A Palmetto Bay-area artist who turns storm-stripped palm fronds, sea-worn shells and asphalt into sculpture will open a free exhibition at Miami Dade College's Kendall Campus on Sept. 3.
"Salvaged: Nature's Readymades," a solo show by Havana-born, Miami-based artist Yusimy Lara, runs through Oct. 1 at the MDC Kendall Campus Art Gallery in Building M, 11011 SW 104th St. The Deering Estate and MDC are co-presenting the exhibition, curated by Liliam Dominguez, according to a Miami-Dade County press release.
Lara works almost exclusively with concrete, rebar and asphalt, encasing discarded natural fragments in the very materials associated with urban development. The show draws on the shared limestone geology beneath Havana and Miami, treating Lara's own migration from Cuba through Italy to South Florida as accumulated layers of place and memory.
Admission is free.
"The art path leads my personal search for a deeper sense of belonging and I'm committed to developing a creative practice that draws attention to the subject of provenance in a visually poetic way," Lara writes on her website.
Lara arrived in the United States at 32 after working as a medical assistant in Italy for nearly a decade. She enrolled at Miami Dade College at 34, eventually earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture as valedictorian from New World School of the Arts in 2019. In a VoyageMIA interview that year, she called the decision to study art "the best decision I've ever made."
She has since exhibited at the Deering Estate, the Lowe Art Museum, The Kampong and Fredric Snitzer Gallery. She currently serves as Special Projects Coordinator for Miami-Dade County's Art in Public Places program and is an associate artist at Bakehouse Art Complex.
The exhibition is part of the Deering Estate AT program, a joint venture that showcases the Estate's artists-in-residence at partner institutions beyond the heritage park at 16701 SW 72nd Ave. in Palmetto Bay. "Salvaged" marks Lara's second Deering-linked show in 2026, following her participation in "Deering Contemporary: Here We Gather…" earlier this year.
The Deering Estate announced the show on Aug. 13, noting that free opening reception tickets are available through the Estate's Eventbrite page.
Upcoming events:
- Thursday, Sept. 3, 6–8 p.m. — Free opening reception, MDC Kendall Campus Art Gallery, Building M, 11011 SW 104th St. Tickets on the Deering Estate Eventbrite.
- Saturday, Sept. 19, 2 p.m. — Artist talk and guided visit with Yusimy Lara at the gallery.
