Contemporary art showcased at Cornell Art Museum
While taking a stroll in Downtown Delray Beach recently for a local arts festival, my husband and I came upon a yellow gem in the middle of Delray’s Old School Square. What used to be a school is now a local art museum, known as the Cornell Art Museum, located on the Old School Square campus. The museum showcases contemporary and provocative art from emerging and established local and regional artists. Exhibitions are theme-based, often evolving into dynamic group shows that attract a diverse audience.
The museum is housed in a historic 1913 elementary school building, adding architectural charm to its cultural offerings. It’s part of a broader arts hub that includes the Crest Theatre, the Old School Square Fieldhouse, and the Creative Arts School, making it a central node in Delray Beach’s creative scene.
ICONS of ART. The Cornell Art Museum introduced “ICONS of ART Italian Mosaic Portraits” in February of this year. The hype of its popular works demanded an extension of this exhibit, so it was showcased through Oct. 27, as a result of its acclaim by enthusiastic viewers. The exhibit featured 40 hand-crafted mosaic portraits from the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli, a world-famous Italian mosaic school in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. All the portraits are of iconic figures from the worlds of popular culture in art, music, and film.
ICONS of ART, “Morgan Freeman,” Alina Chubova, Venetian Smalti, marbles, cotton fabric, and decorative ferrous inserts (2017, 12″ x 12″, Italy).
The ICONS of ART project is the product of a growing partnership between Delray Beach’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Palm Beach County’s broader arts community with Le Associazione Naonis of Italy.
Dorothy Gillespie. Recently opened and on view until Jan. 14 at the Cornell is a collection of Dorothy Gillespie (1920–2012) called “Retrospective Color in Motion.” It is in collaboration with the Dorothy Gillespie Foundation of the 20th Century American Artist.
Gillespie’s life spanned nearly a century of artistic evolution, and she remained creatively active well into her later years, advocating for women in the arts and transforming aluminum into jubilant, ribbon-like sculptures that still grace public spaces across the United States.
“Tabletop Starburst,” Dorothy Gillespie, sculpture (circa 1990) made of enamel-painted aluminum with gilt edges.
Gillespie, active from the late 1930s through 2010, was known for transforming aluminum into exuberant abstract forms that often filled public spaces. Her “Starburst” series, whether monumental or tabletop, symbolized her philosophy of color, light, and motion, which culminated in her Rockefeller Center installation of 185 sculptures in 2003.
This vibrant piece exemplifies Gillespie’s signature style, where explosions formed of color and movement through ribbon-like metal. Gillespie was a highly collected artist who passed away in Coral Gables.
Crystal Bacchus. Opened Oct. 18 and running through Feb. 22, Crystal Bacchus’ “In the Garden” will take visitors through a whimsical landscape of eco-systematic consciousness by the use of thick strokes and vibrant colors. This is the first Spotlight Exhibition for Bacchus, whose artistic journey since age 13 has explored creative color concepts inspired by nature, embodied in texture, patterns, and bold composition.
Bacchus is recognized for taking the unpredictability of watercolor and absorbing it into a full-range filtration arrangement on paper. Founder of Xtal Art Studios Inc., Bacchus has been active in the Florida art scene since 2011, producing a range of hand-drawn journals, greeting cards, and wearable art.
For more information about Bacchus, visit www.xtalart.com.