museum of art

Modern art in Boca Raton

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Modernism, like all good artistic and cultural movements, spans many years and decades and has many branches and sub-branches. Folks who say “I don’t like Modern art” are making a very, very big sweeping statement, a massive generalization, brushing away almost two centuries of art.

Most scholars point to the Impressionists of the mid- to late 1800s as the vanguard of Modern Art. If you go to the Prado Museum with me, I will prove this theory wrong. Let me know when you are in Madrid!

But back to this blog post. The Boca Raton Museum of Art is hosting a small but powerful exhibit: Modernisms, Art from the Manes Collection. It is very well curated, starting with Renoir and making its way to Robert Mapplethorpe, with wonderful works by Picasso, Chagall, Dali, and, possibly, my favorite in this exhibit, Jasper Johns’ 1980 American Flag.

Jasper Johns is considered one of the founders of Pop Art, and his flags, which paradoxically resemble the flag of the United States, are truly works of art; one must look closely, then step back, and repeat as necessary until one gets it. At the same time, Johns is a gateway into minimalism (which I talked about here). Can you tell I love the double entendre? The visual game?

So, if you are going to be in South Florida anytime before October 11, go see this exhibition. You are welcome.

Spanish Baroque in Boca Raton

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As soon as I found out that the Boca Raton Museum of Art had an exhibit about the Spanish Baroque, I booked a visit for my classes and then went to check it out for myself.

The paintings are courtesy of the Hispanic Society of America in New York, which has organized this exhibit, and which will then travel to a couple more cities.

Splendor and Passion: Baroque Spain and Its Empire is a small but very good-quality exhibit. You are welcomed by a local artist’s interpretation of Velazquez’s Meninas, and then you enter to discover paintings by the real Velazquez, Murillo, and el Greco (whom I would put more into late Renaissance than Baroque, but I am nitpicking). If you love the chiaroscuro, if you love Baroque art, this one is for you!

The Boca Raton is a fairly small museum, with most of the collection being 20th C art. But since you are already there, you might as well check it out.

So, if you are in this suburban wasteland that is South Florida, and you need a little injection of beauty, art, and culture, head over to the Boca Raton Museum of Art. You are welcome.