X Marks the Spot

November 16 through February 2
Member Preview: Thursday, November 15, 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Event Photos »

Graffiti isn’t a new concept in the artistic world. Its various manifestations in the past include inscribed obscenities in ancient stone, “Kilroy was here” doodles in World War II and the many colorful, spray-painted images that decorated public places in the 1980s. Then, graffiti was considered an unwelcome form of vandalism. Now with the evolution of graffiti as mural art (à la Banksy), these lines have become blurred, and the people behind the work have transformed from “misguided youths” to professional artists. This exhibition showcases the talents of 16 local artists (emerging to professional) and focuses on the many styles and maturation of graffiti and mural art.

Artists in the show

Exhibition is generously sponsored by:

Play with Your Food!

September 14 through November 3
Member Preview Photos | Artist Lecture Series Schedule

The delights of the culinary world often lead to once-in-a-lifetime experiences that evoke comfort, tradition and culture. Food is also one of the ties that bind and bring friends and families together. Since people tend to eat with their eyes first, in this exhibition, 21 artists are encouraged to “play” with their food and create works of art in all media. From the painterly realism on canvas to the incredible mastery of bronze on display, here is where food will be transformed into something timeless.

Curator Conversation

When asked to write about “Play with Your Food!”, our current exhibition in the main gallery, I was prompted to explain what inspired me to select this theme. As we know, inspiration can come from most anywhere, but I view food as a communal activity where you can break bread with friends, family and really get to understand one another … Keep reading

Featured artists in the show

Exhibition is generously sponsored by:

Jocelyn and Robin Martin

Educators and Artists

An exhibition of artwork by the faculty of the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts

May 25 through August 18
Member Preview: Thursday, May 24, 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Event Photos »

As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, it’s fitting to mount an exhibition celebrating the artist faculty of the school named after our founder, Alexander W. Dreyfoos. In 1997, Dreyfoos made the largest private contribution ever made to a public school in Florida when he pledged $1 million to support Palm Beach County School of the Arts, which was subsequently renamed in his honor. This exhibition honors each artist’s commitment to the students who continue to thrive under their guidance.

Featured artists in the show

Art & Décor

February 16 through May 12
Opening Member Preview: Thursday, February 15, 5:30-7:30 p.m. | See Event Photos »

This exhibition brings together the work of eight interior designers paired with eight professional artists, all from Palm Beach County. Each duo will work together to create a customized vignette inspired by the artist’s work. Since designers typically place artwork after assembling a room, this will be an exciting challenge for both artist and designer to fashion a unique space at the Cultural Council. Acclaimed interior designer Gil Walsh selected the designers featured in this exhibition.

Image Courtesy of Gil Walsh Interiors. Photo Credit © Sargent Architectural Photography

Pairings of designers and artists in the show

Exhibition is generously sponsored by:

Fabricating Smiles

November 17 through January 5

aZul for Better Living, Inc is an emerging non-profit organization founded in Bogota-Colombia in 2014 and established in West Palm Beach in 2015. We believe in transforming relationships into collaboration while highlighting different abilities through endless opportunities. Our mission is to empower adults with developmental disabilities and their families using fashion design, industrial design and art as tools to achieve financial independence, dignity and artistic recognition.

As part of our services, we offer alternative and creative learning sessions that are highly experimental and fully inclusive, using multi sensory approach to maximize the potential in our creatives and collaborators.

Fabricating Smiles is a creative training that offers participants the opportunity to learn professional manners, body language and icebreaker dialogues that help to foster confident interactions in social situations, and how to interact – navigate in a professional business setting. azulforbetterliving.org

Woolems Luxury Home Builders

October 6 through November 3

Danielle Consoni

August 4 through 18

I am 19 years old artist. I started painting when I was seven years old. I love to paint, coloring books, music, dancing, I love fish, birds, dogs and learning new art techniques.

When I am painting nobody can distract me, I stay focus and learn fast.

My mom is a great artist too, and we enjoy working as a team.

PLACES/SPACES

The Architectural Photography of Kim Sargent

May 5 through July 28

Over his four-decade career, Kim Sargent has earned a place among the country’s leading architectural photographers. His portfolio is fully comprehensive—a lineup of some of the country’s top architectural and design publications such as Architectural Digest, Art & Antiques, Veranda, and The Sunday New York Times Magazine, and the world’s most exclusive travel destinations, resorts, yachts, and estate homes. From Jerusalem to Tuscany, he has been commissioned to travel to over 40 countries and to produce numerous coffee table books. Sargent is renowned for capturing exquisite detail; his images often having a certain fine art tinge that makes his photographs never feel sterile or overproduced and reminds us that beautiful architecture is meant to be lived in and experienced. Today, Sargent Architectural Photography boasts the third generation of Sargent artistry, with the addition of his sons Nickolas and Tyler.
sargentphoto.com

Image: Private Residence, Naples, Florida

Materio Private Collection

February 17 through April 21

Henry Flagler came to Florida in the late 19th century and soon collected and promoted work by artists in the State, leading the way to a long tradition of collecting work by Florida artists. Phil Materio and his family have collected similar work in the same manner, and this sample shows a deep connection to Flagler’s legacy. Phil started collecting in 1996 due to an article he read in the Palm Beach Post on the Florida Highwaymen. His interest became his passion and currently has more than 500 pieces of Florida art ranging in date from the 1890s through the 1980s. There are 13 featured artists in this exhibition that illustrate the love and passion these artists had for the Florida landscape.

Exhibition is generously sponsored by:

Ruby

December 1, 2017 through February 10, 2018

As the Cultural Council celebrates four decades of supporting the arts, joins us as local artists exhibit their interpretations of the 40^th anniversary gemstone, ruby.

Featured Artists

Fulya Acikgoz | Glenda Green | Natalya Laskis | Beth Sloat | Carolyn Barth | Sharon Koskoff | Dorotha Lemeh | Leora Stewart | Adrienne Geffen | Susan Kronowitz | Art Siegel | Cindy Trezona

Image: Carolyn Barth, “Springtime” (detail)

Ben Georgia

December 15, 2018 through January 12, 2019

Ben Georgia was once asked two questions: “What did you love to do as a child when alone?” and “What would you do if you did not have to work?” For Georgia, the answer to both was simple—art. Though it took some time to realize this dream, his determination brought him to where he is today. With over 30 years of experience exhibiting paintings and selling over 1,600 of them, Georgia has created a body of work focusing on the emotional dynamics and interaction of color and form. His work was once referred to as “working toward the depths of the emotional experience.” To quote Georgia himself, he strives to paint “where the energy, beauty and strength of the painting compensate for and counteract the tragedy and decay of life.” bengeorgia.com

Image: “Manhattan IV,” 2018, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches

Nelson Babilonia

November 10 through December 8

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nelson Babilonia came to the United States after studying at the School of Plastic Arts in Puerto Rico. His passion for painting is unparalleled and combines abstract and surrealist elements. His dreams inspire his work as he states: “I do not choose my dreams nor choose what to paint. I create with symbols, lines, shapes, texture and color.” With this foundation, it allows him to portray his inner vision. Babilonia has exhibited extensively from San Juan to Spain and has works in multiple collections across the world.

Image: “Paloma,” 2018, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

James Woolems

October 6 through November 3

In 1978, James Woolems founded Woolems Luxury Home Builders where he has cultivated a collective of talented, highly skilled professionals and trained craftspeople who realize the architectural dreams of his discerning clients. Woolems has built dozens of award-winning custom luxury residences from Palm Beach, Jupiter and Miami to across the Sunshine state. An enduring inquiry into shape, form and volume informs Woolems’ meticulous structures and is reflected in his sculptural practice where he has quietly honed his artistic education in his own studio and with leading artists at Anderson Ranch, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and Three Pines Studio.

“Since childhood I have been fascinated with taking objects apart and re-inventing them,” says James Woolems, who began studying sculpture and other artistic skills over 10 years ago. “I create sculpture for the same reason I read a good book, for the enjoyment or working and finding out what happens. As a builder I am drawn to metal, wood, steel and found objects. It is in the hammering, welding, gluing and basic assemblage that something familiar or accidental comes about. Shapes begin to appear and the discovery of proximity and relationships find logic and meaning. It helps me find balance.”

Image: “The Weighted House,” 2015, Mixed media, 28 x 22 inches

Eleanor Woolems

October 6 through November 3

A native of Palm Beach County, Eleanor Woolems was a successful real estate agent for years before returning to school to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Last year, she studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and Ireland’s Ballinglen Arts Foundation, where she worked with artist Catherine Kehoe. Her award-winning artwork has been featured in numerous exhibitions throughout South Florida as well as in Ballycastle, Ireland.

“I am interested in the exploration of the process relating to self-understanding and patterns of familiarity as an expression of growth, happiness and enlightenment,” she says. “The starting point is the feminine figure. Referencing instinctively the archetype of ‘wise woman’ and development of soul qualities… my journey embraces investigating awareness, not exclusively in the psyche of women lives, but also patriarchy.”

“I search intuitively and impulsively looking for complex and synchronistic patterns, shapes, hues, darks and lights. The oil paint, charcoal, pencil, gouache, painted palettes, paper and canvases excite me,” she adds.

Image: “Seated Thoughts,” 2014, Gouache on Duralar, 36 x 30 inches

VSA Florida

Palm Beach County

June 16 through August 18

VSA Florida – Palm Beach County is a nonprofit arts organization providing visual and performing arts programs and special events for 1,400 children and adults with disabilities throughout Palm Beach County. VSA Florida – Palm Beach County’s mission is to create a society where people with disabilities can learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts.

Since 1985, VSA in the state of Florida has provided continuous opportunities in the arts to the disabled community. One hundred percent of contributions made to VSA Florida – Palm Beach County directly support art programs. They serve children in Title I schools in Palm Beach County by providing dance and drama residencies at no cost, in addition to serving teens and adults through affordable community programming in both visual and performing arts throughout Palm Beach County.
vsapbc.com

Image by Rose Ortiz

Debra Yates

Dina Baker Fund for Mature Female Artists Grantee

April 28 through May 26

Debra Yates is a fourth generation Key West Conch. She recently relocated to the historic Parrot Cove neighborhood of Lake Worth Beach. Before settling here, she left her mark from coast to coast, gathering 35 years of creative experience. Yates is the third recipient to celebrate receiving the prestigious Dina Baker Award for Mature Female Artists. Yates’ abstract compositions are sophisticated and modern. Yates has a recurring constant in her work: the circle and the bold black line. Featured in numerous publications from The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler and many widely known design books, Yates also has public work in many South Florida spaces. She has been awarded multiple honors, such as the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship in 2000. debrayatesart.com

Image: “New Work #19,” 2016, mixed media, 72 x 72 inches

Stephen Alarid

March 24 through April 21

For the past three decades, Stephen Alarid’s work comes from a process of determination, creation and knowledge. Early on, he received a scholarship to the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and from there, went on to exhibit work in New York. In 1998, Alarid won the prestigious cash award from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Alarid’s work has been described as “ribbons of paint where fantasy figures are hidden within a larger image.” He layers paint to form shapes and images subtly. With this current body of work, Alarid works with “bands of light” that seem to him as if they are “like a vibration from sound, coming in and out of space.”

Image: “Gate of Light,” 2018, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 48 inches

Rita Shapiro

March 24 through April 21

Living in West Palm Beach since 2001, Rita Shapiro has an extensive and varied education and career. Though she received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Education degrees at Temple University, she later studied painting at Pratt Institute and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Nature is the primary source of her inspiration for her paintings working with the optical pleasures of color and light. Shapiro writes: “Painting is my link to the larger world… a world with no boundaries.” Shapiro’s work can be found in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the nation. She has also exhibited extensively and won numerous awards. ritashapiroart.com

Image: “A Year in My Life,” 2017, oil on wood panel, 14 x 14 inches

Annette Rawlings

February 17 through March 17

Annette Rawlings describes her work: “Drawing and painting from life, I simplify the complex form of the female nude to a few lines and colors. Line expresses movement. Color expresses harmony, calm and serenity. I balance negative and positive space through shape and color, the gestures bridging a gap between realism and abstraction.” With this new body of work, Rawlings paints on canvases simplified figures and transitions others to complete abstraction. She uses experimental techniques with oils, gouache, acrylic and graphite on canvas, hand-made and museum paper. Working in clay, a new media for Rawlings, she went from the traditional to the experimental. A lifelong dream of hers, and something completely new, is translating her figures into bronze. annetterawlings.com

Image: “Line Exploration 7,” 2017, acrylic on canvas tapestry, 40 x 24 inches, $5,000

Barry Seidman

January 13 through February 10

In Barry Seidman’s “My Drawers Series,” the photographs tell the story of a life. As the viewer goes from one item to the other in magnified detail, he or she begins to know the artist, what he did and what he cares about. The drawers are juxtaposed with items of modern day life, such as a coffee maker or a lamp and remote on the bedside table. “As this series came to fruition, I realized how biographical it became. It is an examination of my life as much as any written word, it’s a self-portrait,” Seidman explained. “So many accumulated bits and pieces of my life are there to explore. It’s almost too personal to show.” Recognized as one of the top, still-life photographers in the country, Seidman continues to exhibit his fine art photography in numerous, one-man, fine art shows in New York City and South Florida and has contributed to numerous group shows. barryseidman.com

Image: “Kitchen Drawer,” 2017, dye sublimation on aluminum, 48 x 33 inches

Cynthia Maronet

January 13 through February 10

This new series of paintings by Cynthia Maronet represents a visual tribute to the private paradise on the Earman River in North Palm Beach where she has lived for the past 35 years. A pair of large oak trees twisted with age and dozens of palm trees dominate the lush tropical landscape. Each evening the backyard and river are flooded with brilliant light, cloud formations, and reflections. Capturing those vibrant moments became the focus of her exhibition. The paintings seem to relate and connect as they tell the story of her environment and life. Maronet has exhibited nationally and is in many public and private collections.

Image: “Can You See the Palm Tree,” 2017, oil on canvas, 18 x 18 inches