Ennyman's Territory: Check Out Hubert Phipps' Ascending in the Miami Design District

If you’re in the vicinity of Miami and want to see an unusual art show, check out Hubert Phipps: Ascending at the ARES Modena showroom in the Miami Design District. The showroom features an ARES S1 supercar model surrounded by paintings and sculptures by the artist.

Cars and art have a long history together. A noteworthy aspect of this show is not the car, but the artist who was himself a racecar driver on the SCCA circuit from 1979 to 1985, the same years Paul Newman won four national championships racing in the Sports Car Club of America. Phipps’ team mates included Danny Sullivan, who won the Indianapolis 500 despite a 360 degree spin-out late in the race, and Michael Andretti of the legendary Andretti family. Considering the caliber of the competition, it is impressive that Phipps had numerous race wins and one year captured the SCCA Formula Atlantic National Championship.

Hubert Phipps comes from a noteworthy family as well. His grandfather Henry Phipps, Jr. grew up with Andrew Carnegie, making a fortune in steel and real estate. Like Cargnegie he devoted his later years to philanthropic pursuits.

As an artist, Phipps became known for his paint pigment drawings and abstract sculptures. The materials he has explored working with include steel, bronze, wood, composites, plaster, glass and marble.

Rocket

"Hubert Phipps' racing background and his passion for automobiles shine through in the kinetic energy of his sculptures," said Mo Elarishy of ARES Miami. The artist's monument-sized Rocket was recently slected for an Art in Public Places program spearheaded by the Boca Raton Museum of Art. (For the unfamiliar, Boca Raton is within eyeshot of Cape Kennedy on Florida's east coast.

Aviation is another facet of the Phipps heritage. Hubert Phipps acquired his aviators license at age 16 and has logged more than 4,000 hours of flight time. According to the press release he likes to fly his Airbus Helicopter H-120 to Florida from his art studio in Virginia.

ARES has its headquarters in Modena, Italy where the world's most legendary automakers have been active: Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and Pagani, a European equivalent of Silicon Valley except these designers, craftsmen and engineers apply their imaginations and skills to an alternate passion.

The Ascending show will be on display here in Miami through January 31.
Miami Design District: 151 NE 41 Street