By Lea Abito | Contributing Writer

As the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum begins a new cycle of exhibitions this month, existing exhibits are still on display for visitors to enjoy before they leave the museum’s galleries.

The Frost focuses on modern, contemporary and international art, spotlighting the colorful cultural landscape of Miami through its exhibits and permanent collection. 

“Cloud Museum” and “MOSAICO: Italian Code of a Timeless Art” did an excellent job at displaying Frost’s commitment to contemporary art and international artists, as well as its dedication to art history and traditional art forms.

Additionally, Frost’s new exhibits include “Grit & Grain: Four Decades of Lens-Based Practice at FIU,” on display until April 12, and the upcoming “David C. Driskell & Friends: Creativity, Collaboration and Friendship,” on display from Feb. 21 to July 19.

MOSAICO: Italian Code of A Timeless Art

“Pair of Mosaic Slab Fragments Depicting Dogs” from the Museum of Montecassino Abbey at the entrance of “MOSAICO” | Lea Abito, PantherNOW

“MOSAICO: Italian Code of a Timeless Art” is a unique exhibit. 

It revives centuries-old mosaics through immersive digital means, showing just how timeless the art form really is.

The exhibit also includes three physical mosaics displayed in the United States for the first time. These include a pair of mosaic dogs situated at the exhibit’s entrance, welcoming visitors to the exhibit, and a mosaic floor, loaned from the Museum of Roman Ships, shown in Frost’s lobby.

The gallery space, organized around seven region-themed stations, is a labyrinth. 

It journeys through over 2,000 years of Italy’s mosaic tradition and brings it to life for contemporary audiences.

Deepening the immersive experience, each station also corresponds with an audio guide from the Frost Art Museum app, providing useful historical context and details about the region and mosaics.

A digital display of the “Alexander Mosaic” from the House of Faun in Pompeii with detail shots of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia | Lea Abito, PantherNOW

Bringing antiquity to the present, visitors can see iconic pieces, like the “Alexander Mosaic,” that they may never have the opportunity to experience in person.

With its own large display, the Battle of Issus, as depicted in the mosaic, is brought to life with clear detail and close-ups, bringing you into the monumental scene. 

As visitors go from Rome to the sunken ruins of Baiae, music echoes in the dark atmosphere while the digital displays swirl with captivating mosaics. 

“MOSAICO” offers the chance to experience another era and understand how an ancient art form continues to shape the world and modern creativity.  It blends historic mosaics with immersive digital displays, creating a fresh new look into Italy’s visual history and its lasting influence. 

Located on the second floor of the Frost, “MOSAICO” will be on view until Feb. 22. 

Eduardo Navarro: Cloud Museum

Eduardo Navarro’s “Cloud Museum” garments, which are worn by dancers in the performance piece | Lea Abito, PantherNOW

What would it feel like to be a cloud?

That is the question Eduardo Navarro asks audiences.

Located on the third floor of the Frost Art Museum, “Cloud Museum” speaks to imagination. It is performance art that seeks to expand the audience’s understanding of the natural world. 

The cloud-like costumes and headpieces are meant to be worn by 25 dancers, connecting them in a choreographed performance of “collectively becoming a cloud.” 

The drawings on the walls are diagrams displaying the three ways “Cloud Museum” can be arranged and activated.

When not performed, “Cloud Museum” becomes a sculptural installation, as seen in the exhibit, though it will be performed again this spring at the Frost. 

The exhibition also includes Navarro’s initial drawings and daydreams, as well as video documentation of the performance from July 2025 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, allowing visitors to understand Navarro’s vision of becoming a cloud. 

Eduardo Navarro’s custom-designed cloud outfits become a sculptural installation when not in use | Lea Abito, PantherNOW

A guided meditation, accessed through a QR code, also allows visitors to participate, allowing their imagination to wander through the otherwise still exhibition. 

Visitors are meant to connect with an ethereal state of perception, leaving behind their body and the weight of life, instead floating into the sky and experiencing the weightlessness of a drifting cloud. 

“Cloud Museum” is about imagination, meditation and freedom. The idea is to learn “to allow nonhuman perspectives… to take control of the conscious body.”

With pink walls and angel-like mannequins, “Cloud Museum” takes you to the sky and will be on display until April 12.

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