Stepping out of the elevator and into the second-floor gallery of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, one catches a glimpse of the verdant sculpture garden below. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame an inviting landscape filled with native trees and spotted with intriguing forms.
One's gaze inevitably shifts to the large-scale paintings that line the gallery's walls. Grays, charcoals, and browns replace the bright greens and blue skies. You may even recognize a painting or two. That's because with "Rats," her first solo museum exhibition, Janiva Ellis has re-created her own versions of familiar works in the service of an urgent purpose.