I remember when Florida International University was comprised of five buildings, the student center was basically Gracy’s Grill with a pool hall and one menu, and the museum was limited to a tiny little area in Primera Casa.

Well, no longer! FIU’s campus has blown up into who knows how many buildings that include a law and medical school, the student center looks like a an airport terminal, and that tiny museum is now The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, a lovely glass-encased, several-story building that is far more of a suitable fit than its former self.

Within the walls of The Frost Art Museum, Arturo Rodriguez’, School of Night exhibit, is currently on display through August 24th.  Arturo Rodriguez is a Cuban artist, who has been exiled in Miami since 1973.  His work is powerful, incorporating elements of his life, intertwined with the workings of night – its darkness, silence, and the anxiousness resulting from insomnia.  I have to say how wonderful this series is.  It’s a refreshing change of pace to see the beauty found in the intricacy of charcoal on paper.  The first drawing I encountered was the one on the cover, School of Night, XVI; its style was reminiscent of a favorite artist of mine, Chagall.

Arturo shared with me that this series was created over a series of two years, and as his bio on the webpage states, he created them throughout many sleepless nights. The pieces in this exhibit were dark, penetrating and inspiring.  If you have not seen Arturo’s work, please visit The Frost and let yourself be seduced by the uncertainty of night.