Miami places where you can enjoy public art

When it comes to viewing art, it can be good to think outside the box.

It's not always necessary to go inside a boxy museum to view it. Miami has plenty of public art you can see from your car or while on a stroll.

Below we feature some highlights and if you want to explore all of Miami-Dade County's Art in Public Places, visit the Art in Public Places website for a comprehensive list of where to find it.

To keep up with latest news, sign up for the daily Miami on the Cheap newsletter. You can also follow us on Facebook and on Twitter and visit our Facebook group page.

Here's where to find public art around Miami, other than just the murals in Wynwood:

DOWNTOWN MIAMI

Photo courtesy of Miami-Dade Public Art Collection

Stephen P. Clark Government Center, 111 NW First St.

Designed by artists Claes Oldenberg Coosje Van Bruggen, “Dropped bowl with scattered slices and peels” is a 17-piece public sculpture. Made of cast concrete, steel plate and reinforced cast resin, it features a shattered bowl and scattered orange slices and peels, as the name implies.

Photo courtesy of Curator Project

Flow Brickell, 275 SW 6 St., Miami River District

Curator Project colorful sculpture “Conchy” by Colombian artist MÖRSKI is a a 10-foot-tall giant pink flamingo floatie sculpture that sits in front of the Flow modern residential apartment complex. The piece is made of polyurethane, fiberglass, polyester resin and marine-grade paint.

Photo courtesy of Miami-Dade Public Art Collection

Bayfront Park, 301 Biscayne Blvd.

The 29-ton “Slide Mantra” sculpture has been a fixture at Bayfront Park for more than two decades. Designed by Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi, it is carved from Carrarra marble with steps up the back and a spiral descent. The 10-foot-tall structure is not your typical park slide!

Sculptures around Miami-Dade College Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave.

The college is known for its extensive outdoor sculpture collection. Weave through the various buildings and see “The X” a nearly 23-foot-tall aluminum structure by Ronald Bladen, shaped like the letter. Elsewhere find “Dos Grandes,” an abstract aluminum curvilinear sculpture with intersecting elements.

Metrorail and Metromover station

Next time you're using public transportation around Downtown Miami, take a closer look. At the Brickell Metromover station you'll find a platform ceiling with hand formed painted ceramic tiles by artist Connie Lloveras. The Riverwalk station is adorned with the iconic red “M,” a concrete block and stucco sculpture created by artists Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt. At the Tenth Street Promenade station you'll find the jewel-colored mosaic and metal installation by Carlos Alves. Take a seat at the Omni/Freedom Tower Metromover station on platform benches by Buster Simpson made of polished terrazzo and debris from Hurricane Andrew.

Fly's Eye Dome at Palm Court

MIAMI DESIGN DISTRICT

Walk along a four block parcel, between NE 38 and 41 St. and NE 1 Ave. and 2 Ave. and be surrounded by public art! Keep an eye out for the “Dollar Gallon III” by Virgil Abloh a mixed media piece resembling a gas station's price sign at Paseo Ponti between NE 40 and 41 St.  “Surrounded by Space,” a public mural with psychedelic landscapes and surreal flowerbeds by the husband and wife duo Dabsmyla is at 160 NE 41 St. And in the heart of Palm Court Plaza is architect Buckminster Fuller's “Fly's Eye Dome,” a 24-foot prototype of one of his three fiberglass spheres. See it up close as you come up from the below ground Palm Court parking garage. See below for a link to information on public art tours in the Design District.

Daniel Arsham's “Miami Orange Bowl” sculpture at Marlins Park. Photo by Noah Kalina

LITTLE HAVANA

Marlins Park, 501 Marlins Way

Visit Marlins Park and outside you'll find an homage to the Orange Bowl stadium which once stood on this site. Artist Daniel Arsham created the public installation “Miami Orange Bowl” out of the bright orange namesake letters from the old stadium. Strategically placed either protruding from the ground and also vertically and horizontally, look closely and you'll see they spell out “Miami Orange Bowl.” Kinda neat and a nice reminder of the iconic football stadium that once stood here where many national championships were won.

Mark Handforth's “Electric Tree” installation at Griffing Park in North Miami. Photo courtesy of MOCA.

NORTH MIAMI

MOCA Plaza, 770 NE 125 St. and Griffing Park, NE 123 St. and W. Dixie Hwy., North Miami

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Downtown North Miami features public art installations throughout the year. The public art program, which debuted several years ago has to date featured poetry displayed on the building's exterior walls, historic digital photography, installations in the plaza's public fountain featuring everything from whimsical sculptures to steel and glass pieces. Even the palm trees have been adorned with artwork on occasion. There's no area of the public plaza that artists have left untouched. And behind the museum in their outdoor patio you will find the neon Paradise sign by Jack Pierson. And just a few blocks away at Griffing Park one of the large trees is adorned with Mark Handforth's neon “Electric Tree” installation.

CORAL GABLES

Throughout Downtown Coral Gables

Take a stroll through Downtown Coral Gables and you will often find a public art installation hanging overhead at Giralda Plaza, colorful murals by artist duo Chalk ‘n Brush at McBride Plaza and at the intersection of Miracle Mile and Ponce de Leon Blvd. You can also find public sculptures at various traffic circles just off LeJeune Road.

IF YOU LOVE ART:

Design District public art tours

PAMM free Second Saturdays online

Entertainment Calendar