It seems that after this weekend (which is Second Saturday Art Walk in Wynwood), the art openings may slow down a bit for the next few days, there are plenty of events …
DCG OPEN
David Castillo Gallery will present DCG Open, an annual survey exhibition of 66 emerging and established Miami-based artists who work in a variety of disciplines including painting, drawing, video, photography, sound, prints, fabric and sculpture. The show, which will include work by TJ Ahearn, Xavier Cortada, Cynthia Cruz, Virginia Fifield, Francie Bishop Good, Alvaro Ilizarbe a.k.a. Freegums, Bethany Krull, Sinisa Kukec, Sarah Michelle Rupert, Tawnie Silva, John Zoller and 53 others, will open 7-10 p.m. Saturday and run through July 3 at David Castillo Gallery, 2234 N.W. Second Ave., Miami. The work pictured here is “R” from AdrienneRose Gionta’s series ARG (as in AdrienneRose 
Gionta). It is the sound and color vibrations of her saying her initials, ARG.
KRIS KNIGHT: A DEADLY NIGHTSHADE
I saw some of the characters that Canadian artist Kris Knight painted a few years ago and was fascinated by them, though I couldn’t initially determine exactly what drew me in. Recently, when I learned of his upcoming show at Spinello Gallery, I began looking at his more recent works and found them as compelling as I did a few years back. His characters, with their red noses and flushed faces. look cold, yet with a fire and energy that clearly burn from within and seem almost capable of melting the significantly colder exterior that surrounds it. The key word, I think, is almost. His characters seem on the cusp of a beautiful meltdown, one that may expose the core they’ve been protecting most of their lives. I think we all have cores we work fiercely to protect and within those cores, beautiful things are buried, but unraveling takes trust … and the moment of near unraveling seems to be something Knight depicts well. I called Knight last week and talked to him about his work in the show that opens 7-10 p.m. Saturday at Spinello Gallery, 155 N.E. 38th St., No. 101, Miami. Call 786-271-4223. Here’s a link to the Q&A with Kris Knight.
MASKS EXPLORED AT MYSTIC VILLAGE EXHIBITION
Mystic Visage, an exhibition that explores “the idea of masks and their mythical, practical, poetic and universal functions, such as protection and disguise,” will open Saturday at World Class Boxing, the Miami-based art space of the Debra and Dennis Scholl Collection. The show, curated by the collection’s director Desiree Cronk, will include sculpture, photography and drawing from the collection, as well as works by Fergus Greer, Adam Helms, William J. O’Brien, Gabriel Orozco, Cindy Sherman, Josh Smith Jack Strange, Lee Materazzi and Pepe Mar (whose work is pictured here). The show, the second Cronk has curated at the collection (the first was 2008’s Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood), will open 7-10 p.m. Saturday and run through July 31 at World Class Boxing, 170 N.W. 23rd Street, Miami.
POPSTARS AND COKEHEADS
Popstars and Cokeheads, Greg Mike’s solo show, opens Saturday at Butter Gallery in Miami.
A description of the show from Butter: “Face it: Life is a racket. One high-decibel con game from cradle to grave. As infants we’re rattled by voices comin’ outta the boob tube tellin’ us to buy this and try that. As we age the voices multiply by the number of years we’ve got notched on our belt. They scream from the street, they bombard us from our Inbox, they slip up from behind under cover of night and embed themselves in 
our dreams. Each and every one of them trying to shake us down. So whaddya do? Well if you’re Greg Mike you take those voices, lock ‘em to the goods they rode in on, and then give ‘em a good solid smack. You kick ‘em off their pedestal, call ‘em what they are, and then you blow ‘em all outta proportion.”
At the core of the show are Mike’s crazy little faces, each with its own character (see accompanying pics) on dozens of soda cans and three-foot -tall barrels. There’s also a whole wall full of his Loud Mouth pieces, as shown in one of the accompanying photos. The show opens 7-11 p.m. Saturday and runs through July 31 at Butter Gallery, 2303 N.W. Second Ave., Miami. Call 305-303-6254. Afterwards there’s an after-party featuring music by DJ Contra down the street at Bardot.
POP AND CIRCUMSTANCE
Artist and photographer Timothy Leistner will introduce Romance Man, a superhero character he painted into his photographic images, at Pop and Circumstance, a show that opens Saturday at Artist’s Eye Fine Art Gallery in Dania. Romance Man travels throughout the world in his bright yellow suit, blue cape, and with his heart on his sleeve, as he carries roses and searched for love and romance. Listener wants viewers to contemplate why romance always seems just out of reach and whether it really exists 
or is just a comic superhero.
Other artists exploring elements of the pop art movement in this show are Jacklyn Laflamme (see her work at right), who will introduce a series of acrylic on canvas paintings and her Big Mouth wall sculptures, Francisco Sheuat, who will display artworks made from recycled soda cans, Rick Esposito, who will exhibit acrylic paintings of dots in series and Andrew Horton, who will display family portrait paintings of dinosaurs.
The show opens 7-10 p.m. Saturday and runs through July 13 at Artist’s Eye Fine Art Gallery, 38 S. Federal Highway, Dania Beach. Call 954-554-3153.
ABANDONED
Abandoned, a site-specific installation by Miami artist and New World School of the Arts professor Karen Rifas, is named for disappearing forests and ongoing irreversible damage to the ecological system. Rifas gathered millions of leaves and stored them in large containers for her installation that will serve as a laboratory, archive, and storage facility, and now viewers will classify and catalog leaves from native forests which are in danger of becoming extinct. “Abandoned” combines our need to discuss environmental issues with our need to sustain, organize and classify. Her show opens 7-10 p.m. Saturday and will run through Oct. 2 at De La Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space, 23 N.E. 41st St., Miami. Call 305-576-6112.
12 ARTISTS EXPLORE 2012
The number 12 rules in Miami this weekend, when 12 artists will gather on June 12 for the exhibition 20(12). Miami artist Kiki Valdes organized this show in which artists will explore their predictions and feelings about the year 2012.
Participating artists are Reinier Gamboa, Kiki Valdes, David Tamargo, George Sanchez-Calderon, David Marsh, Brian Gefen, John Sevigny, Raul Perdomo, Alvaro Ilizarbe a.k.a. Freegums (whose “Grand Master” is pictured here), Eric Torriente, Johnny Robles and Oliver Sanchez. The show opens 6-11 p.m. Saturday and runs through July 7 at Miami Art Space, 244 N.W. 35th St., Miami.
THE LOVABLE MAD HATTER
The Lovable Mad Hatter solo exhibit, featuring the art of Matthew Valera and friends Linda Nilly Sweetie, Alice Groll and Donna Haynes, will run 7 to midnight on Saturday at The Bubble, 810 N.E. Fourth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Dooms De Pop and Alexander will perform. Cost: $10 includes drinks.
CULTURE AS USUAL
Culture as Usual, an art exhibition presented by Art-n-Hustle and WeMerge Magazine will open Saturday night with works by 16 artists including Loren Squier, Danielle Osmanski, Craig McInnis, Katya Neptune, Trek6, Nate Dee, Jose Gaddi, Cassie “Kazilla” Williams and Sasha Sydnor (whose art is pictured here). The Ma!criado & Prescription Death. The art party is 7 to midnight Saturday at Paul Fisher Gallery, 433 Flamingo Drive, West Palm Beach. Cost $5.
LAST CHANCE: CLOSING RECEPTION 
The closing of Malice in Wonderland featuring work by Yamel Molerio, Lu Coxhead, Luis Diaz and Ray Azcuy, is 7-1o p.m. Saturday in the Design District’s Buena Vista Building, 180 N.E. 39th Street, Suite 120, Miami. the art, says curator Yamel Molerio, explores “the tragic and inevitable loss of childhood innocence, life as a meaningless puzzle and death as a constant and underlying menace.” Pocket of Lollipops will perform at the closing.
