Art Palm Beach

One of my favorite exhibits was the work of Abstract Artist Painter Marcos Irusta. His studio is in Miami and fire is actually a part of his painting process. The highlight of the “season” for me in South Florida is not all the crowds, traffic and long lines, although I am grateful for the prosperity it brings to our parts.  The high point is Art Palm Beach.  My pal Vicki and I make a practice of attending the opening reception every year.  This year was double the fun as I went back a second time with my sis and bro-in-law visiting from NY and my son.  The event is always held in January and the venue is the beautiful Palm Beach Convention Center.  This year it was held January 25-28th with a preview evening on the 24th.  This is a rendering of a sculpture which is to grace the median on Okeechobee Blvd. It is by the celebrated local artist Ann Norton 1905-1982. I kind of like it.The focus of the show is contemporary art (my fave).  Sixteen years ago the first show focused on art of the 60s and 70s. Today the focus has expanded to include all forms and periods of contemporary art.  In addition to an international assortment of  exhibitors there were an impressive array of lectures available to attendees.  I’m already planning to focus on these next year.  It is said that the venues such as the Palm Beach County Convention Center create more jobs nationally than the auto industry! It is estimated that Art Palm Beach adds about $800,000 to the local economy in just four days!  In addition it takes 300 people to make it happen.  Enough about logistics, let’s talk about art! I took these pix just to share with my peeps here at Kitchens for Living.  These were some of my favorites.Who knew Ann Norton, famous for her sculptures was also drawing? Well she was and you can now purchase Limited Edition Archival Prints such as this.Another local artist by the name of Katie Deits created this luminous sculpture. Katie is the Director at The Lighthouse Art Center in Jupiter, FL2013-01-24 19.07.33This was just a perfect corner with the work of mixed media, Asian influenced Kate McCavitt's work flanking "Expansion" The third sculpture I fell in love with is this one by called. Sublime.

A striking collection of abstract acrylic paintings by Rita Shapiro. She says, "painting is my link to the larger world...a world with no boundaries.Mixed media painting "Light/Dark" by Carolyn Cole is available through Mark Gallery, Englewood, New Jersey. These delightful paintings are wax (encaustic) on wood and are available for $300 each.people watching is also fun at these events, especially on opening night. So in my next life can I have these legs??If you want to add brightness and vitality to your environment these paintings by British born Martyn Brewster should do the trick! This is Lisa from New York (of course). She works for one of the galleries and was really sweet. She let me take lots of photos of her cool haircut. I actually found a piece by Louise Nevelson! She was an extraordinary sculptor who's worth Googling.I found the work of Stephen Knapp to be extremely interesting and innovative. Just think how you could change the work by adjusting the lamp. Cool, huh? Oh, and it's $18,000