smoke the moon is proud to present the work of Alyse Ronayne and Francisco Mendes Moreira at NADA Miami 2022. The Santa Fe-based gallery ’s debut NADA exhibition features vibrant drawing, painting and sculpture. By reusing discarded materials not often associated with fine art, playful rebels Ronayne and Moreira both delight in exceptionally earnest expression that may only be sustained outside convention.

A collector of cultural ephemera and symbolism, Santa Fe-based artist Alyse Ronayne composes her works on paper as a curator arranges a gallery: graphite and charcoal renderings of forgotten typefaces, cattle brands, and tattoos are placed deliberately within an oak frame, unobstructed by glass. Opalescent mylar, bits of confetti and nail polish accent patterned surfaces that could infinitely iterate, reflecting and shifting from one angle to the next. Mounted drawings become sculptural objects. Ronayne is interested in the materiality of these components, influenced by contemporary advertising, visual design elements, queer theory, and a commitment to abstraction.

Portuguese artist Francisco Mendes Moreira similarly reprocesses various debris on which to project his inner world. Humble bits of wood and worn blankets form the bedrock to a melodic landscape of vivid abstractions, text, and vague figurations. A cereal box serves as both canvas and artists’ palette where oil pastels mash and warp into debauched, molten blooms. There is an ease to Moreira’s self-taught practice that acts as a foil to Ronayne’s analytical creativity. Still, the two arrive at a complementary formal style that coyly eludes immediate explanation in service of authentic material investigation.

NADA Miami 2022 is open Wednesday, November 30 through Saturday, December 3rd at Ice Palace Studios. Visit smoke the moon in Booth 5.15.