By Sandra Schulman Big names in classical art dominate this season as the dark drama of Rembrandt, the lyrical graphics of Mucha, and the dancers and racehorses of Degas grace the walls of the major museums. The growing art audience in Palm Beach brings these treasures to the Sunshine State. Other exhibits spotlight the rise of the modern department store and the bracing … [Read more...]
2023-24 Season in Palm Beach County Art: Major collections, diverse exhibits mark art season
By Sandra Schulman It’s been a long hot summer, so the cool breeze of a new art season is a welcome relief. Major collections figure in shows at the Norton, while the Boca Museum conjures up a little mystery. Bicycles, natural flora, fiber art and art fairs all make appearances. Norton Museum of Art With a new director and curators, the Norton has a new energy going … [Read more...]
Gallery owner’s book reveals untold story of Florida sculptors
What started as something to keep busy during the COVID-19 quarantine turned into a labor of love for Palm Beach gallery owner Deborah C. Pollack when she decided to research and write Florida Sculptors and Their Work: 1880-2020. Bored with watching YouTube videos and cutting her husband’s hair, Pollack spent two years researching, writing and contacting the artists’ estates … [Read more...]
All the presidents’ man: Harry Benson at the Norton Sculpture Garden
A distraught Ethel Kennedy has just seen her fatally wounded husband lying on the floor of a hotel kitchen. With a ferocious scream, she pushes back the crowd demanding they grant him some space. One daring camera stays and catches the prelude to Bobby Kennedy’s death. Six years later, Pat Nixon stands near her husband as he struggles to address his staff one last time. … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2022-23: The season in Palm Beach art
` 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 … [Read more...]
At Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, Bradley Theodore’s cheerful memento mori
Think of a thermal imaging camera illuminating areas of high body temperature in a black canvas and you would begin to get a sense of Bradley Theodore’s painting The Last Supper. Indiscernible features, bold tones, and broad strokes delivered in rapid fashion shape this familiar scene of 13 dinners against a wall. The colors clearly missed the memo that three is a crowd and … [Read more...]
Welcome to the Technicolor jungle: Helmut Koller at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens
A white-faced capuchin monkey bites its middle finger to mask its anxiety or astonishment. The confused expression directed at us is reminiscent of a creature arrested from its natural habitat, the rain forest.This monkey is, after all, levitating on a red wall. Purple Monkey on Red (2016) is one of 19 hyper-realistic, color-soaked paintings of animals turning Ann Norton … [Read more...]
Arts briefs: Smith wins Frank Prize, ANSG appoints director, and more
WEST PALM BEACH — The 2020 Randolph A. Frank Prize for the Performing Arts was awarded June 25 to Ballet Palm Beach founder and artistic director Colleen Smith during a ceremony streamed live. “In addition to being a brilliant choreographer, Colleen has taught more than 5,000 Palm Beach County students and awarded in excess of $200,000 in scholarships to deserving dancers … [Read more...]
The well-mannered beauty of ‘Expanding Horizons,’ at Ann Norton
In case you have not heard, photography is done cloning pieces of reality. It signed a clause reading until atrocity, cruelty and ugliness do us part and they have all arrived. This breach of contract has rendered the camera free to roam and invent an alternative universe. More specifically, to birth the works on view at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens. Aside from its … [Read more...]
Morton Kaish: An eye for nature, color and life
Not even gloomy rainy days can get in the way of radiant butterflies determined to glide over grassy fields in search of the sun. To aid their journey, an artist arms them with multicolor marbleized wings. Spring is the perfect backdrop to the jovial artworks of American painter Morton Kaish, whose solo exhibition is now on view through May 5 at the Ann Norton Sculpture … [Read more...]