Nina Johnson Opens Three Art Week Exhibitions and Debuts at Art Basel Miami Beach

Nina Johnson will present three exhibitions for Miami Art Week alongside its first appearance at Art Basel Miami Beach. The gallery’s program includes Acid Bath House, curated by Jarrett Earnest; Star People, a solo exhibition by Dara Friedman; and Neon Sun, a series of outdoor works by Emmett Moore. All open on December 1 with a public reception from 6–9 p.m.

Left: Katie Stout, Beverly, 2025. Courtesy of the artist and Nina Johnson. Right: Patrick Dean Hubbell, You Guided Our Prayers For Generations, We Will Continue To Persevere, 2025. Courtesy of the artist and Nina Johnson.

Acid Bath House, installed in the Front Gallery, brings together more than sixty works by twenty-six artists. Earnest combines archival material from queer counterculture with new works from emerging and mid-career artists, creating a dense, kaleidoscopic environment. The exhibition expands on his interest in intimacy, cultural history, and the expressive potential of visual language. Works include velvet sculpture by Anna Betbeze, glitter-and-pearl paintings by Reuben Patterson, liquid mirror wall pieces by Carrie Yamaoka, holographic lenticulars by Jake Brush, and a commissioned sculpture by Sean Bennett. Participating artists range from Steven Arnold and Genesis Breyer P-Orridge to Laurel Sparks, Chris Udemezue, Savannah Knoop, and Nicole Wittenberg.

Left: Dara Friedman, Felt, 2025. Courtesy of the artist and Nina Johnson. Right: Dara Friedman, Mirrored Angel, 2025. Courtesy of the artist and Nina Johnson.

In the Upstairs Gallery, Dara Friedman’s Star People connects structural forms to cosmic ideas through sculpture, installation, photography, and light-based works. Drawing on Indigenous astronomy, Classical Chinese medicine, and musical poetics, Friedman explores rhythm, kinship, and energetic exchange. Pieces such as Star People (Seven Sisters), Neptune Rising, and the installation Alligator Eyes (Carpet Hill) consider how bodies relate to celestial systems and how perception shifts between physical and atmospheric realms.

Left: Emmett Moore, Stick Beam Arm Chair, 2025. Courtesy the artist and Nina Johnson. Right: Emmett Moore, Coral Chrome Lamp (Star), 2025. Courtesy the artist and Nina Johnson.

In the outdoor courtyard, Emmett Moore’s Neon Sun reimagines the space as a functional environment. Known for merging design and architecture with material reuse, Moore transforms industrial remnants into chairs, benches, tables, and lighting. The works employ repurposed I-beams, grating, and cast impressions of natural forms, finished in neon pink. The pieces reference Miami’s architectural landscape, ecological fragility, and the visual codes of local nightlife.

Left: Keith Lafuente, CRUMBS (IN VENICE), 2025. Courtesy of the artist and Nina Johnson. Right: Jacob Brush, This Unremarkable Life, Lenticular Series, 2025. Courtesy of the artist and Nina Johnson.

For its debut at Art Basel Miami Beach, Nina Johnson presents a booth focused on artists who have shaped the gallery’s direction over time. The selection highlights material experimentation and perspectives rooted in history, place, and identity. Featured artists include Anna Betbeze, Rochelle Feinstein, Dara Friedman, Patrick Dean Hubbell, Emmett Moore, George Nelson Preston, Nathlie Provosty, and Katie Stout.

By ML Staff.