Artlist invites bids on Keith Haring work featuring his "Radiant Christ"

ARTLIST | GERTRUDE

Keith Haring POSTER FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT , 1982

FLORIDA---Offset-lithograph on heavy glazed paper Signed & dated by “K. Haring 82". Thousands printed as street post-ups, but only 15 signed & dated impressions. A Letter of Provenance accompanies this work . The Radiant Baby has been used many different contexts of Haring's work. Another popular, but directly contrasting image to the "Radiant Christ" is one of the Radiant Baby sitting atop a nuclear mushroom; an image used in antinuclear rallies by Haring himself. [Bid]

In the early 1900s, Robber Barons brought dozens of old European buildings to America

ATLAS OBSCURA
By Brianna Nofil and Jake Purcell

Saint-Michel-de-Cuixa, late 1800s, prior to parts of it being dismantled and shipped to New York, where is makes up part of The Cloisters. (Photo: Bibliothèque de Toulouse/flickr)

There are two Americans to thank for the strange fact of a 12th century Spanish monastery’s existence only a few miles from Miami Beach: notorious plutocrat William Randolph Hearst, and his art dealer, Arthur Byne —one of several dozen centuries-old buildings imported to the U.S. in the early 20th century. They lie scattered around the country, a hidden patchwork of mostly-illegal monasteries and mansions whose history has been largely forgotten. [Map]

Mennonite pastor is marketing Amish-made furniture online

DESERT NEWS
By Michael Pollick

In this May 4, 2015 photo, Jim and Linse Miller pose for a photo with their leisure lawns chairs at their home in Sarasota, Fla.

FLORIDA---Jim Miller and his wife, Linse, have found a unique business niche, one that makes perfect sense when you think of Sarasota as a southern outpost for the nation's Amish and Mennonite communities. Miller, a former Mennonite pastor in Sarasota, and his wife have become the largest Internet-only marketers of Amish-made furniture. Operating as JMX Brands from offices in east Sarasota, and with no showroom, they are now taking more than $6 million a year in orders that they route to 190 Amish craft shops, mostly furniture makers in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. JMX operates several websites, but the main one is DutchCrafters.com. [link]

Closed Museum of Biblical Art will live on in upcoming exhibition

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Work drawn from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection – a component of the Fundación Cisneros which was founded to enhance the appreciation of art from Latin America.

NEW YORK---This summer, Manhattan's Museum of Biblical Art will close its doors permanently but projects it inspired will continue. One of those projects is the exhibition "Power and Piety: Spanish Colonial Art from the Patricia Cisneros Collection," which was planned to launch a national tour in New York City later this year.  As a result of the closing, Art Services International will now  premiere the exhibition at the Society of Four Arts in Palm Beach, Florida in March of 2016. The exhibition will then tour nationally through 2018. The Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA) is an independent non-profit arts institution whose mission has been to examine the Bible's influence on the Western visual tradition, and on artists from the historical past to the present day.

Jeb Bush, 20 years after conversion, still finds serenity in his Catholic faith

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Michael Paulsen

FLORIDA---“It gives me a serenity, and allows me to think clearer,” Mr. Bush said as he exited the tile-roof church here on a recent Sunday, exchanging greetings and, with the ease of a longtime politician, acquiescing to the occasional photo. “It’s made me a better person.” Twenty years after Mr. Bush converted to Catholicism, the religion of his wife, following a difficult and unsuccessful political campaign that had put strain on his marriage, his faith has become a central element of the way he shapes his life and frames his views on public policy. And now, as he explores a bid for the presidency, his religion has become a focal point of early appeals to evangelical activists, who are particularly important in a Republican primary that is often dominated by religious voters. [link]

Collector Spotlight: The Disney-Britton's Take Home Romero Britto's "Divine Blue"

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Greg's 50th birthday work of art by Romero Britto purchased onboard the Oasis of the Seas

Art collecting can be a job, a hobby, or a passion. For the past eight years, Greg and I have channeled our passion for Christianity into acquiring art inspired by the religious imagination. We started off collecting locally, but we also collect works linked to our travels, like this month's cruise in the western Caribbean. The uplifting Neo-pop religious work of Romero Britto is one of our latest. Titled "Divine Blue," by the Miami resident who grew up in Brazil, Britto combines cubism, pop art and graffiti painting into his style, citing influences like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.

Bodhi Festival Brings Largest Jade Buddha, a Symbol of Peace, to Miami

THE MIAMI HERALD
By Christine Benavente and Amanda Rabines

The Jade Buddha for Universal Peace will be on display through Feb. 8. AMANDA RABINES SOUTH FLORIDA NEWS SERVICE

FLORIDA---As six Tibetan monks meditated at Ichimura Miami-Japanese Garden, silence filled the air. The monks recited mantras about love and compassion at the opening ceremony of the Bodhi Festival, a world peace, art and spiritual-healing exhibition, hosted by the ChakraSamvara Center, a Buddhist healing center in Miami Beach that promotes personal health and well-being. Along with the other monks, Phuntso was there for the coming of The Jade Buddha for Universal Peace, a five-ton Buddha statue carved out of a block of polar jade. [link]

Judaism Informs Tobi Kahn's Work, His Art Transcends Spiritual Motives

ORLANDO WEEKLY
By Yulia Tikhonova

Tobi Kahn, PATUACH SAGUR PATUACH, 2012, Acrylic on wood, 9 3/4 x 12 3/8 x 8 3/4 in., Courtesy of the artist

FLORIDA---Tobi Kahn's Reverie presents paintings, works on paper and sculptures by the NYC-based artist, whose observant Judaism is integral to his art practice. Most important to a proper understanding of Kahn's art is the fundamental significance of the Jewish ethical principle of tikkun olam (literal translation: "world repair"), which designates an obligation to repair or heal the broken world. These paintings convey the artist's deep belief that God is part of every aspect of our world, as well as his commitment to reach across denominational lines. [link]

Cornell Fine Arts Museum: "Tobi Kahn: Reverie" (Ends); Rollins College, 1000 Holt Ave. Winter Park Area, FL; (407) 646-2526; rollins.edu/cornell-fine-arts-museum/

Israeli-born Orna Amrani's Judaica Available at Boca Raton Show

SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL
By Randall P. Lieberman

An example of the Judaica of Israeli-born mixed media artist Orna Amrani, of Fort Lauderdale, who will be one of 160 artists displaying their work at the Boca Raton Fine Art Show in downtown Boca on Jan. 24-25. (Submitted photo)

FLORIDA---Israeli-born Orna Amrani, a mixed media artist from Fort Lauderdale, has gained international acclaim for her innovative, three-dimensional creations. These creations are exhibited in galleries throughout the United States and abroad. Amrani's art — which reflects her Jewish heritage — may be seen in the traditional designs, themes and motifs that echo her love of Jerusalem and Israel. Her creations demonstrate a lifelong interest in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as the scrolls of the ancient Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews. [link]

Federal judge says US constitution compels Florida county clerks to issue marriage licenses to gay couples

THE GUARDIAN

FLORIDA---A federal judge in north Florida ruled on Thursday that county clerks statewide must issue marriage licenses to all same-sex couples who request them starting on 6 January, the effective date of his decision to overturn Florida’s ban on gay matrimony as unconstitutional. Ruling on the merits of the case on 21 August, Hinkle struck down a 2008 voter-approved amendment to the state constitution defining marriage exclusively as the legal union of one man and one woman. But he temporarily stayed his own ruling to give the state an opportunity to appeal. [link]

Chitra Ganesh's “Architects of the Future" at Art Basel

ARTNET NEWS

Chitra Ganesh, Architects Of The Future – City Inside Her (2014). Photo: Courtesy Durham Press

FLORIDA---It would be easy to miss the Brooklyn-based Ganesh's prints along a corridor at the edge of Art Miami—but they are typically great. Titled “Architects of the Future," the series continues Ganesh's interest in imagery from the 1960s and '70s that explore Indian mythology in comic-book form, and creates a kind of cosmic dream narrative. Chitra Ganesh at Durham Press [link]

SCOPE Miami Is as Edgy as an Art Fair Gets

ARTNET NEWS
By Eileen Kinsella

"Johnson Tsang, Guardians' Fall (2014). Courtesy of Oxholm Gallery, Copenhagen

FLORIDA---Crowds had already descended on the SCOPE Miami tent on the beach by the time the fair threw open its doors for the VIP preview at noon on Tuesday. Within the bright white tent with stunning views of the green ocean and bright sands was a wide array of vibrantly colored art, heavy with a street-art aesthetic, including text and neon, as well as large-scale, bold—frequently flashy—works. One case in point: a pink-neon looped mirror with the word "Selfie" in pink neon-tubed script above it, shown at the booth MORDEKAI by Ken Borochov. [link]

How Private Collectors Helped Make Miami An Art Destination

NPR | NEWS
By Greg Allen

Anselm Kiefer's Sprache der Vogel belongs to one of Miami's best-known private collections.

FLORIDA---Miami has a lot going for it. But as a young city, the one thing it doesn't have is a great, publicly owned art collection. (Though it recently built a $220 million art museum to house one.) What Miami does have is some great private collections of contemporary art that are open to the public. Those private collections helped attract Art Basel, a yearly event that turns Miami into a giant art fair. Every December, Art Basel draws top galleries, top buyers and tens of thousands of visitors. [link]

INSPIRE ME! Artist of Month for August is Teresa Mas (Again)

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Baby Krishna by Teresa Mas

Since we began this journey in 2008, we've come across some truly amazing religious artists working in America but Teresa Mas stands out, and especially among Hindu artists. We first saluted her in December 2011 as our INSPIRE ME! Artist of the Month and she continues to fascinate and inspire with her fresh and colorful works. This month however is especially special because this month we are joining the 950 million followers of Hinduism around the world in celebrating the birth of the Hindu god Krishna. The holyday of "Krishna Janmachtami" is August 17th, and we are proud celebrate that "auspicious" day by featuring Florida artist Teresa Mas as our Artist of the Month.

A New Generation of Chinese Art Visits Tampa and St. Petersburg

BURNAWAY
By Lilly Wei

Lu Yang, Wrathful King Kong Core, 2011, still from video animation.

FLORIDA---“My Generation,” critic, writer, curator and journalist Barbara Pollack’s expansive exhibition at the Tampa Museum of Art and the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts (through September 28) salutes the next wave of contemporary Chinese artists, the post-Mao, post-Cultural Revolution generation, all born after 1976 and too young to be part of the tragic Tiananmen Square protests. As China rapidly moved from an agrarian to a modern industrial society in the ’70s, startling changes took place that once again, radically altered Chinese lives. The exhibition emphasizes how much these artists’ attitudes differ from their predecessors (among the first to garner international acclaim). [link]

Wangechi Mutu's "Fantastic Journey” Ends this Weekend at Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS 

Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey - Installation view. Photo by Daniel Portnoy

FLORIDA---This weekend, the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami concludes its spring exhibition of more than 50 works by African artist Wangechi Mutu. “Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey,” is comprehensive survey of the Kenya-born, New York-based artist whose multi-faceted work captures 21st century global spirituality. It includes works from the mid-1990s to the present and ends on July 6, 2014. Combining materials and imagery from sources as diverse as African sacred traditions, international politics, the high fashion industry and science fiction, Mutu creates works that depict fantastical worlds as places for profound exploration of race, gender, religion and power.

The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami: “Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey” (Ends July 6, 2014); Joan Lehman Building, 770 NE 125th Street, North Miami, Florida; (305) 893-6211; http://mocanomi.org

Florida Arts Center Explores Divinity, Diversity and Eroticism

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

“The Resurrection” by Eny Roland (Courtesy of Jesus In Love Blog)

FLORIDA---“The Resurrection” by Guatamalean photographer Eny Roland was featured as part of a provocative exhibition at Miami Beach's Art Center/South Florida entitled "In His Own Likeness." The exhibition was designed to showcase visual art that reaffirms existence, diversity and complexity. "The exhibit draws its name from the creation story in Genesis 1:27" wrote blogger Kittredge Cherry.  She described Eny Roland's "The Resurrection" (above) as "uniting sexuality and spirituality." The exhibition opened in January and closed this past Sunday, March 16, 2014.

Florida Hindu's Plan to Leave Jewish Synagogue For New Hindu Temple in Tampa

SPY GHANA

A $1.5 million and 10,600 square feet Hindu temple has been
planned for Tampa, which hopes to complete construction in 24 months.

FLORIDA---Existing Sanatan Mandir in about 4,000 square feet, whose history goes back to 1989 and which has been a Jewish synagogue, will be reportedly remodeled into a Community Hall when the new temple starts functioning. According to reports, a permit has been obtained to build this new temple which will have five shikhars visible from Interstate 275 and a state-of-the-art audiovisual system, reports suggest. [link]

What Would Ai Weiwei Do? What the Smashing of a Million-Dollar Artwork Has to Teach Us

RELIGION DISPATCHES
By S. Brent Plate

Ai Weiwei," Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn," 1995/2009; "

FLORIDA---Tradition is itself a series of creative and destructive acts, stability and instability; the icons are the tradition as much as the images of iconoclasm. Nothing stays the same. Critical outsiders often sum up Ai's work as "iconoclastic," a very old term from deep inside the Christian tradition. Iconoclasts are the "breakers of icons," sacred images used for worship and devotion. This week, Ai's artwork is back in the news. On Sunday, Dominican-born artist named Maximo Caminero walked into the Pérez Art Museum in Miami and smashed one of the vases that was part of Ai Weiwei's Colored Vases display. [link]

Arts Journalism Grants Awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

The critical role of journalism gets lost in many of the national, and local discussions about arts audience development, and that's why yesterday's NEA arts journalism announcement was so significant. This latest round of recipients of Art Works grant awards named Indianapolis as one of only four communities nationwide receiving Art Works grant awards. The four communities are: Ann Arbor, MI ($45,000); Detroit, MI ($30,000); Fort Lauderdale, FL ($25,000); and Indianapolis, IN ($35,000). The awards are a partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and were announced as part of a webinar/press conference led by Sasha Anawalt, associate professor and director of arts journalism programs at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communications.