The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) North Miami will feature the first-ever museum retrospective for American artist and former Miami resident Michael Richards.
The exhibit, “Michael Richards: Are You Down”, will include 12 full-scale sculptures, 25 drawings, and dozens of images of site-specific works that no longer physically exist. Much of the material will be on display for the first time since Richards’ passing in 2001. The works on display include the sonic sculpture “Swing Lo,” a life-sized rusty chariot that plays dancehall music, and “Are You Down,” the fibreglass and black sand installation Richards created for Minneapolis’s Franconia Sculpture Park. Retrospectives like this, often advertised through means like poster printing and social media photos, can help to raise awareness of artists after their careers.
Richards is known for his work in sculpture, drawing, and mixed media, which celebrated African-American culture and equality. In addition to spending time in New York, Jamaica, and Minnesota, Richards also called Miami home, being the artist-in-residence at what is now Oolite Arts from 1997 to 2000 and holding his largest solo exhibition in his lifetime at Ambrosino Gallery, which was then across the street from MOCA. The exhibit could draw in art lovers from surrounding areas like North Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
It will open at MOCA on April 21 and run until October 10.
