The Vastness of the Cosmos

Artist Chris Rivers Debuts New Collection in Miami

Story and photography courtesy of Arlo Hotels

Arlo Hotels, an independent, experience-driven lifestyle hotel brand, is proud to partner with London’s Pontone Gallery and artist Chris Rivers, who headlined the brand’s Living Room Gallery program at Arlo Wynwood during Miami Art Week in December 2024. The 217-room hotel, located in the heart of Miami Art Week’s creative programming, showcased a special installation at its third-floor gallery, serving as an open exhibition for the public. Curated by Jasmine Arakel, the exhibition, entitled Cosmos, features exuberant works in which the artist utilizes the materiality of paint to create images of otherworldly expanses and environments.

“I’m thrilled to showcase my new exhibition at Arlo Wynwood,” says Rivers, whose work is on view through February in the hotel’s gallery spaces. “Cosmos is about the things you don’t notice at first and serves as a contrast between innocence and something darker.”

Arlo Wynwood’s third-floor gallery showcases Rivers’s dedication to exploring the beauty and vastness of the cosmic system, the complexities and contradictions of the human condition, and the infinite possibilities of the universe. Rivers often introduces soft light filters through layers of complementary tones, swelling with dramatic, saturated color before receding into the image. Upon closer inspection, the clouds are populated by minute details—flowers, insects, figures, and other characters—scattered across the painted surface, offering a sense of scale to the abstract haze. Distinct rococo elements are also detectable, as curvilinear motifs fade in and out of the vibrant, bustling compositions.

Arakel, who has had an extensive career as a creative producer, collaborated with the Arlo Hotels team to create this edition of the Living Room Gallery for Miami Art Week. The program, which the brand launched with Arakel in Spring 2023, allows guests and the public to experience and appreciate collector-grade art in a welcoming and accessible environment.

“Ultimately, I would like visual arts to have a place in people’s lives the same way fashion or music does,” explains Arakel. “Through prolonged exposure and accessibility, I believe it can be achieved, and we’re already beginning to see a cultural shift toward it.”

Cosmos is about the things you don’t notice at first and serves as a contrast between innocence and something darker.

Since its opening in 2022, Arlo Wynwood has served as a cultural hub for art enthusiasts. The property has over 250 pieces of art, reflecting its community. For example, on the serene yoga deck, Florida-based collage artist Ari Robinson created a plexiglass mural featuring overlapping organic shapes of varying sizes and hues that produce unique color combinations, shadows, and reflections for a feeling of levity and calm.

The property’s exterior walls feature works by Miami-based artist Hoxxoh, known for his “spheres of life” that illustrate the motions of space and time, and MILAGROS Collective, whose cofounders Felici Asteinza and Joey Fillastre created site-specific work that explores the history of the community through striking arrangements of color and lines. The hand-painted Aztec symbols embodying the outdoor planters throughout the hotel’s Higher Ground lounge are by Miami native Johnnie Manfrediz. Other artists featured throughout the hotel include Alain Castoriano, Coruna Luna, Jessica Poundstone, Joe Geis, Lauren Williams, Matthias Lupri, Ryan Coleman, and Tom Abbiss. When the hotel opened, it also partnered with pioneering “phygital” (physical + digital) artist Brooke Einbender to design each of the hotel’s elevators with 3D decals that reflect the intersection of where art and technology meet.

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Chris Rivers’s exhibition will be on view at Arlo Wynwood through February 28, 2025. To see more from Rivers, follow him @chrisriversart. Arlo Wynwood is at 2217 NW Miami Court. For more information or to book a stay, visit ArloHotels.com/wynwood or call (786) 522-6600. For news, updates, and a little wanderlust inspiration from all Arlo locations, follow @arlohotels on Instagram.