Because there was a wedding in the foyer of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art – there were roses in water on set-up tables – I could not access the exhibit I went there for, something about visualizing mathematics. Instead, I went into the main exhibit area where Miami-based artist Federico Uribe’s “Metamorphosis” showcase had been since last September. Perhaps then, surprise is an element that should be recommended.

Lining the bottom of the exhibit were paintbrush handles that resemble fish. Birds made of garden spades, water spigots and surgical masks hung from the rafters. “Build objects out of objects” is Uribe’s artistic statement. An exhibit attendee muttered the idiom “tongue-in-cheek” when noticing the context of cut-up novels as a bamboo forest, paperbacks in the shape of a tree, and a small corn field made from green-painted shovels. I noticed then, a horse made from leather and horseshoes.
Uribe is very reflective of nature, of its vital presence, its various ecosystems and its communicative paths. His sculptures and collage murals are perhaps what a person first sees. If you exit the main showcase area, there will be a doorway that frames a plastic maritime oasis: repurposed sea garbage as coral reef.

Also incorporated in his art catalog, Uribe sculps and weaves of many predatory animals – foxes, lions, tigers – from bullet shells and shotgun casings. Each of these sculptures are in playful poses, whether it be chasing the air or doing yoga.
Pulled from his website, Uribe says, “As a recurrent intention in my work, I encourage the viewer to discover, beyond the sole function of an object, an underlying symbolic and aesthetic reality where life overcomes death and beauty supplants destruction.”
Another room of his showcase features immigrants made out of suitcases. The exhibit ends on May 26.