Creative Partners Art

Ahhh…Key West. Just the mere mention makes my mind wander to the turquoise waters and sandy beaches of the southern most city in America. The sunsets are magnificent and captured by many of the local artist. You can stroll down Duval Street and take refuge from the heat in one of the many art galleries this island has to offer.

The Old Island Days Art Festival is a must for Caribbean art lovers. You’ll see different types of artwork at this festival, but the flavor of the Caribbean definitely comes through. Key West closes off two full blocks so art patrons can leisurely stroll through and discover the stunning watercolors, prints and craftwork displayed. The annual show is sponsored by the Key West Art Center and in 2010 they will be celebrating their 45th year. The show originally featured local artists hanging their artwork with clothes pins along the fences on Front Street. But now, artists from all over the world come to this event to showcase they beautiful work.

I can’t mention Key West without mentioning my favorite local artist, Ray Rolston. I first met Ray while perusing the wares of local artists while watching the most amazing sunset I’d ever seen. If you don’t know, Key West is THE place for perfect sunset viewing. And Ray’s vibrant paintings capture the lively colors of the sea and sensational sunsets. You can find his artwork in most Key West establishments. Inspired by nature, Ray’s paintings are filled with color and tropical scenes, showcasing his love of the sea. I have his work displayed throughout my house and I feel like I’m living in paradise. You can find Ray’s paintings and prints on his site…oh and if you like Jimmy Buffet, you’ll like the music Ray’s website provides. http://www.rayrolston.com/index.html

The most well known art gallery in New York has recently announced that a large collection of contemporary drawings will be available for viewing. Harvey Shipley Miller, the sole trustee to the Judith Rothschild Foundation has successful collected nearly 2,500 pieces of work by over 650 artists. This collection has an estimated value of nearly $60 million and has been donated to the MOMA.
While this collection has certain value and interest, some within the art world have concerns about the true value of the works as it is believe that the entire collection was purchased quickly, possibly with little consideration given to each of the individual pieces. Other criticism about the collection pointed to the possible breach of the fundamental goals of the foundation to purchase and support under-privileged or under-recognized artists.
While some mild controversy surrounds the exhibit and the large donation, the pieces will be on display in the museum from April 22-July 27 of 2009. Over 300 works will be on display from over 200 of the artists, giving a large sampling of this massive collection of art works. Choosing works from this massive, uncoordinated collection took effort from the museum and collection curators, but overall, the exhibition has received positive reviews from visitors.
One certain group of drawings to review is the more ‘childlike’ groupings, one of which is described as a Winnie the Pooh like scribbling- certainly attracting interest as to why it was selected and how it made its way into this world renowned museum for display.
The large collection of new artists added to the MOMA’s collection works to support a stronger connection between the contemporary artists and the museum itself, an important short and long term goal for both collective groups. The focus of the museum to continue collecting work from contemporary artists has largely been increasing ever since the Fund for the 21st Century was established.