MARK RUTKOWSKI: "1 WISH"

The Art Strip
Espanola Way Artists Opens Their Studios to the Public, and the Future

By Angie Hargot

Most days anyone can wander through the breezy halls of the three-story building that has been converted into the Espanola Way Art Center. Once apartments, the building is owned by local developer and well-known supporter of the arts Scott Robins, who allowed a lucky group of artists to transform its spaces into artist’s studios. Inside, the resident artists’ work lines the halls, with the canvases rotating as often as they are created and sold.

The hallways of the building double as a gallery and are often fittingly silent. Looking out over the open air balcony onto bustling Espanola Way, however, the sounds of the city filter in, and draw attention to the bright cheery natural light that illuminates the evidence of the work done there. The quietude competing with the din of South beach aside, it’s soon easy to see that the art speaks for itself.

And to aid these pieces in their mission of communication, on Saturday, March 6, a group of artists at The Espanola Way Art Center will open their studio doors to coincide with the Art Center of South Florida’s Lincoln Road Art Walk. Here, Espanola artists will welcome art lovers into their humble creative worlds, and on a grander scale, take the next step towards creating the Arts District that South Beach has missed. The Lead spoke to two of the Center’s most exciting resident artists: painter Mark Rutkowski, who has captured on canvas the scenes of the Art Deco District for more than three decades, and Lourdes Ravelo, whose Cut and Paste compositions of city life fragments form new and different perceptions of reality.

What’s it like creating at the Espanola Art Center?

Mark Rutkowski: The spaces have great light and high ceilings. I used to work in a storefront on the street level, and I like to have people come in, hang out, comment, take in the work — I want feedback, extra eyes. Art, finally, is a communication. I have always preferred a salon-style studio.
Lourdes Ravelo: South Beach can have such a tremendous energy, like recently for the Super Bowl weekend, there were so many enthusiastic people here, even the birds were flying a little zany. I’m inspired by all the energy surrounding me, yet the studio’s like a safe haven, where I can make art alone, in quiet and peace.

You’re right in the thick of South Beach … do you ever get distracted?

MR: It’s not distraction, it breaks the procrastination. Anyway, I’m not a hermit, so all the activity is fine.
LR: There is so much energy on the beach. So much energy. Sometimes too much, never too little. Distracted… and inspired.

Members of the art community will be very excited about the expansion of the Art Walk to Espanola, have you considered lobbying to adjust the name somehow?

LR: No, I would love to speak to Jeremy Chestler and solidify the South Beach art walk. Community requires unity and I hope he embraces the idea.

What do you foresee regarding an arts district in South Beach? It has always seemed to be the one thing that was lacking in the city…

MR: Yeah, it’s funny isn’t it?
LR: One of my recent art pieces, a sticker campaign “Miami is not enough” is about the cultural community Miami is missing in comparison to other major cities. The evolution of Miami requires people to stay here, believe in it, and create a community. Miami needs publications like The Lead that don’t focus on the club scene, but feed the audience that is starving for culture.

How does exposure to art change people?

MR: Again, art is a communication, and it’s on a very subtle level. I have learned over these 30 years as a pro, to step out of the picture. The less I put into a painting, the more the viewer picks up on it and, in a way, carries it along. Now I am very pleasantly surprised by the effect of what I’ve chosen to put on the wall. Art can really pull you out of a slump. Some paintings can give you strength — I mean the people viewing — and the poetry I have in the hall, that’s also therapeutic for some people.
LR: Art helps to answer the question, “Where am I?” For tourists and local residents, art helps to locate where you are within yourself. People from all over the world come to South Beach every year. There’s nothing like seeing a city for the first time (even for the first time in a couple of years). It makes a lasting impression on you. When you are in a place like South Beach that doesn’t follow any regular routine, you have the time to go ponder art. Successful art makes the viewer go ‘hmm.’ Questioning brings awareness. People shouldn’t buy art because it matches their couch.

What do you hope to come of this new endeavor?

LR: To create an atmosphere where people can check out new art and share ideas. Ultimately, recognition and conceptual / economic growth are key.

Meet artists Mark Rutkowski, Lourdes Ravelo, and Robert Fitzgerald during the Espanola Way Artists Open Studios from 7 to 10 p.m., on Saturday, March 6, and catch a performance by guitar and flute duo Arthur Besser and Elaine Romero. The Center is located at 406 Espanola Way, Miami Beach. See the Art Walk map on page 15.

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