MIAMI, FL.- Two exhibitions, one featuring the mystical and emotional impressions of a single artist, and the other the depictions of artists throughout history and around the world, opened today at the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum.

The first of these exhibitions, The School of Night, centers on Cuban-American artist Arturo Rodríguez. According to curator Dr. Juan A. Martínez, “Rodríguez’s works on paper show a side of his art seldom seen; they are intimate and experimental, and comprise his latest and boldest series of drawings. Specifically, the peculiar occurrence of waking up at 3 am, strolling around his house, and wondering about everything and nothing, led Rodríguez to want to visualize such experiences. The drawings represent salient aspects of his home made unfamiliar by semi-darkness, the eerie silence of late night, and his restless state of mind. There are images of nightmarish masks from his collection, interacting with shadowy of himself and his wife, in disorienting spaces filled with vague objects; the night reigns and mystery abounds.”

In the second exhibition, the Frost Art Museum draws from its extensive and multi-cultural permanent collection to present 25 sq. inches-The Faces of the Permanent Collection. The 53 works included in this exhibition encompass a wide temporal and geographical range; the intent is to focus on the face, to show how, through the use of paintings, prints, photographs, and sculptures, different artists approach the process of capturing and representing its features and expressions.

Curator Klaudio Rodríguez notes that, “As one of the most scrutinized and depicted subjects, the human face – the most prominent features of which typically are situated within a space of approximately 25 square inches – has perpetually captivated and inspired artists and artisans. From ancient Egypt to the Renaissance, from photography to Pop Art, man’s fascination with the face is eternal. Considered collectively and presented in a variety of narrative contexts, juxtapositions, and associations, certain thematic threads emerge with the intent of providing a provocative and engaging forum for the viewer to reconsider the role of the face not only in the art historical narrative, but also in a contemporary one.” 25 sq. inches also runs through August 24.