Vizcaya Announces Pastiche: A New Exhibition by Miami-based Artist Lauren Shapiro 

A person with curly hair stands next to a weathered stone sculpture, facing the camera with a neutral expression. They wear a light-colored jacket.

MIAMI – July 26, 2024 – Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is pleased to announce the latest exhibition in its Contemporary Arts Program (CAP), titled Pastiche by Miami-based artist Lauren Shapiro. Opening on October 23, 2024, and running through May 19, 2025, Pastiche blends architecture, history and nature while paying homage to Paul Chalfin (1874 – 1959), the visionary Artistic Director behind Vizcaya’s design and decoration, whose 150th anniversary we celebrate this year.

Shapiro’s site-specific commission invites visitors on a journey across different times and spaces. Pastiche will activate three distinct decorated spaces in the Main House: the Enclosed Loggia, Reception Room, and Breakfast Room. Each space will feature Shapiro’s sculptures designed to resonate with its historical context, functionality, and aesthetic.

A noted ceramicist and explorer, Shapiro’s work is characterized by a profound exploration of materiality and form, gathering source materials directly from nature. For this project Shapiro turned to Chalfin’s contributions at Vizcaya to inform her own work. In particular, the use of pastiche – the blending of styles and influences to create a cohesive whole. From lamps and fireplaces to the Main House itself, Vizcaya is not short on examples of this creative approach, skillfully applied by Chalfin.

“My approach to making objects combines digital fabrication technologies with traditional ceramic techniques,” says Shapiro. “The resulting artworks not only highlight each room’s distinctive characteristics but also feature a combination of forms from the natural world with Vizcaya’s design elements, blending architectural and organic shapes.”

Shapiro’s new work combines ceramic, glass and technology, a visual language that evokes the past while resonating with the present. Pastiche is a unique opportunity to experience the timeless role of ceramics and the complex interplay between human culture and the natural world within the historic setting of Vizcaya.

By weaving in the natural surroundings, she creates new works that blend classical motifs with native flora, bringing the outside in. The resulting ceramic, glass and technology-infused vessels create a visual language that evokes the past while resonating with the present– a perfect alignment with Vizcaya’s mission.

Shapiro earned an MFA from the University of Miami in 2016. Her career is marked by numerous notable exhibitions and accolades. She has had solo exhibitions at prestigious venues such as the Bakehouse Art Complex, where her 2020 exhibition “Future Pacific” explored the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems, and the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, which hosted her 2021 show “Garden Portals.” Her group exhibitions include “Intricate Oceans: Coral in Contemporary Art” at the Coastal Discovery Museum in Hilton Head Island, showcasing her commitment to environmental themes. Internationally, she has exhibited at Projektraum M54 in Basel, Switzerland.

Shapiro’s work has been recognized with awards from esteemed organizations such as the Knight Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation, and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. Her art is included in significant collections, including the Soho House Art Collection and the Jorge M. Perez Collection, underscoring her impact and relevance in the contemporary art world.

Pastiche will be on display from October 23, 2024, to May 19, 2025, inviting visitors to experience a blend of historical reverence and contemporary innovation.

Pastiche is commissioned by the Contemporary Arts Program (CAP) at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens and supported by The Danielson Foundation, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, anonymous donors, the State of Florida Department of State Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Opening Reception + Media Access:

The public opening reception will be held on October 23, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. A program featuring the artist will start at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $5, free for members, VIPs, and CAP alumni. For more information, visit the website.

For complimentary media access to the opening reception, please submit a request to the marketing department at marketing@vizcaya.org.

About the Contemporary Arts Program (CAP):

The Contemporary Arts Program (CAP) is a Vizcaya-based commission program that provides artists with the creative challenge to develop original, site-specific work in response to a historic site situated in the public realm. CAP was inspired by the dynamic, creative spirit that characterized Vizcaya’s inception one hundred years ago, and it preserves Vizcaya owner James Deering’s tradition as a patron of the arts. From John Singer Sargent, a houseguest who painted watercolors of the estate, to A. Stirling Calder, who sculpted the figures on the Barge, and Robert Winthrop Chanler, creator of the swimming pool grotto ceiling mural, Vizcaya continues a dialogue between the historic and the contemporary. As was the case one hundred years ago, Vizcaya’s singular sense of place remains the point of departure for artists. 

About Vizcaya Museum and Gardens:

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a National Historic Landmark that preserves its cultural and environmental resources to engage people in connecting with the past, understanding the present and shaping the future. Built between 1914 and 1922 as the winter home of farming manufacturer James Deering, Vizcaya is one of the most intact remaining examples from this era in the United States, when the nation’s most successful entrepreneur-built estates were inspired by the stately homes of Europe. Vizcaya features a Main House filled with a decorative art collection, 10 acres of formal gardens, a rockland hammock (native forest), mangrove shore, and a historic village that is being restored to tell Vizcaya’s full story and provide additional spaces for programs and community outreach, including those on agriculture. Vizcaya has been a community hub since it opened to the public in 1953; it welcomes 300,000 visitors annually. 

Located on Biscayne Bay at 3251 South Miami Avenue, Vizcaya is open Wednesday through Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed Tuesdays, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. For more information, visit www.vizcaya.org, connect via social media, or call 305-250-9133. 

Promo for Vizcaya's secret doors tour, featuring a grand building, lush gardens, and ornate interior details.

Visiting this Friday? Check out the Secret Doors Tour!

Join this intimate tour of the secret and hidden doors found throughout the estate. This guided experience is only available for a limited time.

Tickets are $49 per person and include museum admission for the day. Reserve your spot online while they last!