Coconut Grove residents will get a say in choosing a new public sculpture headed for their neighborhood.
Friends of The Underline announced Tuesday, July 14, that four artists have been shortlisted for the inaugural Underline Plinth project, a biennial public art program backed by the National Endowment for the Arts. The winning sculpture will be installed at the Inter Grove Gallery, 2771 SW 27th Ave., as part of The Underline's Phase Three expansion set to open by the end of 2026.
The four finalists and their proposed works:
- Carlos Betancourt and Alberto Latorre — "A Forest for Many"
- Robert Chambers — "Growth Rings"
- Morel Doucet — "A Seat at The Table"
- Kennedy Yanko — "Still Becoming"
The project asks artists to respond to a central question: What does it mean to be an American? The commission honors America250, the national commemoration of the country's 250th anniversary.
"This inaugural Underline Plinth project provides an opportunity to bring together art, history, and civic reflection in a public space that welcomes all," said Debi Wechsler, chair of The Underline Art Advisory Council, in the announcement.
Who are the finalists?
All four artists have deep Miami ties. Betancourt, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1966, has work in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He and architect Latorre previously collaborated on "Archaic Substance" at Miami International Airport and the Miami Reef Star underwater sculpture for The ReefLine.
Chambers, born in Miami in 1958, holds a BFA from the University of Miami and has sculptures in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Miami Art Museum.
Doucet, born in Haiti in 1990, is a Miami-based ceramicist and printmaker whose work examines climate gentrification and displacement in Black diaspora communities. He received the 2024 Harpo Foundation Visual Artist Award and the 2024 Miami-Dade Individual Artist Grant.
Yanko, born in St. Louis in 1988, lives and works in Miami. She constructs large-scale sculptures from found metal and paint skins. In 2026, her work is included in "In Minor Keys" at the 61st Venice Biennale. Her pieces are held by MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Pérez Art Museum Miami.
What happens next
The Underline Art Advisory Council plans to share the final proposals with the public later in 2026 to gather community input before making its selection. The council will weigh artistic excellence, public feedback, and alignment with the America250 commemoration.
Friends of The Underline targets a spring 2027 installation for the winning sculpture.
About The Underline
The Underline is a 10-mile linear park and urban trail running beneath Miami's Metrorail from Brickell to Dadeland South. Phase One opened in 2021; Phase Two added 2.25 miles of trail in 2024. Phase Three, which includes the Inter Grove Gallery as an open-air market and cultural hub, is set to open by the end of 2026. The nonprofit has raised more than $25.7 million in private funds to date.
