Season Preview 2022-23: The season in Palm Beach art

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By Christina Wood

Moving forward from the darkest days of the pandemic, the arts in general — as well as many of the artists and arts organizations specific to Palm Beach County — seem to be more conscious of the steps they take.

This season, you can count on the arts to provide perspective along with inspiration – from the Boca Raton Museum of Art’s exhibitions reflecting the African American experience and the Norton’s exploration of the role of fashion photography in the shaping of body norms to the environmental and climate issues touched on in shows at the University Galleries at Florida Atlantic University in Boca and the Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta, as well as various places in between.

Boca Raton Museum of Art
Long before CGI, Hollywood relied on a highly talented cadre of artists to bring the settings of such memorable films as North by Northwest, Singin’ in the Rain and The Sound of Music to life. The world-premiere exhibition Art of the Hollywood Backdrop: Cinema’s Creative Legacy, featuring original hand-painted backdrops from some of Hollywood’s most iconic films, will give you a real appreciation for the skill demanded of these masters of both illusion and perspective, as well as an appreciation for the efforts required to preserve these unique works of art. (Through Jan. 22, 2023)

Reginald Cunningham, a prominent Washington, D.C.-based photographer whose social activism parallels his artistry, is dedicated to the celebration of the Black American experience. In the exhibition Reginald Cunningham: Black Pearls, his images will celebrate residents of Boca’s historic Pearl City neighborhood, descendants of the original families who settled there in 1915. (Through Jan. 22, 2023)

The season includes two more shows that highlight diversity. The African-American experience is also central to Whitfield Lovell: Passages, which considers the physical passage of time, its effect on memory, and the reception of our collective history. Oswaldo Vigas spans the career of the Venezuelan modernist (1926‒2014), who employed cubism, surrealism, constructivism and neo-figurative style in his search into his mestizo identity. (Feb. 15–May 21)

Norton Museum of Art
The new season at the Norton kicks off with A Personal View on High Fashion & Street Style: Photographs from the Nicola Erni Collection, 1930s to Now. This multifaceted exhibition focuses on the origins and development of fashion and street photography, encompassing nearly a century of iconic images — including photographs of jet-setters and celebrities, from Lena Horne to Kate Moss and Zendaya, and featuring work by quintessential designers like Schiaparelli, Givenchy, and Issey Mikaye. In looking at the origins of fashion photography, the exhibition also explores the establishment of beauty norms through works by photographers such as George Hoyningen-Huene and his protégé Horst P. Horst. (Now through Feb. 12; opened Oct. 8)

Joseph Stella (1877-1946) was a pioneering American modernist best known for his Futurist-inspired paintings of New York. Joseph Stella: Visionary Nature, the first major museum exhibition to focus exclusively on his exuberant depictions of flowers, plants, and birds, will explore the artist’s powerful spiritual connection to the natural world through a presentation of approximately 90 paintings and works on paper drawn from major American museums and private collections. (Oct. 15–Jan. 15)

The Norton, it would seems, is also making an effort to showcase diversity, as reflected in a series of other exhibitions on view this fall:

• Lalla Essaydi: Un/veiled, an exhibition highlighting the work of Lalla Essaydi, a Moroccan photographer who combines large-scale portraits of Arab women with Arabic calligraphy, traditionally a skill taught only to men. (Through Nov. 6)

• Henry Ossawa Tanner: Intimate Pictures celebrates the museum’s recent acquisition of Christ at the Home of Mary, a pastel and watercolor composition made by the first African American artist (1859–1937) to gain international acclaim. (Through March 12)

• Autumn Mountains and the Light of the Harvest Moon opens in tandem with a major Chinese harvest holiday. The installation features four paintings, ranging in date from 1722 to 2006, all made by artists who sought to expand upon the classical Chinese landscape tradition. (Through Jan. 15)

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
Nine contemporary Japanese artists demonstrate how the past informs the present – and how it can build lasting cultural bridges out of something as ephemeral as paper – in Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper. The exhibition, curated by Los Angeles-based historian of Japanese art Meher McArthur, features more than 30 textured two-dimensional works, sculptures and dramatic installations that explore the astonishing possibilities of the traditional medium of washi (Japanese paper). The exhibit runs from Nov. 5 to April 2, 2023.

Armory Art Center
In addition to its schedule of classes and workshops, the Armory Art Center offers a rapidly changing season of exhibitions, including:

* New & Now, featuring the work of artists-in-residence and new faculty (Through Oct. 21)
* Regional Printmaking Now!, an exploration of current techniques as well as the issues being addressed by printmakers in South Florida. (Through Oct. 20)
* Grassy Waters Annual Nature Photo Contest Exhibition (Through Oct. 21)
* BraveHeARTS, featuring the work of emerging artists from an ongoing program at th Armory designed to help military service veterans develop self-esteem, cultivate talent and learn new skills through the visual arts. (Oct. 28–Nov. 11)
* Verdant Bodies, a juried contemporary jewelry exhibition that highlights how jewelry makers and metalsmiths interpret their environments and explores topics such as ecology, evolution, species relationships and botany along with cultural implications. (Oct. 28–Nov. 18)
* Radiant Nation, organized by cancer survivor David Charlowe, the exhibition will feature almost two dozen masks once used by cancer patients receiving radiation treatment around the head and neck, which have been reimagined by artists. (Nov. 4–Dec. 16)
* Armory Faculty Show, featuring a variety of ceramics, jewelry and two-dimensional artworks (Nov. 28–Dec. 16)

Lighthouse ArtCenter
The Tequesta center opens its new season with two exhibitions: LUSH2, an exhibition of contemporary ceramics, and The World According to Hunt Slonem, featuring more than two dozen original works by the Manhattan-based neo-expressionist whose paintings can be found in hundreds of museums around the world as well as in the collections of numerous celebrities. (Now through Dec. 10)

The season will continue with D’Art for Art, the center’s annual fundraising exhibition (Dec. 20–Jan. 14); Open Mind, featuring the art of Jupiter residents Nicole Newsted and Grammy Award winner Jason Newsted (Jan. 19-March 1); and the popular annual Plein Air Festival (March 5-11).

Cultural Council for Palm Beach County
As part of its mission to champion, engage and grow the arts in Palm Beach County, the Cultural Council offers a series of exhibitions in its Main Gallery. Each exhibition features the work of local artists and seeks to inspire a new generation of collectors. For the 2022/23 season, the Main Gallery Exhibitions will include:

* Contemporary Art of the Latin American Diaspora (Oct. 28–Jan. 14)
* Visualizing Climate Disruption (Jan. 27–April 8)
* Biennial 2023 (April 21–June 24)
* Artist Innovation Fellowship Showcase (July 21–Sept. 9)

Ann Norton Sculpture Garden
Following the interior restoration of the Norton House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens will reopen in November. In addition to the many works created by Norton displayed throughout the house, studio and gardens, the work of two West Palm Beach artists will be on display to start the season. Abundance of Riches by Luis Montoya and Leslie Ortiz, 1972-2022, is a retrospective celebrating the 50-year partnership that resulted in the creation of monumental and small sculptures as well as paintings and works on paper. (Gallery exhibition: Nov. 16–Dec. 30; Gardens exhibition: Nov. 16–June)

Two shows are slated for the New Year. Figurative Masters of the Americas, presented by Heather James Fine Art, will feature figuration artists from North, Central and South America, such as Andy Warhol, Fernando Botero, Diego Rivera, Cindy Sherman and George Segal. (Jan. 4–Feb. 12) Beginning in February, the work of Artist-in-Residence Harry Benson will be on display. The Scottish-born photographer arrived in New York with The Beatles in 1964 and began working for Life magazine in 1967. His work has appeared in publications ranging from Time and Newsweek to Vanity Fair, Paris Match and Architectural Digest.
 

Society of the Four Arts
Lacquer is a tradition nearly as old as civilization itself. Since the late 1980s, a small but enterprising circle of artists have been pushing the medium in entirely new and dynamic directions by creating large-scale sculptures, works that are both conceptually innovative and superbly exploitative of lacquer’s natural qualities. Organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the 33 works by 16 artists in Hard Bodies: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Sculpture constitute the first-ever comprehensive exhibition of this intriguing new form. (Dec. 3–Jan. 22)

Contemplating Character: Portrait Drawings & Oil Sketches from Jacques-Louis David to Lucian Freud explores the evolution of portraiture from the 18th century to the present day. The 81 works on paper created by 68 artists in the exhibition reflect the challenge of artists engaged with portraiture: to accurately portray an individual’s physical appearance while also capturing the sitter’s personality and soul. (Feb. 4-April 2)

A landscape painter whose favored medium is charcoal, Austrian artist Eduard Angeli (born 1942) has painted in Venice, Istanbul and St. Petersburg. The 11 large works featured in Eduard Angeli: Cities on Water, which is the first exhibition of the artist’s work in the United States, depict motifs from these three cities that derive from but do not copy nature. (Feb. 4 – April 2)

The 2nd Annual Benjamin Mkapa African Wildlife Photography Awards, a collaboration between the African Wildlife Foundation and Nature’s Best Photography, will be awarded in October at the Nairobi National Museum in Kenya. The winning entries will then be featured in an exhibition that will travel to museums around the world. Named in honor of the former president of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa (1938–2020), Benjamin Mkapa African Wildlife Photography Awards will feature the work of photographers at all levels of expertise who advocate for wildlife conservation. (April 26-June 4)

University Galleries, Florida Atlantic University
The Schmidt Center and the Ritter Art Gallery at FAU will host three exhibitions celebrating the careers of professor Carol Prusa, associate professor Tammy Knipp and University Galleries Director Rod Faulds, each of whom are retiring after more than 20 years at the university. Prusa’s symbolically charged work will be featured in Porous Boundaries (now through Dec. 16). Using graphite pours and geometry in a dance between the known and unknown, Prusa seeks to express the chaotic interactions central to the formation of our world. Through her art, Knipp investigates the concept of bioremediation, a process of biological degradation used to reduce pollution. Her work, which reflects the growing concerns of waste management, will be featured in To Be Continued. (Now through Dec. 16).

Surplus Reiterations is a site-specific installation and performance space project initiated by Faulds with visual artist Tom Scicluna and dancer/choreographer Letty Bassart, both Miami-based artists. The project engages objects sourced from the university’s “surplus” operation, where used furniture and materials go “to die a slow death or find other users.” (Now through Nov. 5)

southXeast: Contemporary Southeastern Art expands upon South Florida’s Miami-centric contemporary art scene. The exhibition features the work of emerging and under-represented artists whose work represents a broad spectrum of approaches to contemporary artmaking. (Jan. 20–March 11)

FAU students who received their BA, BFA or MFA during the pandemic will enjoy their belated opportunity to shine in the juried exhibition As It Was: The Show that Never Happened. (April 21–May 20 and by appointment May 23–July 1) The Art of Science exhibition, on the other hand, will feature photographs and videos representing the cutting-edge research, scholarship and creative activity taking place at FAU. (Feb. 7–March 3)

Art Fairs
A surge in COVID cases forced the cancellation of the 2022 Palm Beach International Fine Art Fair, which returns to the Palm Beach County Convention Center early in 2023 for its 26th installation. As always, the show is expected to attract an exciting and eclectic mix of dealers, collectors and, of course, exquisite paintings and fine art. (Jan. 25-30)

The Palm Beach Show celebrates its 20th anniversary with a stunning selection of art, antiques and jewelry. The show typically elevates people watching to an art as well, as private collectors, museum curators, investors and interior designers from near and far seek out the most unique and coveted acquisitions as they browse aisle after aisle of treasures at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. (Feb. 16-21)

The prestigious Palm Beach Fine Craft Show will be joining the Palm Beach Show at the Convention Center for the Presidents’ Day Weekend. More than 100 leading contemporary craft artists will be on hand at this elegant showcase to discuss their latest work with collectors. (Feb. 17-19)

The winter season of art fairs concludes with Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, presented by Art Miami. Once again, the Convention Center will host a heady mix of exceptional art, acclaimed galleries and determined collectors. The focus this time, however, will be on investment-quality contemporary art. (March 23-26)