An anonymous donor donates 15 million to the future Perez Art Museum. That brings the museum to 85% of its fundraising goal. The anonymous donor also donated 3 million in valueable art. Perez Art Museum is set to open this year in December.
Anonymous Donor Gifts 15 mil to a Miami Museum
Miami Artists, Get Gimmicky that’s What the World Wants!
After surfing the web for ” Cool Art” it seems that the common denominator for getting your art in a major site is to have some gimmicky idea. For example, Nick Gentry’s portraits on floppy disks. So Miami artist stop breaking your heads trying to inspire and touch your viewer on an emotional level, instead experiment with mediums and explore alternate canvases. That is what the world wants. Check out this illustration on foam coffee cops by Cheeming Boey that are all the fad. Case and point.
pic via: MMA
Neo-Pop Art Pioneer Leslie Lew Opening 5/3 – 7/31/2013
ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries Presents
American Memories
A Solo Exhibition of Sculpted Oil Paintings by
Renowned American Neo-Pop Artist Leslie Lew
May 3rd through July 31st, 2013
Receptions for the Artist to he hosted at the Gallery in
Conjunction with the Monthly First Fridays
Coral Gables Gallery Nights
on May 3rd, June 7th and July 5th From 6pm to 10pm
MIAMI, FL, MAY 2, 2013 – Mickey Mouse, Popeye, Wonder Woman, Animal Crackers, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Dick, Jane & Sally are among the very fondly remembered and undeniably classic American subjects of works to be showcased in “American Memories,” a one-woman exhibition of sculpted oil paintings by renowned neo-Pop artist Leslie Lew at ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries. ”American Memories” will open on Friday, May 3rd with a reception for the artist from 6:00pm to 10:00pm.
“Leslie Lew is a contemporary, neo-Pop version of Norman Rockwell,” said ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries’ owner and director Virginia Miller.
“I’m grabbing and preserving fond memories of time-honored Americana,” says the artist. “Some of these are starting to fade.”
Featuring some of American’s most iconic images, Leslie Lew offers a nostalgic trip back to childhoods ranging from the 1930s to 1970s. Permission from The Walt Disney Company, DC Comics, and the Kellogg Company allows her to re-create comic book covers of America’s most beloved childhood heroes along with perennially favorite breakfast cereals.
“When faced with the legendary things and characters of our youth, rendered with unrestrained enthusiasm, it’s hard not to smile, to remember the pleasure of eating Animal Crackers, toting the box on its little white string; to feel a little girl’s aspiration to be Wonder Woman, and to be transported by cartoon lives—so familiar and yet so unlike our own,” noted Kathy Greenwood, a curator for Albany, NY International Airport’s Art & Culture Programs.
Contributing to the impact of her paintings is the artist’s special technique, which she calls “sculpted oil,” paintings on canvas in high relief to create a three-dimensional effect.
After earning her BFA and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1982, Lew was one of a dozen artists selected to participate in a Whitney Museum studio program. She became a leading artist in the New York’s East Village Art Movement, where she was friends with Jean-Michel Basquiat, who introduced her to Andy Warhol at her first opening in New York.
Lew lived and worked in a large Gramercy Park loft just above Julian Schnabel’s. Other well-known artists in the group included Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Kenny Scharf, and Keith Haring.
“Keith, Jean-Michel and Andy did a show of matchboxes in a pop-up gallery on 6th Avenue with me and other artists,” she recalls. “I did a painting of the opening, and I put Andy in the corner of it with his little Brownie camera. Andy loved young artists—he was always looking for the next new thing. He helped me a lot, introducing me to all sorts of people. We hung out together.
“I did my version of Andy’s silkscreen, “Moon Explorer,” and he thought it was a hoot. He asked me to do a trade with him—my ‘Moon Explorer’ for one of his ‘Marilyns.’ Then he went into the hospital for a gall bladder operation and he died. I helped to archive all of his work for the foundation.”
Today Lew’s painting of “Moon Explorer” is owned—appropriately—by U.S. astronaut Robert C. “Woody” Spring. Her works are included in dozens of major collections, including those of Si Newhouse, the Tisch Family, Conde Nast, MCA Records, Sylvia Miles and Cyndi Lauper in New York; the Sainsbury Collection in London; and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
“My first painting of ‘Animal Crackers’ is in the lobby where children are admitted to the Mayo Clinic,” she said.
Lew has participated with the superstars of the contemporary art world in a number of other exhibitions. To cite just a few:
That same year, Lew’s work was featured in the prestigious Holly Solomon Gallery’s exhibition “57th between A & D”. In addition to Lew, the exhibition showcased works by other rising East Village art stars including Lew contemporaries Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Jeff Koons alongside the more established blue chip artists Andy Warhol, Alex Katz, and Roy Lichtenstein. The following year, Lew and Warhol were among the artists in “The East Village” exhibit curated by Richard Martin, editor-in-chief of “Arts Magazine”, at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Lew and Warhol also were in “Small Works by Major Thinkers” in 1986 at the Bess Cutler Gallery in New York.
The “Cafe Vered” show at Vered Gallery in East Hampton in 1995 included “Animal Crackers” by Lew along with works by Janet Fish, Audrey Flack, Red Grooms, Donald Lipski, Larry Rivers, Donald Sultan, Andy Warhol and Tom Wesselmann, among others.
In 1985 Sensory Evolution Gallery, one of the first, cutting-edge contemporary art galleries in New York City’s East Village, hosted Lew’s first one-person sculpted oil painting exhibition. The exhibition quickly sold out and established Lew’s career and reputation as one of the 1980s East Village art movement’s most sought after artists.
One-woman exhibitions at OK Harris, Bernice Steinbaum, Kravets/Wehby, and numerous other top galleries in New York City as well as solo shows at institutional venues including the Katonah Museum of Art, Sarah Lawrence College, and Overture during Art Basel Miami Beach followed her Sensory Evolution Gallery debut.
Lew has exhibited in numerous other prestigious venues, such as Jack Tilton and Vered galleries in New York City; the Light Gallery in Los Angeles and Hamilton Galleries in Santa Monica; and in museums here and abroad. In Manhattan, for example, her paintings have been included in exhibitions at the Visual Arts Museum, Parsons School of Design, SoHo Center for the Visual Arts, the Henry Street Settlement Museum, and the Alternative Museum.
Lew’s paintings have been included in traveling exhibitions of the Carnegie Mellon Museum and Guggenheim Museum in this country and in shows in Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, and Sofia, Bulgaria.
In Miami, Lew is included in the Martin Z. Margulies Collection, “recognized as one of the major collections of contemporary art in the world,” according to Newsweek critic Peter Plagens.
According to critic Peter Frank, “by appropriating two or three generations of imagery, from wartime cartoons to cold-war-era reading primers to the streamlined sci-fi fantasies of the space race, Lew seems to mark off the growth spurts of mid-20th Century America…Lew re-enacts the recent evolution of American visual culture without having to depict it. A child of our time, Leslie Lew has appropriated Pop Art itself.”
“We are delighted to have this opportunity to introduce yet another historically significant artist to our clientele,” said Virginia Miller. “Leslie Lew’s work is an absolute joy.”
Leslie Lew’s “American Memories” will be on view and open to the public at ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries, located at 169 Madeira Avenue in Coral Gables (Miami), from May 3rd through July 31st 2013. Gallery hours are 11am to 6pm Monday through Friday and by appointment on Saturdays and evenings. In addition to the exhibition’s opening reception on Friday May 3rd from 6 to 10pm, the gallery will host two additional receptions for the artist on Fridays June 7th and July 5th from 6 to 10pm in conjunction with the monthly first Friday Coral Gables Gallery Nights. For more information, call 305-444-4493 or visit the gallery web site, www.virginiamiller.com.
Miami Building Ranks in “Ugliest Skyscrapers in the World” List
After coming across some recent photos of the One Trade Center Tower’s spire being ceremoniously erected, the thought “man that’s quite ugly” came to my mind. I really think we punked out in creating the tallest building in America to replace the Twin Towers. Anyway, that thought prompted me to search the web with the phrase “ugliest skyscrapers in the world,” out of curiosity. Wow! There are some ugly buildings out there. And some of them are right here in the US. For example Miami’s own Portofino Tower in South Point made the cut and so did Boston’s Prudential Tower. Among the ugliest has to be the enormous Mecca Clock Tower. With its outdated architecture and obvious non-artistic minds calling the shots in the construction of this building. One that really disappointed me because it ruins one of the world’s most beautiful city is the Strata Building. A gigantic half steel and concrete structure with three huge wind turbines on the building roof, which makes it look like an electric shaver. Take a trip to Hong Kong and the locals will jokingly tell you the IFC building is a giant electric shaver but now the Strata Building gets this prize by far. How was this monstrosity approved for construction? Too many yes men on board and not enough concerned citizens attending council meetings that’s how. Lets not let this happen to Miami. One that is just plain amusing is a kitschy design in Beijing of a grove of apple tree hotels. Oh, and it is not a proposal. They are in construction phase. And last but not least is well of course North Korea’s Ryugyong Hotel. Enjoy! And pledge not to settle for the absolute best for our city skyline.
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- Panama
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- China Apple Trees bldg.
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- Macau
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- Miami Portofino Tower
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- Mecca
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- North Korea
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- China Apple Trees
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- London
pics via; Skyscrapercity.com
Artist Animates Beautiful Dance Routine
Photos and Commentary: Kiki Valdes “The Valdeziacs” at the Miami Design District
Last night’s exhibition of Kiki Valdes’ latest work pulled a good crowd of fans, art lovers and collectors. (data of audience’s social status gathered by ease dropping on conversations) The event was well put together and generously hosted with Korbel Champagne and Sapphire Beer. The artist was friendly and approachable, staying to the end to greet and answer questions from guests. We were eager to compliment the artist for his use of layers and exaggerated texture. When we finally had the opportunity to do so, Kiki greeted us with a big smile and genuine appreciation for our support. I have to emphasize this part of the night because I feel presentation and manners is something many artist lack. However, Kiki Valdes we must say is one artist that is not cursed with the stereotypical social awkwardness. Anyway, about the art. We are impressed with the impasto technique in Kiki’s work for it captures the art process unlike any other medium can achieve. Much like a diary entry, the layers of impasto is a visual testimony that an artist was here and created something in his life time for the public to witness. Kiki Valdes works ranged in price from the mid $4000 and peaked at $5500. Which is the image in the headline. It gave us great pride to see Kiki, a local artist’s whose work we saw first back in ’05 at small venue at the Gables and is now showing at a beautiful location at the Design District. Kiki Valdes “The Valdeziacs” is on view until May 10th.
KIKI VALDES
THE VALDEZIACS (Solo Exhibition)
Opening Reception: Saturday April 27th 7-10pm
101 Exhibit – 101 NE 40th Street. Miami FL. 33137
101 Exhibit – 101 NE 40th Street. Miami FL. 33137
Show runs till May 10th
Relaxing and Inspiring Time Lapse by Bevan Percival
New Zealand Landscapes Timelapse Volume Two from Bevan Percival on Vimeo.
Believe me, for me to promote art from elsewhere it better be inspiring. Enjoy!
Artists Statement:
This timelapse features my best work yet. It represents hours and hours of dedication to the art. I’m driven by chasing fleeting moments of damatic light on beautiful landscapes and also capturing the night sky and milky way in all it’s glory is a real buzz. Not be mention curling up out under the stars beside all the gear for whole nights at a time catching some sleep here and there between checking the gear and changing batteries and staring up into eternity with spectacular meteors burning up in the cosmic shore out the corner of your eye. Doing this sort of thing has bought me closer and closer to the wilderness. There is something about doing this sort of stuff that just makes you want to keep coming back for more and more. Maybe it’s the experience of being out there at one with the incredible beauty of this landscape. Maybe it’s the challenge of capturing it in the camera in the way that you witnessed it. Maybe it’s the excitement of seeing just what you got when you finally render it all out. Maybe it’s the satisfaction you get out of showing this to other people. Most probably it’s a combination of all these things.
I hope you enjoy watching this timelapse. Please leave a comment if you wish, I’d love to hear from you. It is my hope that in bringing back a little piece of nature to portray in this way helps spark the respect we need to have for such an incredible place.
All scenes shot in the North Island of New Zealand.
Main equipment used:
Canon 5D Mark II & various Canon Lenses
Dynamic Perception Stage Zero 6ft Dolly
Music:
“Go Beyond” by Ben and Matt Hales, licensed for use through Universal Publishing Production Music and APRA New Zealand.
Thanks to my family for putting up with my habit 
BRILLIANT PASTEL PAINTINGS MADE BY “GOD” IN CHINA
Did you notice the quotation marks in the title on the word Go?. That was the first word that came to my head when I saw these beautiful pictures of a layered landscapes in China. “These look like pastel paintings made by God.” The images of the landscapes seem to be made by the impressionist style of the 19th century French art movement. Or re-touched with the “impressionist” filter in Photoshop. However ,they are photographs taken of the Zhangye Danxia Landform in the Gansu province of China. The pastel impressionist illusion of the landscape is caused by millions of years of erosion and oxidation of sedimentary rock.
KIKI VALDES GETS BIG AND BOLD @ 101 EXHIBIT IN THE DESIGN DISTRICT 4/27/2013
KIKI VALDES
THE VALDEZIACS (Solo Exhibition)
Opening Reception: Saturday April 27th 7-10pm
101 Exhibit – 101 NE 40th Street. Miami FL. 33137
101 Exhibit – 101 NE 40th Street. Miami FL. 33137
Show runs till May 10th
MIAMI – April – The Michael Margulies Artist Agency is proud to present “The Valdeziacs” a solo exhibition featuring new works from painter Kiki Valdes. “The Valdeziacs” is the culmination of Valdes’ most recent works. Many of the current paintings move into a new direction for the artist. Cartoon characters provide the first entry point to Valdes’ complex explorations of layered cut canvas collages, abstractions and figurative cartoon imagery. He paints the excited, cryptic images of bubbly faces and toon masks to convey a feeling of childhood nostalgia as a visual tactic to address space and form.Valdes sees the cartoon imagery as a way to communicate and connect with a wider audience by conjuring memories. Cartoons have seeped into our consciousness since childhood and the artist uses those recognizable images and memories as prop for questions about painting and our obsession with the familiar. The new works in “The Valdeziacs,” the title in itself is a nod to childhood nostalgia, plays with form. Valdes turns various characteristics of known cartoon figures into a complete abstraction. Certain qualities like curves, exaggerated eyes and big mouth emphasize the duality of his compositions and create a battle between the familiar graphic figuration and what is familiar in painting. Valdes creates a place where darkness and light meet. He merges both and they open a dialogue and leave space for interpretation.
Miami-Dade County School’s Art @ April’s Wynwood Art Walk
Miami-Dade County Schools prepares to host its annual best of the best student exhibit, The Annual County Wide Student Exhibit. This year it will be hosted at the Bakehouse Art Complex and it will co-inside with the monthly Art Walk in Wynwood. The show exhibits the best student art by those in K-12 of the 2012-13 school year. Curated in tiers, starting from the art teachers up to the district supervisors, this years show promises to be a success. The excitement stems from this years exhibit taking place in a true gallery setting courtesy of the Bakehouse Art Complex and its opening during Wynwood Artwalk. Congratulations to students, teachers and the district Art Supervisors Mabel Morales and Alina Rodriguez for a wonderful school year promoting the Arts in our county. Opening night is April 12th. Be certain Art of Miami will be there. Pictures of the event to come.
Bakehouse Art Complex
561 NW 32 st
Miami, Fl 33127
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