Super Natural combines the work of four Miami-based artists: Nicole Burko, Lee Pivnik, Lauren Shapiro, and Magnus Sodamin. This group exhibition presents unique perspectives that speak to the power of nature, the intrinsic mysticism of life, and the rhythms of human existence. The infinite mysteries of our world often prompt deep existential questions: What does it mean to be alive at this moment? What are we compelled to bring forth? Each artist in this exhibition confronts these profound inquiries and transforms them into tangible artifacts.
Nicole Burko’s profound engagements with the ocean through freediving—a single-breath journey into the ocean’s depths—transcends into psychological landscape paintings. They beckon viewers to delve into the uncharted terrains of our world, urging an exploration of both terrestrial expanses and the unknown realms beyond.
Magnus Sodamin, drawing inspiration from the Everglades’ prehistoric fauna, sees them as the epitome of evolutionary artistry. Their enduring presence, stretching from the era of the dinosaurs to the present, is a testament to nature’s design and the essence of life over time.
Lauren Shapiro uses 3D scanning, digital fabrication, and mold-making techniques to create ceramics inspired by her expeditions into nature. Driven by a profound interest in the intricate relationships of natural systems, she draws on science to deepen the biological insights imbued in her work. Through her sculptures, she uncovers hidden realms that help establish a stronger connection with the environment.
Lee Pivnik explores the realms of queer and feminist theory and decolonial thinking. Through their work, Pivnik challenges and reimagines worldviews centered around humans. By highlighting the significance of the unseen, Pivnik emphasizes recognizing and appreciating the invisible forces that shape our world.
“Super Natural” invites us to explore human life and nature’s interconnection. This exhibition combines the tangible and the ethereal, showcasing how these four artists interpret the natural world.
Nicole Burko was born in Toronto, Canada in 1987. Her work is informed by her own explorations of the ocean through freediving—the act of taking a single breath of air and descending into the ocean as far as humanly possible. The resulting psychological landscape paintings investigate the vastness of the natural world through an intimate lens. Nicole is currently pursuing an MFA degree from Columbia University.
Lee Pivnik is an artist living in Miami, Florida. Working across disciplines, he takes inspiration from living systems and other species to imagine a future based on mutualistic relationships instead of extractive economies. Permeating his practice is the idea of entanglement – the touching, changing, mutating relationships between species and landscapes. Through these intimacies, worlds arise —worlds of decay and degradation or verdant flourishing. His drawings, sculptures, and installations share this relational quality, referencing fungal networks, epiphytic plants, and emergent animal architectures that inhabit South Florida. He co-directs the Institute of Queer Ecology (IQECO), an ever-evolving collaborative organism that brings peripheral solutions to environmental degradation to the forefront of public consciousness. IQECO projects are interdisciplinary but grounded in the theoretical framework of queer ecology, a tool for understanding ourselves, our environments, our biologies, and our collaborations through queer lenses.
Lauren Shapiro currently lives and works in Miami, Florida. Shapiro received an MFA from the University of Miami in 2016. She integrates ceramics and technology to uncover and communicate insights from the natural world, often collaborating with scientists to influence projects by the diverse ecosystems of South Florida and beyond. Selected solo exhibitions include “Future Pacific” (2020) at Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami, Florida; “Garden Portals” (2021) at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, Florida; and “Fragile Terrains” (2018) at Bianca Boekel Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil. Selected group exhibitions include “Intricate Oceans, Coral in Contemporary Art” (2023) with Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; “Design Miami” (2021) with Todd Merrill Studio, Miami, Florida; and “Projektraum M54” (2017) in Basel, Switzerland. Shapiro received awards and commissions from the New York Foundation for the Arts (2023), Knight Foundation(2021), Andy Warhol Foundation (2019), Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs (2020-2023), and Art in Public Places (2021,2022). Her artwork is part of the Soho House Art Collection and Jorge M. Perez Collection.
Magnus Sodami received his BFA from the New World School of the Arts in Miami,FL. His most recent exhibitions include Staring at a Sun that Never Sets, The Pit, Palm Springs; Barrier, KDR305, Miami, FL; Beach, Nino Mier, New York. He has participated at residencies at the Agder Kunst Center, Norway; The Vermont Studio Center, VT; The Airie Residency, National Everglades Park, FL, and The Deering Estate Year-long Residency, Miami, FL; He lives and works in Miami, FL.
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