On the seasonal theme of “good things come in small packages,” the Broward Art Guild is featuring “Small Works,”an exhibit showcasing original art 14-inches or less, running through Friday, Dec. 20.
Due to their compact size, small artworks can highlight intricate details and craftsmanship not as noticeable in larger pieces and demonstrate the artist’s abilities in a variety of mediums including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, ceramics and mixed media.
“This is one of my favorite exhibits of the year,” says Teena Liesenfelt, president of the Broward Art Guild. “The small works present a particular challenge to create an intimate art exhibit featuring carefully curated selections of small artworks.”
There were 139 entries, which includes multiple entries by individual artists.
“The exhibit celebrates the intricate details and nuances that can be overlooked in larger pieces,” she says.
For the artists, working on a small scale enables them to focus on the essential elements of their narrative. Conversely, viewers can absorb the entire work at a glance, allowing them to appreciate the artist’s vision and technique.
Broward Art Guild’s shows are juried and are judged by visual art professionals. For the “Small Works” exhibition, judging the works will be Fort Lauderdale photographer, painter and printmaker, Deborah Galgon Kerr, a member of the Broward Cultural Council and a past council chair.
“I appraise the works taking into account mood, subject and designs,” says Kerr about her judging process. “The execution of movement with an emphasis on proportions, color values, unity and harmony are all important.”
Creating a small work requires concentration, creativity, dexterity and patience and the ability for the artist to condense their vision and create an intimate visual experience.
Coral Springs resident and Broward Art Guild member, Glenn Levy, 83, says he has always been drawing, thinking and creating.
A retired advertising art and creative director from New York, Levy had a long and fulfilling career doing what he loved. He worked on accounts for Tucks, Caladryl and Benadryl, Procter and Gamble food products and cigarette ads, and won a number of awards for his work.
exhibit at the Broward Art Guild.
Works” exhibit at the Broward Art Guild.
Works” exhibit at the Broward Art Guild.
Works” exhibit at the Broward Art Guild.
Works” exhibit at the Broward Art Guild.
Works” exhibit at the Broward Art Guild.
“I was lucky in my career,” he says. “I never went to work – I went to play.”
Constantly sketching and doodling, Levy fills up sketch books with drawings of his experiences.
“It’s much cheaper than a therapist,” says Levy, who began sculpting while still in high school.
Six of his figurative sculptures are in the show. He describes them as “indications,” meaning sometimes he will omit details such as the eyes or lips and wants the viewer to make their own interpretation.
Preferring to work with his fingers, due to the small nature of the sculptures, he resorts to using a sculpting tool and will finish them after firing with powdered colors, wax and acrylics.
Levy, who, when not working on his art, likes to cruise with his wife Natalie, a retired X-ray technician, and says they are the first couple on the dance floor. When it comes to his work, he is a perfectionist, often working 12 to 14 hours at a time. He admits, though, other times he procrastinates.
“Each piece contains a story and a part of me,” he says. “They’re hard to part with.”
Hoping to diversify, he recently purchased three large canvases that are sitting in his garage, and plans to begin painting.
Jamaican-born and Lauderhill-based artist, Suzzette Dawes, 53, studied watercolor and drawing at Wolmer’s High School for Girls in Jamaica and gives credit to her teacher, Marcia Dunn, for inspiring her love of art.
Her painting titled, “Haiku on Cactus Silhouette,” a silhouette of a cactus at sunrise, along with her haiku poem, is on display at the exhibit.
Although she later graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, her love for art never left her and, like Levy, always found time to “scribble and doodle.”
Also a poet, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dawes spent her time productively, taking on-line art classes and tutorials from Michael’s, the craft retail chain, classes on Eventbrite and instructional videos on YouTube, experimenting with colors, learning new techniques and how to pour acrylics.
“During the pandemic, I was painting away,” she says.
Earlier this year her work was displayed at the Broward County Library in Pembroke Pines in a program titled, “Art Around Town,” open to members of the Broward Art Guild.
Dawes, who joined the Guild in 2016, admires the hyper-realist work of Chinese-American artist Alexander Chen, who is best known for his depictions of the world’s most famous cities and historical landmarks, pop artist Peter Max, populist artist Thomas Kincade and writers A.P. Herbert, an English satirist and Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay (“The Tropics in New York”).
Works” exhibit at the Broward Art Guild.
Works” exhibit at the Broward Art Guild. An accompanying haiku poem is written on the
canvas.
exhibit at the Broward Art Guild. The Coasters have a haiku painted on the reverse.
Then there’s G.Man, Hollywood mixed-media artist, Gaetan Cronier, 69, who says he knew at the age of four, when he fashioned a wood cross from branches and twine for his devout Catholic mother, that he wanted to be an artist.
“ ‘It’s beautiful,’ ” he recalls his mother telling him and those words alone propelled him to a lifetime of working with his hands – first as a furniture and cabinetmaker, upholsterer, designer and re-finisher and now as an artist working with recycled, upcycled and salvaged wood and other natural materials.
With his wife of 24 years, Cathy Myers, the two run G.Man Production and create “art for your heart,” using heart symbols as his signature motif.
Cronier, originally from Québec, Canada credits Myers, a former AT&T executive, as his inspiration.
Using cedar, pine, mahogany, and mango wood from his own garden, that he cuts. carves and sands, Cronier creates original pieces with the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, or embracing imperfection.
The artist has won numerous awards for his mango-based sculptures, as well as for his mixed media art.
He adds organic textures from sand, glass, shells and found rocks as a way to create depth and emotion and a piece that speaks to the viewer. He works in his studio/garage where he has tools for everything, including electric, plumbing and welding.
“If you’re looking for perfection, go somewhere else,” he says. “My art chooses you; you don’t choose it.”
For this exhibit, Cronier submitted a 12-inch by 12-inch wall sculpture of a peace sign fabricated with wood, rocks and shells, titled “Peace & Love,” layered with so many coats of acrylic that it took three months to dry.
“All my art is connected to my heart and no two pieces are alike,” he says.
Finding inspiration in nature and its imperfection, Cronier also finds it in the quotidian, such as in his neighborhood bakery, where he admires the passion and creativity of the “pâtissière.”
He has a message for those looking to buy art.
“Really look at the art,” he says. “Find the meaning that speaks to you.”
He says, the message you uncover may differ from what the artist intended, but the two do not have to align.
A highlight in his career came four years ago when he sold his first big piece, “Eye of the Future,” carved from the mango tree in his yard, to a collector in Fort Lauderdale.
An optimist and a child of the 60s, Cronier believes art can make an impact on one’s well-being.
“My goal is to make people happy,” he says. “No matter what art I make, I want people to stop and think about what it says to them.”
exhibit.
in Fort Lauderdale. The piece won “Best In Show” in 2022 at “An Evening Of The Arts,”
event co-sponsored by the Broward Art Guild and JAFCO (Jewish Adoption and Family Care
Options).
four years. The artist says the piece is a “fresh look at the future.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT : Broward Art Guild “Small Work” Exhibit
WHERE: Broward Art Guild, 2052 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
WHEN: Opening reception: Saturday, Dec. 7 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Cast a ballot for the People’s Choice Award. Exhibit runs through Friday, Dec. 20. Gallery hours, noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday
TICKETS: Free
INFORMATION: (954) 537-3370 and
BrowardArtGuild.org
