Whoever said that a picture was worth one or 10,000 words didn’t count on the picture itself containing any. We won’t do the math but, by that rationale, a new series of works from 16 local artists are worth a lot more. Text is the main attraction and inspiration of Mark My Words, a new exhibition running through May 27 at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. We don’t … [Read more...]
Salvatore Meo: Finding poetry in the everyday and the every thing
One will never find Salvatore Meo’s name listed among the leading artists of any art movement and yet, his body of work looks very familiar. That’s because it consists of everyday objects commonly found flattened on the streets. Having exhibited along Roberto Matta, Marcel Duchamp and Pablo Picasso, the Philadelphia native born in 1914 to Italian immigrants surely must have … [Read more...]
‘Glasstress’ offers sharp new take on old medium at Boca Museum
Sorry, ashtray-looking accents, candleholders and paperweights. Glass is done with being polite. It has traded its smooth curves and comfort zone for thorns, a strong pulse and a lot of nerve. The underestimated medium long thought of as merely decorative is now demanding acknowledgment through daring shapes, provocative themes and stunning colors. Glasstress, a show … [Read more...]
At Flagler, ‘Harem’ shows us the alluring side of ignorance
Paintings of lustful Muslim women bathing and dancing, exposed ankles and flirtatious silky skirts, might have done wonders for the Western male of the 19th century, but as the subject of an art exhibit today, they expose his fears. Don’t let truth ruin a perfectly beautiful picture. Do let high demand and market taste drive your creative voice. This seems to be the … [Read more...]
N.Y.-based photographer Bick wins Rudin Prize
We can officially say it now. New York City-based Elizabeth Bick is the winner of the 2016 Rudin Prize for Emerging Photographers at the Norton Museum of Art. The announcement Thursday night was the climax of the biennial group exhibition that rewards one of the exhibiting photographers with $20,000. Shortly after 7 p.m., Bick heard her name being called out by Beth Rudin … [Read more...]
Norton spotlights quiet beauty of Chase’s landscape
The Norton Museum of Art’s last Spotlight exhibition of the year brings us a drama-free impressionistic work by an American master who taught Georgia O’Keeffe and Edward Hopper, and lacks all of the flamboyance associated with its creator. On view (and admission is free) through Jan. 29, William Merritt Chase’s Shinnecock Hills, Autumn (1893), captures the Long Island … [Read more...]
Hungarian art exhibit at Boca chronicles a battered country
If artworks from other European nations could talk, they would say this about The Art of Hungary: “Tell me something I don’t know about.” For the past three months, the ongoing four-in-one exhibition at Boca Raton Museum of Art has done its best to define the artistic qualities of a country more closely associated with war than artistic creativity. Before we think of Harry … [Read more...]
When art hangs 10: Custom surfboards at the Cultural Council
If masterpieces can come in the form of bronze and glass sculptures, what should we call handmade surfboards dressed in original photographs? Functional artworks, if you ask local photographer and surfer Tony Arruza. His inspirational images are the first thing to hit us upon entering the bright gallery space at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, where 15 custom … [Read more...]
My Cuba: A photo essay and that big D word
As of late, I have a hard time understanding Americans. They love their country and defend it with blind vigor because they believe it to be the best in the world and yet, they reject its main attribute: Democracy. I get that they are upset and feel sick to their stomachs with the latest gift democracy dropped. At least one half of the country got what it wanted. That’s … [Read more...]
Emerging photographers, emerging visions at the Norton
For a photography competition extending a $20,000 trophy, this edition of Rudin Prize for Emerging Photographers is decisively not very thrilling. Don’t tell museum officials, but we think we know how this one ends. The experimental, the pretty, the safe and the emotional are sharing a large white room inside the Norton Museum of Art through Jan. 15. The four contemporary … [Read more...]