Behind the Scenes of New Wave Art Wknd, an Exclusive Palm Beach Art Extravaganza - Architectural Digest

Sarah Gavlak, founder of New Wave Art Wknd, in a Rolls-Royce. The car company was one of the weekend’s sponsors.

Photographed by Douglas Friedman

When you think of Palm Beach, boundary-pushing art isn’t always the first thing that comes to mind. The sliver of a Floridian island with pristine white beaches and turquoise waters is synonymous with old money, Gilded Age mansions, and their associated interiors. (Read: pastels, rattan, and lots of embroidered pillows.)

But, years ago, when gallerist Sarah Gavlak was working at New York’s Gagosian Gallery, she “saw that an enormous amount of contemporary art was coming here,” she tells AD PRO. The observation spurred Gavlak to open her own namesake gallery on the island—then the first such art destination of its kind in Palm Beach. While Gavlak debuted pioneering solo shows by female artists such as Marilyn Minter and Sheila Hicks, other parts of Palm Beach society continued to feel less, well, contemporary.

Become an AD PRO Member

Buy now for unlimited access and all of the benefits that only members get to experience.

Which brings us to the event that is New Wave Art Wknd: a multiday extravaganza, and Gavlak’s brainchild, which wrapped its second iteration earlier this month. Invitation-only, noncommercial, and therefore somewhat antidotal to Art Basel Miami, the proceedings served as a palate cleanser for a small group of art-world sophisticates.

The weekend, otherwise referred to as NWAW, is also how Gavlak and her power-packed advisory committee—which includes the likes of Jane Holzer, Sanford Biggers, and more—showcase the flourishing contemporary art scene in Palm Beach while focusing on its blind spots. “Palm Beach has great collectors but there aren’t artists [living] here,” Gavlak explains. “This is about getting artists a seat at the table…. There is so much philanthropy—but not that much diversity.”

A Claes Oldenburg sculpture at the Norton Museum, another stop along the weekend’s way.

Photographed by Douglas Friedman

During this month’s NWAW, which focused on immigration and migration, art scholar Isolde Brielmaier moderated high-level conversations between philanthropists, artists, curators, and museum directors such as Thelma Golden. The topics ranged from art as a means for political and social intervention to diversity and inclusion within institutions.

“Just beyond the border of Palm Beach, which is almost 96% white, there is a diverse immigrant community that is sorely underrepresented,” Gavlak adds. “By bringing artists from around the world to this region, we can jump-start a cultural conversation with collectors who have the financial ability to create real change.”

NWAW partnered with City of Asylum, a nonprofit based in Pittsburgh that provides sanctuary and legal support to artists who are exiled from their home countries under threat of persecution, torture, or in some cases, death. Peruvian artist Renzo Ortega, an attendee of the weekend, will be the first in a joint artist-in-residence program that is set to kick off in July. When asked what he likes about Palm Beach, Ortega smiled and said, “The colors. The blues are different. Maybe my work here will be about blues.” All proceeds from the event will benefit the residency program and the City of Asylum.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"palm" - Google News
December 20, 2019 at 04:20AM
https://ift.tt/2EBnTbT

Behind the Scenes of New Wave Art Wknd, an Exclusive Palm Beach Art Extravaganza - Architectural Digest
"palm" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WAayZw
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update