Nomadic Homework Gallery Launches Two Summer Shows in Two Locations

Pipes coming out of walls, derelict machinery yet to be carted away — contemporary art gallery Homework’s newest temporary home is a far cry from the pristine walls of a museum. Located just one door down from art bookstore Dale Zine, it was until recently the Miami Club Rum distillery in Little River, yet another one of those Miami businesses that pops up out of nowhere with a fancy showroom and disappears just as quickly as it came.

Yet Aurelio Aguilo, who cofounded Homework Gallery with his partner Mayra, isn't fazed by the abandonment. “It’s curatorially interesting,” he says.

The duo is used to bucking tradition when it comes to showing art. Since holding their first show in 2021, they’ve jumped around various locations in keeping with their ethos as a “nomadic” art gallery, attempting to break free from the establishment's commercial fairs and white-walled aesthetic. They’ve activated in New York at the Ace Hotel and are planning a project in Los Angeles to coincide with Frieze Week in February. But most of their shows have been in Miami, where they live, many at the Knoxon, a gutted former motel on Biscayne Boulevard. It’s an innovative approach but one that certainly has its pros and cons.

“It helps us a lot because we don’t have that constant overhead of having a permanent space. But if we find a space that is worth it for us business-wise, and we can do these nomadic options more frequently, and actually control what we have permanently, for a year, I think it would be a good evolution for the gallery,” says Aguilo.

After the motel's owners finally leased the space to a full-time tenant, Homework struggled to find a new spot. They came up against Miami’s difficult commercial real estate market, where landlords in Little Haiti and Wynwood were unwilling to rent to a temporary tenant or were charging unreasonable rates. Through a twist of fate, they ended up not just with one exhibition space but two.
In July, Homework will present a smorgasbord of summer offerings in two locations across the city. Starting Friday, July 7, at the Little River space, a group show titled “Summer School” will show eight local artists throughout the cavernous distillery’s four rooms. The show will close on Saturday, July 22, and the gallery will move to the Sagamore Hotel on Miami Beach for "Retreat Volume 1," a solo show for Miami-based Argentinian pop artist Falopapas that runs from Saturday, July 29 through Wednesday, August 12.

Like its last summer show, "Salad Days," which presented art based around themes of youth and innocence, “Summer School” also car a concept. With summer marking the low season in Miami’s tourism industry, Aguilo says, the show marks a chance to explore what rest, renewal, and reflection can do for us in a world defined by the "constant grind" of work.

"Summer, for me, is always a time where the year cuts in half, there’s a break, there's a reflection, and then you come back with some new energy to finish off the year. But it’s also, I think, for artists it’s very important to...filter and limit the stuff they’re always showing out there, and to take the time to reflect on the work they’re actually doing, not just doing work to do work."

Aguilo’s experimental attitude extends to the artists in the show. During my visit, Richard Verguez, who showed constructivist-inspired collages of trains and rail infrastructure with Homework during Miami Art Week in December, stopped by to see the space and plan an installation. Other featured artists include Matt Forehand, known for sumptuous figurative and landscape paintings; Joaquin Stacey-Calle, who incorporates patio screens into his mixed-media canvases; and photographer Roscoè B. Thické III.

Then there's the stuff beyond the art. One signature of Homework's summer shows that have made them a fixture of Miami's alternative art scene during the low season is supplementary programming. The gallery makes sure there's plenty to do at both sites in addition to the artwork, to provide a space for artists and creatives to hang out.
At "Summer School," Homework will host a Relaxation Tea Ceremony (4 p.m. Saturday, July 8); a wine tasting hosted by Boia De sommelier Gabriela Victoria Ospina (5 p.m. Sunday, July 16); a panel discussion on fine art, branding, and commissions featuring artist and designer Brian Butler (6 p.m. Friday, July 14); and a pair of film screenings. It rounds out programming at the space by hosting the monthly vintage market Walter's Mercado, which has been in residence at the building.

Programming at the Sagamore is a bit more sporadic. An opening pool party (beginning at noon Saturday, July 29) will feature sounds by vintage Latin music crew Rum & Coke, during which Falopapas will execute a mural painting. There will also be a "Meet The Artist" session (6 p.m. Thursday, August 3, RSVP required) sponsored by the Consulate General of Argentina.

Beyond the summer, when Miami's scene kicks into high gear, Homework is pondering its options. Weary of constantly searching for spaces in the city, Aurelio Aguilo and Mayra Mejia have considered applying for one of the Miami Art Week fairs, such as NADA or Untitled. They've considered ditching the traveling aspect and finding a permanent space — the Sagamore has expressed interest in an extended partnership. Or, they may leave Miami altogether.

"We don't want to drown because we weren't able to adapt or evolve, and that evolution can even mean leaving the city," says Aguilo. "We're nomadic in nature."

– Douglas Markowitz, ArtburstMiami.com

Homework Presents "Summer School" and "Retreat Part I." Friday, July 7, through Saturday, July 22; and Saturday, July 29, through Wednesday, August 12; at 7401 NW Miami Pl., Miami; and the Sagamore Hotel, 1671 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; Homework.gallery. Admission is free.