Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary returns this weekend; nixes tent site for convention center

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Works from Marc Chagall, Francis Bacon, Alex Katz, Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein, Banksy and other contemporary artists will be on display when the Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary returns this week after a hiatus spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

Many never-before exhibited works from more than 85 galleries will be at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach. The fair opens today with a VIP invitation-only preview benefiting the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens and runs through Sunday.

“The thing about the show this year is that it has grown with Palm Beach County and the City of West Palm Beach,” said Nick Korniloff, director of Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary. “We have not had a show with this level of quality of contemporary art with such depth and diversity. Prior to the pandemic, our area was a very savvy community of art enthusiasts during the winter months but now it has grown to a more year-round, urban environment, which has really created a lot of energy around the event.”

During the pandemic and the hiatus of the premiere art fairs in South Florida many galleries established satellite locations in Palm Beach, following their clientele who had moved here. This has dramatically changed the landscape of the art offerings in the area, creating a world-class destination for art enthusiasts.

>>Following their clients south: Island a hot spot for galleries

Previously housed in a temporary tent site, the art fair moves to the convention center for the first time this year.

“We’ve been able to increase the number of presenters not only because of the demand in the community, but also because of the size of the convention center,” Korniloff said. “We will have more than 85 exhibitors and galleries this year, so that’s 40% larger in size than in the past.”

Opera Gallery Miami is presenting by British American sculptor and lighting artist Anthony James' light installation '60" Icosahedron (Solar Black)'.
Opera Gallery Miami is presenting by British American sculptor and lighting artist Anthony James' light installation '60" Icosahedron (Solar Black)'.

Highlights include works by the 10-year-old painting prodigy Andres Valencia, who took the art world by storm at Art Basel Miami in December, garnering international media attention. He is represented by Chase Contemporary and will have several pieces on display in its booth.

Opera Gallery, which has locations around the world, is presenting an installation by British American sculptor and lighting artist Anthony James, and public art by American sculptor Will Kurtz with a piece in the VIP lounge and an installation at the Square, both with proceeds benefiting the Ann Norton.

Andres Valencia's acrylic pain and oil pastel 'Charlie.' Chase Contemporary will have several of his paintings on display.
Andres Valencia's acrylic pain and oil pastel 'Charlie.' Chase Contemporary will have several of his paintings on display.

A highlight of the fair will be the work of photographer Harry Benson, who will receive a lifetime achievement award during the VIP opening night event.

His photographs will line both sides of the main entry hall leading into the fair, and will be on display in the VIP lounge. Holden Luntz Gallery of Palm Beach, which has represented the Scottish-born Benson for more than 25 years, will have a show at its booth devoted to Benson, “Harry Benson: A Life of Legendary Photographs.”

>> Wild about Harry: Benson exhibit at Holden Luntz in 2019

Gallery owner Holden Luntz said he began his relationship with Benson at a time when photographs were just beginning to enter the category of art as an established medium.

“He’s one of the oldest living photographers that we established a consistent working relationship with at a time when people really began to move into the photography market,” Luntz said. “It was a time when people began to understand that photography was something they could hang on their walls and collect and see as art. Photography was not mainstream in the art market, and so we started our relationship with Harry at a time when all of that was changing.

“His images became windows to the world. He was at the right place at the right time in history, but he also knew what to do once he was there, so he got great pictures and they still look so fresh.”

The 92-year-old Benson has photographed countless celebrities, presidents and musicians, including The Beatles on their inaugural American tour in 1964, Michael Jackson, Andy Warhol, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jackie Kennedy, Ray Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Muhammad Ali, Dolly Parton and The Rolling Stones.

Harry Benson
Harry Benson

He has also photographed important historic events such as the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy; marches with Dr. Martin Luther King; Irish Republican Army maneuvers; the Los Angeles Watts riots; the Berlin Wall being torn down; the famine in Somalia; and wars in the Middle East, Bosnia and Afghanistan.

“Taking photographs has always been fun to me and I am really lucky about doing this for a living,” Benson said. “Where I grew up, in Glasgow, most people did jobs they were unhappy with, so even though sometimes the things I have photographed and seen happen have been awful, some of the things I photographed have been wonderful, and photography has always been fun to me. I am really lucky to be doing this for a living.''

Talking about the role of photojournalism, Benson said “the important thing right now with photojournalism is that you don’t want to make anything up, and that’s been a very important thing to me. Don’t fail now, this is it.

“Photojournalism has shown some very wonderful moments, but also some very terrible moments, but that is what a photojournalist has to do. I was there in 1968, just four or five yards away from Bobby Kennedy when he was shot and assassinated ... I wake up sometimes at night still, and it’s the screaming that I remember about that.”

Harry Benson's photo of The Beatles having a pillow fight in Paris in 1964 is one of his most-famous images.
Harry Benson's photo of The Beatles having a pillow fight in Paris in 1964 is one of his most-famous images.

Benson has received countless awards, including the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and has twice been named the magazine photographer of the year by the National Press Association, but he says the lifetime achievement is meaningful.

“I’m very honored and I’m overwhelmed to get this award at this age and time,” Benson said. “It’s a great honor. I’m an old man and it’s fun to get an award I can show off to my grandchildren and show off to all my friends.”

If you go:

What: Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary

Where: Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach.

When: Opening VIP preview is 5-9 p.m. today. General admission is 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday

Cost: A one-day ticket is $35, multi-day ticket is $60, VIP ticket is $175 and includes access to the VIP preview opening night, unlimited admission on public fair days, access to VIP lounges and one-day general admission to the Palm Beach International Boat Show. Seniors 62 and over and students 12-18 years of age are $20. Children younger than 12 are free when accompanied by an adult. All tickets available exclusively online with no box office on site.

Information: For more information visit www.artpbfair.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Basquiat, Banksy and Francis Bacon on display at Palm Beach exhibition