El Secreto. One of Miami’s Best Kept Secrets.

Tucked behind Faena’s candlelit cava and the red velvet folds of Faena Theater, there is beauty hidden in the shadows.

The Art Deco gem is wrapped in slick black marble, gold trim and floor-to-ceiling mirrors carved by the hands of Argentine artist Amaya Bouquet—a veritable Secret Garden to cradle visitors in a magical realm. Hushed whispers are exchanged over handcrafted libations poured on the luminous gilded bar. To get a peek behind the curtain, guests can soon take part in one of Faena’s invite-only VIP odysseys for an arresting mix of what Faena does best: exalted sensuality mixed with breathtaking surprise. What you’ll find? We’ll never tell.

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About the Artist

In her pieces, Amaya Bouquet explores her fascination with the different facets of light, both as physical phenomenon and as token of spiritual experiences and processes. Whether manipulating photographs, painting portraits, carving crystals or creating powerful objects, Amaya is always concerned with the depths concealed and protected by ornamentation and lush materials. Thus, she finds inspiration in the decorative arts and in the history of jewelry, but also in the refined imagery associated with ancient natural history and modern biology.

Amaya was born in Buenos Aires in 1979. In 2007, she was awarded a scholarship by the Fondo Nacional de las Artes (National Endownment for the Arts) with which she produces a show in Centro cultural Recoleta. In 2008 she begins to practice crystal carving at the National School for Glass, and develops a peculiar technique which she begins to apply to a new series of works. Always interested in the techniques used in the applied arts, she studies gilding, wood finish with lacquer, mounting of metals and guilloché. That same year, she is selected to participate in the ninth edition of Curriculum Cero, at Ruth Benzacar Gallery, and does several individual and collective shows in different galleries, fairs and Cultural Centers in Buenos Aires, Bahía Blanca, Rosario and Santa Fe. Amaya takes part in the first edition of the Artists’ Program at Universidad Torcuato di Tella, directed by Inés Katzenstein and Jorge Macchi. After that experience, she presents her solo show Preciósisis at Centro Cultural Recoleta. In 2011 she receives the M.M.S.E scholarship to pursue studies at St. Martins College of Arts in London. In 2012, ARTA, a journal of contemporary art, devotes a special issue to her work.