Artist in Exile Dustin Orlando Returns to Miami: “I Was Just Burned Out”

Original Wynwood artist Dustin Orlando said last night that his self-imposed exile from the Magic City came about because he was exhausted by the Miami gallery scene.

"I was just burned out," said Orlando, owner and curator of the Objex Artspace, who broke his five-year hiatus from the Miami art scene this month. "From 2001 all the way through the beginning of 2005, I was pretty much a one-man show."

Now, Orlando is back and debuted his new exhibit "Believe the Hype" to a full house at Eazy Street Gallery last week and said after a five year hiatus, not much has changed in the Downtown hood.

"More people have just bought into it," he said. "The only thing that has changed is that more people have been lured into the hoopla behind it."

He added, "It's like repainting a facade."

But the now-Orlando, Fla., resident said he will always be grateful to the Magic City, where his exhibition will be for a few more weeks. 

"There's a lot of people that show me love and appreciate what I did when I was down [here]," he said.

The artist also said he has no intentions of ever leaving the craft all together. 

"I feel like I would almost be letting people down if I didn't keep pursuing this stuff," he said.

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