The season is upon us, and this is not a nod to the torrent of plastic snow and holiday jingles that will soon appear wherever we go: the mall, the gas station, the corner coffee shop hawking its pricey pumpkin lattes. In many ways, the visual arts season is a haven from the commercial flurry of the fall and winter months. Whether intimate or expansive, organized from afar or … [Read more...]
ArtsPreview 2009-10: The season in Palm Beach art
The coming art season looks to be as exciting as ever, with artists enthusiastically staging exhibitions through cooperative galleries, street fairs and public spaces, while local museums and galleries gear up to launch a wide variety of fascinating shows and international art fairs prepare to import art from around the globe. Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach: The … [Read more...]
Lennon ‘bed-in’ exhibit shows Beatle’s timelessness
Imagine. John Lennon would have turned 69 on Oct. 9. Would he still be writing songs? Would he again curl up with Yoko Ono, nude, for a retrospective of the Two Virgins album cover? Would he still live in Palm Beach? Would The Beatles have put aside their differences and staged a worldwide farewell tour? Maybe the Nobel Peace Prize? With four hollow-point bullets in the … [Read more...]
Flagler show a deep look at American Arts and Crafts style
In what better venue to showcase an exhibit of American Arts and Crafts creations, known for its simple lines, minimalist approach, no-frills, no-excess, back-to-nature aesthetic, than in Whitehall, a remnant from the Gilded Age and the Beaux-Arts style former home of Henry Flagler, the railroad magnate. They are polar opposites and the contrast is striking. Whatever your … [Read more...]
Erbe show offers reminders – good and bad – of bygone America
Anyone who has ever tried to paint knows that it isn’t easy to realistically portray the world around us. Realism, as a style, necessitates a rare combination of inherent artistic talent, learned draftsmanship, and a distinctive patient observance of the banal. So it’s sort of energizing to marvel at an artist whose work exhibits this visually stunning combination. And it … [Read more...]
West Palm artist makes a fashion statement of his own
When he slipped into the white-lace wedding dress and adjusted the veil on his balding head, a diminutive Raymond P. Neubert stepped into another dimension of his life. Seventeen more of his friends and acquaintances followed suit while Neubert photographed the experience and evolving personas, taking more than 100 pictures of each person. Although the small-framed Neubert … [Read more...]
New acquisitions add vigorous life to MAM collections
There are glittering and faux botanies at the center of Recent Acquisitions, a gathering of approximately 20 artworks that feature some of the Miami Art Museum’s latest additions to its growing permanent collection. Stamped with beads and sequins, the plastic and russet-hued confection of shrubs known as Endless Autumn, by Cristina Lei Rodriguez, contains South … [Read more...]
In Atlanta, the tableaux of Whitfield Lovell
Seeing or creating art is always part of my travel plans, whether it's visiting museums, galleries and artist studios, hearing a lecture about art or taking an art-related seminar. Packed in my carry-on without fail are a sketchbook, conté sticks and watercolors. Late last month, I spent a week in Atlanta, where the art scene is thriving. The High Museum of Art … [Read more...]
Armory’s summer camp show spotlights kids’ creativity
When does a person become an artist? People are often at their most creative when they are young and uninhibited, and the ups and downs of life haven't eroded their confidence. But kids’ work is often relegated to the kitchen and attached with magnets to the refrigerator door. Last Friday night, though, the Armory Art Center staged a large and … [Read more...]
National Poetry Slam leaves streets sparkling with spoken words
For five days last week downtown West Palm Beach was the coolest place on earth. Or it at least it seemed that way during the 20th National Poetry Slam that brought 68 teams of mostly young poets to Clematis Street for a rolling competition that was part counterculture festival, part sporting event. Contestants declaimed from the stages of venues such … [Read more...]