Coconut Grove Arts Festival® to Offer Children
a Special Place to Express Themselves
ñ- Coconut Grove Bank Kids' Creative Corner

The 2006 Coconut Grove Arts Festival® is proud to announce the return of t he Coconut Grove Bank Kids' Creative Corner. This special kids' area is designed to not only provide optional child care for parents, but to offer children ages 4 -12 a chance to express themselves through art. Staff and teachers from the Young Rembrandts, an art education methodology focused on fostering children's overall brain development, will supervise and instruct the children. All of the teachers are either art teachers and/or are certified in educational studies, psychology, child care and in special needs for children with learning disabilities. Children taking advantage of the Coconut Grove Bank Kids' Creative Corner will be taught how to draw, create cartoons, work with pastel water colors, participate in hand craft activities and will even be educated about famous art masters and illustrators.

The Coconut Grove Bank Kids' Creative Corner will be located in front of the Coconut Grove Convention Center and will be open from 10am ñ 5pm during each day of the Festival, February 18, 19, 20, 2006. All children between the ages of 4 -12 are welcome. The cost is $5 per child, per hour, with proceeds benefiting the Young Rembrandts.

The Young Rembrandts is the most recognized and most respected art enrichment program and is enjoyed by thousands of children. Their mission is to encourage creativity, technique and joy of the artistic process by offering a unique, step-by-step method that successfully teaches children how to draw. There are two values central to Young Rembrandts existence - the love of art and the dedication to enriching the lives of children. Since 1988, Young Rembrandts has been experiencing steady growth and continual success. They have earned a solid reputation for offering a well-organized, high-quality program that teaches a valuable drawing curriculum to children.

The 43rd Annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival will take place February 18, 19, and 20, 2006 (Presidents' Day Weekend). Festival hours will be as follows: Saturday, February 18: 10am ñ 6pm; Sunday, February 19: 9am ñ 6pm; and Monday, February 20: 9am ñ 6pm.

The Festival's mile long path, featuring literally hundreds of artist's booths, will begin on McFarlane Road and gently flow along South Bayshore Drive offering spectacular views of Biscayne Bay, swaying palm trees, the greenery of Peacock and Myers Parks and the cityscape of downtown Coconut Grove.  

Admission to the Festival is $5 per person per day. Children 12 and under are free as are Metrorail Golden Passport and Patriot Passport holders. The Festival is also offering a 3-day pass for $12. Residents of Coconut Grove in the 33133 zip code can enjoy the Festival all three days for only $5 with a specially priced 33133 pass. A portion of the proceeds from Festival admissions will benefit the Coconut Grove Arts and Historical Association, Inc. Building Fund which will be used to create and operate a permanent home in Coconut Grove for the Arts Festival. The facility will include class rooms, exhibit spaces, administrative offices, and art education programs and year round art exhibits.   

For additional information on the Coconut Grove Bank Kids' Creative Corner, call 305-447-0401 or log onto www.coconutgroveartsfest.com .   

Having just taken one giant step toward becoming a major force in the international art world with the recent passage of a $100 million bond issue for the creation of a new facility at Museum Park, the Miami Art Museum (MAM) recently sent another strong signal of its intent to be world class by hiring Terence Riley , a longtime chief curator at New York's Museum of Modern Art, to become its new director.

Riley, 51, has served as a chief curator of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York since 1992.  He will assume the position of director on March 15; however, he will begin familiarizing himself with the museum and his duties prior to this date.

ìNew York City and The Museum of Modern Art are well-established centers for art, and I've enjoyed my work there immensely, but Miami is truly on the verge of greatness in the art world, and its prominence is growing every day,î said Riley. ìThe entire art world knows that Miami and MAM are on the cusp of becoming leading centers for art internationally, and the opportunity to lead MAM at this moment in time is both compelling and exciting,î he said.

Riley said he will develop an ambitious permanent collection strategy through a sound, strategic approach to growth.  He will also spearhead the museum's fundraising program, and oversee the planning and development of a new state-of-the-art Museum Park facility and sculpture garden on Biscayne Bay.  Riley will report to the Museum's Board of Trustees.

ìTerry Riley is an internationally recognized curator who has helped strengthen and expand one of the world's most prominent museums, and his success and knowledge will bring tangible benefits for MAM, Museum Park, and for the entire Miami community,î said Mary Frank , president of the Board and a member of the search committee that selected the new director.  ìIn Terry, we've chosen a leader who will help build the Miami Art Museum into a global center of art, culture and education.î

Named the Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA in 2002 after serving as a chief curator for 10 years, Riley played a key role in the completion of major expansion efforts at the museum.  He was involved in the planning, design, fund raising, and ultimately the successful launching of MoMA's expanded and renovated 630,000 square foot facility, which opened to international acclaim a year ago. Riley began his museum career in 1989 while teaching at Columbia University.  He directed the conversion of a historic building to become the university's Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery, and subsequently served as the Gallery's first director.  In 1991, he became a curator in the department of architecture and design at MoMA and was appointed its chief curator the following year. In addition to strengthening the museum's permanent collection and planning and executing important exhibitions on architecture and design, he has for many years served on the committee that develops the museum's overall exhibition schedule in all media.

In 2002, he co-organized a symposium on Latin American architecture from 1929-1964. Co-sponsored by The Museum of Modern Art and the Parsons School of Design, the symposium brought together key figures from the United States and Latin America. He also worked with an international panel as well as various local leaders as a member of the jury that selected the architects for the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of the most successful museums of its kind. 

Riley is a professional member of the American Institute of Architects, a trustee of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe in Barcelona, Spain, and an advisory board member of the Parsons Graduate School of Design.  He has taught at Harvard University and Columbia University. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1978 with a degree in architecture, and has a master's degree in architecture and urban planning from Columbia University.   He has worked as an architect in the United States and abroad.  Riley has spent a great deal of time in Miami and recently finished building a home here.

MAM conducted a thorough nationwide search for the museum's new director, retaining the firm of Heidrick & Struggles for candidate assessment and background research.  A 14-member search committee ultimately recommended Riley for the position and the Museum's Board approved his appointment.

The Miami Art Museum is located at 101 West Flagler St. For more information, call 305-375-3000 or visit www.miamiartmuseum.org.

PHOTO IDS

1. Terence Riley, Director of Miami Art Museum  

Dali Sculptures, New Works Put
Art + Gallery in the Spotlight
 
by Ron Levitt
Executive Editor

 
 
In the City of Coral Gables—the City Beautiful—known for its monthly gallery tours and for its being the site of some 20 of the nations best-known art galleries, it is indeed beyond the norm for one gallery to make such an impact in so short a time,
 
But that is exactly what is happening with the Art + Gallery, located in the plush Village of Merrick  Park the upscale shopping mecca on the fringe of Ponce de Leon Blvd near U.S. Highway One,
 
Give credit where it belongs! Jean Bernard, owner of Art +. somehow used his influence in art circles and brought more than $12 million worth of Salvador Dali  sculptures and other works to Merrick Park. Fifteen of these monumental sculptures are on display amongst the public gardens which are the core of this unusual high-end retail complex.  The balance of Dali’s works are actually within Art + itself, along with an array of works by other artists, some known internationally; some, local but who will be known shortly,
 
Paris-born Bernard—in the past few weeks—as a result of his coup in bringing the sculptures of one of the world’s most influential artists to South Florida, has been the subject of art world buzz and media frenzy. It isn’t just any gallery owner who can be entrusted with such a valuable collection to put on public display. Actually, there are 34 pieces of Dali’s creative genius in this Art + exhibition, but it is the towering garden sculptures which Bernard has spaced throughout Merrick Park which are being noted by media just about everywhere. The other Dali works—in the gallery itself—are a vast tribute to the genius of one of the leading figures of the Surrealist Movement. Collectors won’t want to miss them.
 
All but one of the outdoor sculptures at the Art + show are from private collections and, as a result, have never been shown en masse before. The pieces are owned by individuals in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland, Some have never been shown publicly. They will be here until April, 2006, and Bernard hopes that visitors to Art Basel and Art Miami in Miami Beach this winter come to Merrick Park to see the Dali originals and participate in special events in conjunction with this exposition,
 
But, the works by this modern master are only part of the Art + exhibit at Bernard’s gallery, #3135 in the Village at 358  San Lorenzo Avenue.
 
Along with the master Dali, a few George Broques, Picassos, Andy Warhols Bartholdis, and other noted artists, you will also find works by some talented newcomers. It is hard to miss, for example, the gigantic in scope paintings by a young Miami Lakes painter named Maja, Actually, his name is Jose Andres Majama.  He is originally from Guines, a small town near Havana.  The boyish (actually 30) painter emigrated here three years ago after studying art in his native land, His geometric canvases seem at times spiritual, primitive, possibly aboriginal, yet strikingly modern. He says he likes to think of them as “logistic.” They show a certain spontaneity, an expression of someone enjoying what he is creating. You immediately feel that you are looking at the works of an artist with a tremendous future,
 
Not everything at Art+ is for sale. There are some images in glass by Daum -- but they are only to look at. But, that should be enough for any art lover. It will make you want to visit Art + time and time again.
 
Certainly, Art+ has put its face on the art map of South Florida, America and the world…..and in a big way!

Gallery Sets Lamb Exhibit

ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries in Coral Gables will have an exclusive exhibit of Matt Lamb paintings starting now through Friday, January 28. A special reception will be held on Friday, January 6, 7-10 pm.
 
This exhibition is a mini-retrospective, featuring Lamb’s paintings from the 1990s through the present.  Lamb’s subject matter ranges from his invented iconography of stylized animals and figures symbolizing the gamut of human strengths and foibles to creamy abstractions. His self-taught techniques, which include blasting some painted areas with a blowtorch, result in an incredible depth of color, along with unique patinas and textures.