THE ART OF SHOPPING

The Aventura Mall isn’t just a shopping destination; with more than 300 stores, it also doubles as an art museum. What better way to celebrate the mall’s fortieth anniversary than to stroll through its art walk? With smartphone in hand, you can scan the QR codes of the more than 20 murals, sculptures, and installations to learn about the work and the artist who created it. Here are a dozen of our favorite pieces. (aventuramall.com/arts)

BY CHRISTIANA LILLY

Veiled In A Dream By Wendell

CASTLE

This functional bronze sculpture doubles as a seat for weary shoppers to rest, which is fitting because Castle is considered the father of the American art furniture movement.

Gorillas In The Mist By The Haas Brothers

Designed for the Aventura Mall by the twin artists, this installation features three bronze gorillas, four bronze trees, five hand-carved marble benches, and a playful fountain.

LOVE BY ROBERT INDIANA

Philly’s brotherly love comes to Miami in the form of this sculpture by the same artist who created the original landmark. There have been more than 50 versions of the sign installed around the world.

FLORIDA’S SOUL BY JAUME PLENSA

An assemblage of steel letters, this pensive man sitting atop a koi pond is based on the artist.

This set of eyes following visitors outside of the Hermès store was created by the first woman artist to have a retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

TAKEAWAY

BY TOM FRIEDMAN

An UberEats driver on the go? This 13-foot-tall statue depicts the Greek god Hermes on the move while precariously balancing a stack of to-go containers on his head.

Rainbow Valley By Friends With You

Characters Cloudy and Peekoo entertain children in this interactive playground on the mall’s lower level, designed by Miami artists Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, otherwise known as Friends With You.

Back Of A Snowman By Gary Hume

This snowman isn’t missing his carrot nose and charcoal eyes— you’ve simply caught him from his back side.

The 12 masks have taken on different forms since they were first created in 2003, but each one represents the months of the year and the passage of time.

Art isn’t just to be admired but experienced. Visitors can slide down Höller’s 93-foot-tall slide tower, which echoes the themes present in his works inspired by amusement parks, playgrounds, and zoos.

The artist hoped that visitors to the mall would be moved to stop and look at these 96 butterflies, and maybe even take a photo. In our selfie culture, it’s a sure thing.