Deering Estate AT Program – Salvaged: Nature’s Readymades by Yusimy Lara
Deering Estate in partnership with Miami Dade College’s Kendall Campus Art Gallery presents Salvaged: Nature’s Readymades by Yusimy Lara, curated by Liliam Dominguez. This solo exhibition will open with a reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sep. 3, at MDC Kendall Campus Art Gallery, and will remain on view at MDC’s Kendall Campus Art Gallery through Oct. 1, 2026. Additional public programs and events accompanying the exhibition include a guided visit and an artist talk at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 19th. Additional programming will be announced on MDC’s website and social media channels.
Salvaged: Nature’s Readymades presents new work by Miami-based artist Yusimy Lara, who transforms storm-stripped palm fronds, sea-worn shells, and asphalt residue into sculptural forms that speak to memory, migration, and geologic time. Working almost exclusively with concrete, rebar, and asphalt, materials more associated with urban development than fine art, Lara reverses their usual function, using the very substances of erasure to preserve and honor discarded natural fragments. Rooted in the shared limestone shelf beneath Havana and Miami, the exhibition considers the artist’s own journey, from Cuba, through Italy, to South Florida, as a kind of sediment: layered, compressed, and never fully erased.
Exhibition Dates: Sept. 3, 2026 – Oct. 1, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, 6-8 p.m. RSVP online through Eventbrite.
Artist Talk: Sept. 19, 2026, 2-3 pm
Location: MDC Kendall Campus Art Gallery, 11011 SW 104th St. Miami, FL 33176
Free & open to the public.
About the Artist
Yusimy Lara is a Miami-based visual artist born in Havana, Cuba (1979). After years in Rome absorbing European art and culture, she pursued a BFA in sculpture at New World School of the Arts. Inspired by nature, Lara works across materials, from bronze to sawdust, often incorporating an element of danger. Her current work explores human origins, and the beauty found where living things meet built environments. Lara has exhibited throughout Miami, including at the Deering Estate, Lowe Art Museum, Kampong Botanical Garden, and Fredric Snitzer Gallery, and has received grants including the Miami Individual Artists Award and the Corral & Cathers Grant. She is an associate artist at Bakehouse Art Complex and a resident at Miami International Fine Arts Center.
About the Deering Estate AT Program
The Deering Estate AT program consists of a joint venture with other cultural institutions to showcase Deering Estate Artists-in-Residence (AIRs) outside the Estate. It aims to enhance each institution’s reach and resources to achieve a common goal: expanding the artists’ cultural reach by making diverse artistic expressions accessible to a broader audience. The program fosters creative synergy and community connections through art exhibitions, cultural performances, and dynamic programming. The Deering Estate AT program exemplifies the Estate’s commitment to supporting current and past AIRs and elevating their practice at every stage of their careers while honoring the spirit of innovation and discovery that the Deering Estate inspires and underscoring the importance of alliances that bridge institutional boundaries.
Cultural Arts Programming at the Deering Estate is made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, and The Deering Estate Foundation, Inc.
About Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution which does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, ethnicity, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or genetic information. To obtain more information about the College’s equal access and equal opportunity policies, procedures, and practices, please contact the College’s Equity Officer: Cindy Lau Evans, Director, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, and ADA Coordinator, 11011 SW 104 Street, Room 1102-01, Miami, FL 33176, (305) 237-2577 (Voice) or 711 (Relay Service), [email protected].
Miami Dade College is committed to ensuring the accessibility and usability of digital communications by all users and/or recipients, regardless of technology or access method. To ensure accessibility, the College strives to adhere to the standards established by Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Levels A and AA standards.