Arts + Recreation is a large-scale photographic mural by Miami-based artist Maritza Caneca. The work, which is the largest public art project the artist has realized to date, showcases three public swimming pools near Bakehouse Art Complex. By extension, the project connects and places Bakehouse within the larger network of community-serving cultural and recreational resources located throughout Miami’s urban core.
Born in Brazil, Caneca worked for decades as a cinematographer before transitioning into visual arts. In 2012, she returned to her grandparent’s farm in Brazil after many years away and was struck by the empty and abandoned pool, which had once been the epicenter of their family gatherings. It was then that her focus shifted towards photographing and documenting swimming pools, which she saw as a vessel filled with the history of a place and the stories of the people who inhabited it.
Through her practice, Caneca explores the visual symmetry in pool environments. Composed of dynamically-arranged wheatpaste posters, Arts & Recreation pays homage to architects Oscar Neimeyer (Brazil, 1907 - 1912) and Roberto Burle Marx (Brazil, 1904 - 1994) as well as the artist Athos Bulcão (Brazil, 1918 - 2008). In this new work, Caneca creates a large, abstract mural from square prints of photographs taken at Charles Hadley Park Pool in Liberty City, Gibson Park Pool in Overtown, and Williams Park Pool in Wynwood. All of these facilities are operated by the City of Miami Parks & Recreation Department, open to local residents, and held in the public trust.
Arts + Recreation provides Bakehouse with the opportunity to feature work being produced by one of its 100+ working artists on our walls, revealing the artistic production that lies within. The project aims to create greater connectivity by promoting communal resources in and around our neighborhood.
Located on the north-facing wall of our campus along NW 33nd Street, the work will be on view from November 13, 2020 through May 30, 2021 and is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
About the Artist
Maritza Caneca is a Brazilian-born, Miami-based multimedia artist, whose work explores natural and human-made pattern-making, particularly the geometric tendencies in the design of pools. Photographing both empty and undrained, private and public pools, she focuses on the sensory experiences and memories that are associated with such spaces. Most recently, Maritza Caneca: Pools was installed at the Miami International Airport through their MIA Galleries program. She is represented by Anita Schwartz Galeria de Arte in Rio de Janeiro.
Arts And Recreational Resources
In connection with this installation, Bakehouse has created a list of parks and cultural resources near our complex, which can be viewed below. Click on the icon on the top left of the map to access the legend and the icon on the top right to view a larger map.