under the bridge art space is pleased to announce the exhibition far becomes near,  a collaboration and individual series by artists Izel Vargas and Sharon Lee Hart. Opening on March 16, 2025 from 4-6 pm at 12425 NE 13thAvenue (ground floor) North Miami, Florida. The exhibition is free to the public and runs through May 25, 2025 with the closing from noon-3 pm.

Izel Vargas and Sharon Lee Hart bridge the gap of distance and time in this exhibition. Their co-created work is a visual conversation constructed from scraps, tests, and unfinished pieces. Individual iconography melds with shared experiences through photo-based mixed media. Elements are cut, layered, ripped, and adhered, creating a push and pull—a challenge to the ego and an exercise in trust. Each work represents a pause in the conversation, standing as a resolved moment while always holding the potential to resume.

Hart and Vargas both explore the concept of place in their long-term projects. Hart’s photo-based series, Along a Shadowed Shore, centers on the coastal ecosystems of South Florida, emphasizing a one-mile radius in Delray Beach. The shoreline is a transitory space where earth and sea meet, marked by tidal shifts, erosion, and climate change. Using experimental, sustainable processes, she incorporates local algae and plant materials to capture the essence of the place. Through cameraless techniques, cyanotypes, and other methods, her work also connects to themes of conservation and ephemerality. Vargas’s mixed media works examine the context of borderlands to reveal the ever-changing face of the Southeast—highlighting regions like Florida where the crossroads of the Old and New Worlds give rise to increasingly international communities. He investigates how personal and cultural histories negotiate these evolving territories, often with a sense of humor. Actively seeking sites of cultural hybridity within communities—spaces familiar to immigrants and exiles—he uncovers intersections of diverse cultures that provide rich visual narratives and a home away from home.

Sharon Lee Hart bio:   https://sharonleehart.com/home.html    

Sharon Lee Hart is a South Florida-based artist exploring ecology, ephemerality, and time through experimental and cameraless photography. She also makes collages, mixed media works, and artist books. While maintaining an active studio practice, Hart serves as an Associate Professor of Art at Florida Atlantic University. With an environmental focus, she has also served as an artist-in-residence at Joshua Tree National Park (Joshua Tree, CA), The Hambidge Center for Creative Arts & Sciences (Rabun Gap, GA), and The Studios of Key West (Key West, FL). Hart received the 2023 SECAC Artist’s Fellowship Award. Her work is in several permanent collections including the King County Public Art Collection (Seattle, WA) and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, Missouri),and has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in the U.S. and internationally.

Izel Vargas, : tulpa, mixed media on panel

Sharon Lee Hart , Uncertain Tide, cyanotype

Izel Vargas bio:  :  https://izelvargas.com/home.html

Izel Vargas was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. A native of Alamo, TX, his upbringing along the US - Mexico border plays an important role in his art making process. Vargas received his BFA in 2004 from the University of Texas - Pan American and his MFA from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill in 2007.As an arts educator, he has worked with college students, at- risk youth, and taught courses at public art centers to both children and adults. Vargas has been invited to lecture at several notable institutions including Duke University, the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. The artist currently resides in South Florida and teaches painting, drawing and design courses at American Heritage School in Delray Beach.