspired the piece, experiencing the space where it was made. The research process, the shifts in shapes, techniques evolving over time — that’s what gives the work value.

The first studio we visited was Mark Delmont’s. His multi-layered portraits, made from wood, metal, fabric, and paint, are full of movement. You can feel they draw inspiration from real life in Miami. They are personal, vibrant, and reminiscent of the stories of the neighborhood in their raw form.

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We’ve been following Lee Pivnik since his show in the Design District, so it was good to finally see his work up close at Oolite. Lee's sculptures explore the porous, fluid side of Miami’s natural world—mangrove roots, coral, shells, cypress knees. Made from clay, resin, and steel, his hybrid forms are somewhere between an organism and a plant. His pieces read like invitations to shift your attention to what’s already there, unnoticed and beautiful.

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The blue cyanotype caught our eye from the hallway. Bex McCharen's quilts serve as a visual archive: fragments of bodies, water, memories. Made with cyanotype and hand-stitching, they feel like images that surface briefly in the mind — soft, layered, a little blurred.

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Oolite Arts has been supporting Miami’s visual artists for over 40 years. It offers free studio space, exhibitions, and funding for both emerging and mid-career artists across South Florida. Unlike traditional galleries, it puts process first — inviting the public into workspaces, artist talks. It’s one of the few places where you meet local artists directly — see what they’re working on, what’s driving their ideas, and what’s shaping the conversations in Miami.