Revealing Lauren Shapiro: One of One

Last Saturday, we gathered at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden to celebrate Lauren Shapiro, our first member-commissioned artist of Season Eight. The master ceramicist, mold maker, public artist, and self-proclaimed archive nerd invited us to explore the gardens with a sunset treasure hunt.

The rules were simple: pick a riddle and find the corresponding plant or tree to collect your piece. Some Collector members enlisted the support of AI assistants (true story!), while others worked with Patrons and friends.

In the clearing of the urban oasis, we regrouped to unbox and reveal 50 visually-arresting, labor-intensive ceramic sculptures that highlight elements of South Florida’s landscape—fruits, aquatic animals, plants, crystal formations, and more. These elements come from Shapiro’s extensive research-backed library of molds and glazes, some of which were developed during our diving excursion with her last year. Each piece for our community is one of a kind—50 different glazes and 50 different arrangements.

Shapiro explained that she had never separated a piece before, but wanted each of us to be connected through this one body of work. Describing her studio as a pseudo nail salon with over 800 glazes on the wall, she chose her top 50 for our community commission. Combined, they form Nebula: a single, large interconnected work that unites us all, named for its galactic spectrum of glazes and compositions.

A good idea belongs to everyone. In our reflection on 2025, “community is everything, community is what we build together.” We are grateful to build and share Commissioner with all of you.

Relive the night in photography by Chantal Lawrie.

Download the riddles and see all the works with installation instructions here.