Fort Lauderdale warehouses could be next hot spot -Sun Sentinel - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Mike Stocker, Sun Sentinel / February 27, 2014 

Fort Lauderdale warehouses could be next hot spot

Sun Sentinel

By Larry Barszewski

A 30-year-old warehouse district on the fringe of downtown is on track to become the city's next hot spot.

Some envision it as a version of Miami's Wynwood Arts District, with trendy cafes, galleries and boutiques occupying the dated buildings near the railroad tracks between Sistrunk and Sunrise boulevards.
The transformation is just waiting to take off, says area art gallery owner Larry Clemons, but is dependent upon reduced parking requirements to make it practical for new businesses to open.
"The synergy for this area is such a no-brainer," Clemons said. "What I'm talking about is a true village, where on the weekend, everybody goes."
The city agrees and has given initial approval to reduced parking in the area east and south of the tracks. It is expected to extend the rules into the triangle area bordered by Andrews Avenue, Sunrise and the tracks.
Already some seeds of change have sprouted. There's the FAT Village Arts District along the tracks west of Andrews near Sistrunk, and the Laser Wolf craft beer bar in the vintage 1920s train station at the tracks and Northeast Third Avenue.
The new businesses would serve the Flagler Village community to the south and the hundreds of new apartments now under construction there. And they would benefit from the planned nearby stops for the Wave electric streetcar, the All Aboard Florida rail between Miami and Orlando, and the proposed Tri-Rail Coastal Link.
Mayor Jack Seiler said "this is an area that's crying out for some sort of relief."
He and commissioners said they are receptive to the proposed changes, which would create opportunity for property owners who are ready to get on board with the idea.

Read the rest of the article here

It would be great for downtown Fort Lauderdale and to all the new development to see the nearby warehouses converted into an art and restaurant destination.  Although it will be important for the private sector to drive the gentrification The City can help by making sure to change the zoning and parking requirements in anticipation of the changing use.

Larry Clemons who is quoted in the article is a good friend and owner of the Purvis Young Museum.  If you ever want a truly unique art experience make sure to stop by the Museum.  Larry's love of art is infectious.

Purvis Young Museum website

Art Stolen From Museum in Cuba Turns Up in Miami - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

The National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana on Feb. 28, 2014

Roberto  Leon

Art Stolen From Museum in Cuba Turns Up in Miami

NBC By Mary Murray and Orlando Matos

HAVANA — Nearly 100 works of "important" Cuban art were stolen from a warehouse of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuban officials confirmed Friday — and it may have turned up in Miami.

The Cuban National Council of Cultural Patrimony released a statement Friday confirming that a number of “important pieces” stored at an administrative building for the museum are missing, but that there was no forced entry at the building.

“We do not know exactly when the theft took place because the criminals cut the paintings from their frames in a way that the eye could not detect,” the statement said. “Most of the stolen works are from the period called Arte Cubano and are mostly pieces by Leopoldo Romañach.”

And Ramon Cernuda, a prominent Miami art dealer who specializes in 20th century Cuban art, told the Miami Herald that he discovered the stolen art locally after purchasing a painting by Eduardo Abela called “Carnaval Infantil” which he subsequently believed was part of the museum’s collection.

Cernuda said he called museum officials in Havana to alert them to the theft and that it was only after his call that they discovered other art works had been stolen as well.

Cernuda says he has found at least 11 paintings for sale in Miami that belong to the museum’s collection.

Read the rest of the article here

Futurism: Concepts and Imaginings - Boca Museum of Art - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Futurism: Concepts and Imaginings
January 12, 2014 - March 30, 2014

Futurism: Concepts and Imaginings features seven Italian artists from the first (1908-1919) and second (1920s-1930s) waves of Futurism, a dynamic movement that glorified the energy and speed of modern life. These artists genuinely believed in modern marvels like locomotives, automobiles, and airplanes, and heralded the death of museums and libraries as outmoded institutions of culture in their paintings, drawings, performances, and poetry.

Giacamo Balla, Alberto Bragaglia, Roberto Crippa, Giulio d'Anna, Gerardo Dottori, Pippo Rizzo, and Lucio Venna are represented by 36 drawings, collages, and paintings from the collection of Commendatore Stefano Acunto and Mrs. Carole Haarmann Acunto. The vibrant colors and striking imagery of the artwork truly expresses the Futurist dedication to depicting energy and motion and are central to understanding the trajectory of artistic movements of Cubism and Divisionism. The subjects of many pieces are circus performers constantly in motion; the perfect milieu for the Futurists to capture.

Boca Raton Museum website

Boca Museum of Art Appoints Irvin Lippman as Interim Director - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

 

Boca Museum of Art Appoints Irvin Lippman as Interim Director
Boca Raton Tribune

Boca Raton, FL - The Boca Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees today announced that it has chosen Irvin Lippman as Interim Director. Lippman will lead the Museum and a search committee tasked with identifying a new Executive Director. Former Executive Director of the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale from 2003 to 2012, Lippman brings a long list of accomplishments garnered over decades working in the visual arts.
“The enthusiasm I see on the Board and among the staff of the Museum will enable us to move forward into a bright future. I believe I can be an agent for positive change during this transitional period,” said Lippman. “The Museum is uniquely situated in a beautiful park alongside thriving businesses, restaurants, and shops and in a larger community in the most desirable of locations. We must collaborate with our neighbors to find ways to embrace the arts and use the Museum as a centerpiece in the lives of Boca Raton residents and visitors. We must also strive to be one of the nation’s most welcoming and smartest art museums. I see all the ingredients here to make that happen. This is our call to action that continues to move the Museum on its upward trajectory.”

Full article here 
Museum website

Nice to see Mr Lippman back and involved in the South Florida art scene.  I always enjoyed the time I spent with Mr Lippton and was able to see first hand his genuine interest in the artists and cultural facilities of Florida.  
I've been spending more time at the Boca Museum than any other museum lately and a have really enjoyed the shows.  I hope they find someone who can take the museum to the next level.  GL

14th Annual Impressions of Bonnet House - posted by Florida Fine Art

14th Annual Impressions of Bonnet House

Thursday March 6th 
Show Link
Always a great show!  GL

15 Women Artists Who Have Left Their Mark On Modern Design - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Eva Zeisel (American, born Hungary. 1906–2011). Folding Chair. 1948-1949. Chrome-plated tubular steel and cotton, 28 1/2 x 26 x 26 1/2″ (72.4 x 66 x 67.3 cm). Mfr.: Hudson Fixtures, USA. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the designer

15 Women Artists Who Have Left Their Mark On Modern Design

The Huffington Post  | by  Katherine Brooks

When it comes to the world of design, history has paid much attention to names like Frank Lloyd Wright, Josef Hoffman, Le Corbusier and Robert Venturi, producing an archive of the design world's biggest hits filled mostly with... men. Ray Eames -- the female counterpart of Charles Eames -- often makes it into the canon, but names like Charlotte Perriand and Margaret MacDonald are sometimes left out of the genre's popular history.

An exhibit currently on view at New York's Museum of Modern Art is attempting to recalibrate this history, painting a different picture of the iconic design figures well worth remembering. From furniture to textiles to graphic design to ceramics to housing projects, the curiously named "Designing Modern Women, 1890-1990," covers a century of female designers whose stories have long gone untold. 

Full Article found here

Florida artist apologizes for smashing $1 million vase by artist Ai Weiwei - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

MIAMI - A South Florida artist is apologizing for smashing a vase valued at $1 million that was part of a museum exhibit by noted Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei.

Maximo Caminero told the Miami Herald on Tuesday that he had no right to destroy someone else's art.

The vase was one of 16 in an Ai installation at the new Perez Art Museum Miami.
Police said Caminero told them he smashed the vase Sunday to protest the lack of support for local artists rather than international ones.

Caminero cancelled a planned Tuesday news conference and did not respond to telephone messages left by The Associated Press. A note on his studio door said his lawyer advised against commenting.

Caminero is charged with criminal mischief over $1,000, which is a felony.

Link to article Miami Herald

So sad but I'm always reminded that most museums have important and often priceless works of art completely accessible to the general public and things like this rarely ever happen.  When they do they make all the headlines but for the most part people are respectful of museum property.  And its a good lesson in impermanence. 

I also wonder what Ai Weiwei thinks of the destruction.  Maybe he won't mind.  I know it certainly brought more worldwide attention to his work. 

It sure started or helped along a community discussion on what is the place of local artists within this new huge local Art scene.  If you would like to participate in the discussion, share your thoughts with the Public Insight Network here  GL

Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

 


Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China

The first major exhibition of Chinese contemporary art ever mounted by the Metropolitan, Ink Art explores how contemporary works from a non-Western culture may be displayed in an encyclopedic art museum. Presented in the Museum's permanent galleries for Chinese art, the exhibition features artworks that may best be understood as part of the continuum of China's traditional culture. These works may also be appreciated from the perspective of global art, but by examining them through the lens of Chinese historical artistic paradigms, layers of meaning and cultural significance that might otherwise go unnoticed are revealed. Ultimately, both points of view contribute to a more enriched understanding of these artists' creative processes.

Metropolitan Museum website

Luis Gispert at David Castillo Gallery - posted by Florida Fine Art Gallery

Luis Gispert _ Tender Game
at David Castillo Gallery

Last week to see this great show! 

About David Castillo Gallery
Gallery Hours
Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am to 5pm and by appointment

Detroit Art Museum Offers Plan to Avoid Sale of Art / NYT - posted by Florida Fine Art

A still-life painting by the 17-century Flemish artist Frans Snyders was hung at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Wednesday. Daniel Mears/The Detroit News, via Associated Press

Detroit Art Museum Offers Plan to Avoid Sale of Art
New York Times, Jan 29th

The Detroit Institute of Arts, whose world-class collection has been targeted as a potential source of cash to help dig Detroit out of federal bankruptcy, announced Wednesday that it would raise $100 million to help save itself, joining a group of private foundations that have already pledged $370 million toward the effort.

Officials at the city-owned museum, which, along with Detroit, has struggled financially for many years, had said as recently as two weeks ago that such a huge commitment — money to help the city pay its pensions — would be “completely unfeasible.” But in a statement on Wednesday the museum said that it had reached out to corporate leaders in Detroit and would commit to a multiyear effort that would “stretch our fund-raising abilities to their capacity” as a way to protect its collection.

Find the full New York Times article here

 

This is a follow up to posts I've done before on this subject.  Glad to see the artwork may stay in Detroit and in public hands.  GL

Ray Caesar Show in Italy at the Dorothy Circus Gallery - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

RAY CAESAR & ANITA KUNZ 
DOUBLE SOLO SHOW IN ITALY AT THE DOROTHY CIRCUS GALLERY

Gallery House artist Ray Caesar and Anita Kunz are proud to work with Dorothy Circus Gallery who is presenting three exhibitions this month in February.
Ray Caesar “The Trouble with Angels” alongside Canadian darling Anita Kunz “ The Bestiary”. Both shows are scheduled to open February 14, 2014 at 7:00 pm for the public reception at the Dorthy Circus Gallery Rome, Italy with both artists in attendance. This will be followed by February 15, 2014 a museum show at the Palazzo Saluzzo Paesana, Turin Italy featuring Ray Caesar.

For more information or to view the VIP price list please email info@galleryhouse.ca or call 416.587.0057
Gallery House website
Dorothy Circus Gallery

My favorite digital artist. Ray usually shows at Corey Helford Gallery in L.A.  I am posting this just to show off Ray's latest work which is amazing.  And I'm taking the family to Italy later this year and hope to see the museum show!  GL

new work after the break

Purvis Young in New York at Merton D. Simpson Gallery - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Angels: Chained and Unchained
Purvis Young in New York at Merton D. Simpson Gallery
Nov 13th 2013 - Feb 21st 2014

Gallery website

ArtNews - Miami Recap: Is There a Global Art Esthetic? - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Miami Recap: Is There a Global Art Esthetic?
ArtNews by Robin Cembalest





A roundup of favorites from 8 fairs, 3 museums, 3 private collections, and 2 public projects

Full Article here

This is a good recap of Basel week with some interesting questions raise and great links included.  Enjoy, GL
 

The Monuments Men - posted by Florida Fine Art

 The Monuments Men opens in Theaters February 7th.  I'm looking forward to this movie.  A war movie with art, what could be better.  And a great cast to boot!  GL

Synopsis; 
Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men is an action drama focusing on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners. It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines, and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, how could these guys - seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, all more familiar with Michelangelo than the M-1 - possibly hope to succeed? But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind's greatest achievements. From director George Clooney, the film stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Cate Blanchett.

Film meets Art – Chris Nolan inspired by Francis Bacon - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

This is a fascinating talk by Chris Nolan who explains how he draws inspiration from his favorite artist Francis Bacon and how, in particular, Heath Ledgers Joker makeup in the movie Batman was referenced from Bacon's distorted faces.  GL