Sister artists Monica and Natasha Lopez de Victoria have worked together the past 12 years creating contemporary multimedia installations that boast what they call an "electro-tropical" aesthetic.
In person, the women, who have gained an international reputation as the "TM Sisters," exude both playfulness and openness. Their work captures the creative flow of an electric world. How do they work so well together when many other siblings don't? They credit their clinical-psychologist father, who taught them to tune into the universe.
In performance, they say, their bodies become antennae that pick up energy, then translate it into a strong intuition that they use to create art and curate shows. This is clearly the case in their most recent project, "I Think It's in My Head," which they guest-curated and which opens at the Girls' Club in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m.
The multimedia and multiartist exhibition includes selected pieces from the Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz massive private collection. Each piece in some way tells the story of a supernatural mystery. The exhibit consists of nearly 50 works culled from renowned artists like Barbara Kruger, Ana Mendieta, Tracey Emin, Catherine Opie, and Claire Evans.
"The Tracey Emin piece is where we got the title, 'I Think It's in My Head,' " says Natasha of the British artist's sculpted blue and pink neon lettering mounted above the show, 20 feet or so. "It is all in neon and sets the mood for the other works.
"A piece by Loretta Lux, a simple one, also sets the mood and brings together the ideas in the show. It's of a young child with both his hands opened, and a red ball is floating between them."
In 2005, the TM Sisters garnered international acclaim for their experimental videogame-inspired short film, Superpowers, which toured Europe. Their contemporary multimedia artworks include video projections at nightclubs, where the girls can be seen VJ'ing; collages; sculptures; and paintings. Over the summer, the TM Sisters designed a label for beer company Beck's 2013 Art Labels Project. And they were tapped by French fashion apparel company Lacoste to install a whimsical alligator at its flagship Miami store on Lincoln Road.
The media over the years have taken notice of these Miami darlings with mentions in Art in America, the New York Times, and L'Official, and they've graced the cover of ARTNews. They have also been finalists in the Masterminds competition run by our sister paper Miami New Times and are often featured in its pages.
Monica, 32, and Natasha, 30, offer a refreshing perspective in the art world. Of the show at the Girls' Club, Monica explains: "The overall idea deals with the unknown that is out there in the world. A lot of the artists in the show are tapping into that through multiple media — whether it's an external or internal unknown. The fact is that an unknown quality is present in their work, [and] these artists... intended to have it there.
"We chose each piece that spoke to us. There are things that scientists haven't figured out yet, spiritual connections and what happens in nature that we haven't figured out. That's why we wanted Claire Evans to write the catalog — she just became the editor of a science fiction magazine, Omni, so she's well-known for her writing beyond her music." Evans does the vocals for Los Angeles-based indie-electro outfit Yacht and is a friend of the TM Sisters. She is also contributing an interactive piece to the exhibition.
Works by the TM Sisters are not included in the show, but they have treated the gallery walls with their signature lines of color. The walls are coated with a spectrum of five purple shades, from dark to light, that signify levels of consciousness. And the lines take the eye on a mystical ride. Pieces appear to move and slant off to the left or right. When the eye fixes on one color, say the medium grape hue, the rest of the purples trick the eye and seem to change.
"Spiritual truths, physical truths, and how these artists weave these themes together are what makes this collection so powerful," says Monica. "The unknown ideas behind the work or around the work are for the viewer to try to understand. Even the ones that are literal are a bit vague on indicating what is going on."