Palm Beach: International Sculpture Biennale

[mbornia]

By Gary Schwan
Palm Beach Post Art Writer

Saturday, September 17, 2005

WELLINGTON — The idea is "monumental" — an international sculpture competition that will bring 75 large outdoor works to Wellington every other year beginning this spring.

Artists from as far away as India, Singapore and Nigeria like the concept. They were among the first to respond to a call for entries to the Palm Beach International Sculpture Biennale, which will open Feb. 17 on the 10-acre site of the proposed Cultural Campus arts complex.

BE A PART OF THIS "MONUMENTAL" EVENT....

www.sculpturebiennale.com

[fused]

This biennial appears to have tremendous potential, but the expense (fees and transport) is likely to draw mostly commercially successful artists. It will be interesting to see this accumulation of sculpture in February 2006.

[JAZ]

Yes, $65-85 is pretty steep, isn't it. Then it sounds like you are required to rent a booth. This appears to be a good source of income for the exhibit. In their favor, though, is the reasonable 20% commission.
Maybe the exhibit will be worth the investment for some artists.
JAZ

[fused]

Yes, I was referring more to the Selected artists will be required to rent a booth for the four-day showcase and artists have two options available. The regular booth fee for a 10x10 booth is $500. The booth fee for the large 10x20 booth is $1,000 and the fact that you still have to transport/ship your sculpture(s) to and from Palm Beach, Florida.

[kaato]

I attended this "Biennale" . It was a farce! Artists were deceived by a 24 year old upcoming politician to bolster his career. The setting was abysmal, it as ill conceived, underbudgeted, understaffed, poorly executed at best! The artists were used for the city of Wellington to make use of a piece of property that was leased from the city for 1 dollar per year. The people who attended were primarily local retired people. Even local gallery owners did not attend, let alone museums or serious collectors. It was more like a poorly organized craft show than anythiing. The level of some of the work was very good, but ....these artists were used. Manny Bornia is a 24 year old with no experience or expertise in running any form of sculpture biennale. If he had a conscience he would be ashamed at the level of deceit. Beware.....this event is just a slick web site, with nothing to back it up. A word of caution to anyone considering participating in 2008.

[jim collins]

On the subject of "exhibitions":

I guess this one fooled me. The much-touted Riverbend Sculpture Biennial 2005, Owensboro Museum of Art, Kentucky (http://www.opublicart.org) started in May 2005 with a $25.00 “Processing Fee” and after an extended deadline, finally got off the ground. First stop, Miami Florida where a gallery owner, Bernice Steinbaum, selected 69 proposals (photographs of sculptures and maquettes) from a field of 1008 submitted.

September 11th a big day for this Ohio River Town with the “Public” opening of the exhibition, a speech by Martin H. Bush and the announcement of four commissions. Receiving commissions totaling $325,000 were Peter Reginato of New York, Isaac Witkin of New Jersey, and Ernest Trova from St. Louis. Wait a minute. Did Ernest Trova the internationally known and collected sculptor, Peter Reginato, and Isaac Witkin go through an open call national competition? No. Only Denny Haskew went through the selection process.

The record reveals that the Owensboro Museum added an unannounced MASTERS OF PUBLIC ART, invitational exhibition running concurrently with the biennial. The commissions were selected from both groups, even though there was no mention of this procedure in the prospectus. None of the information given by the museum made reference to MASTERS OF PUBLIC ART. No mention in the prospectus, nothing in any fact sheets: 1-December-04 or 8-March-05. No mention in the letter of July 1, 2005 (Juror’s Results). No mention of the Masters Show in the invitation to the Preview Gala or the Public Opening Sept. 11. Not until the MEDIA RELEASE (15 Sep 2005) does the concurrent exhibition appear. One can only assume that the museum wanted to fill out the galleries with competing sculptors selected from several hundred applicants, and get the sculpture they wanted from the beginning.

I have requested that the museum remove my name from its mailing list.

[OrestesSculpt]

I am an artist that participated in the Biennale. I will start by saying that this event was everything they said it would be. Sure it was their first year, they had a small staff, and the budget was small, but under no circumstance did it use us as artists. It was a privilage even. I was selected by the jury to participate and I thought that Mr. Bornia and his staff did an amazing job of executing a challenging task. Many of the aritists received, including myself, not only sold works, but commisions from this event. Perhaps the artist that commented above did not have such luck. With these events it is hit or miss and the only thing that the producing organization did for us was take care of us, and treat us well in every way that they could. Catered lunches, dinners, and a private well appointed tent just for the use of the artists with their potential clients.

I am not sure exactly what Mr. Bornia "Manny" could personally gain from any of this, except to provide future opportunites to artists. I for one am in full support and wish them nothing but the best in the future. it was great to be there for their first year and hope to be there as they grow in 2008.

[BOBNYCSculpt]

I too am an artist that went to the Biennale and I have got to tell ya, they did a great job. What a great group of people, not only Manny buy Jody and Kate as well. These folks worked their butts off for this event and I for one had a great time and sold somework. I was also picked up by a gallery in Boca!

It is truly a shame to see an artist express himself in such a way about a group that really tried. They made hundreds, I mean hundreds of custom concrete bases! No event that I have every been to does this for their artists. Sure I paid $500, but they gave me $300 back for a stippend, and I had a tent (which sure was not the greatest) with tables and chairs. They wined and dinned us like we were rock stars!

There was everything at the exhibition, the new and fledgling artist and the experienced, which may have been a bit akward for some to be in the same boat with those starting out, but frankly that is what it is all about for me. I have been there and done that, the beauty of this event was the interaction with collegues and the exposure to a market that I had not been exposed to. That is the bottom line. You can't expect people to walk through the door and drop over $100K with no development or knowledge of you as an artist or your work. Get over yourself that takes time.

One final thought, sure there were alot of retired folks there, but we need to be honest with ourselves. The audience for big sculpture is not that big to begin with! I did meet gallery owners, and there were some museum folks, I also meet two officials from different cities art in public places programs (Coral Springs and Daytona)

Sorry to be long winded, but I just cant let one or two bad eggs contaminate the reputation of this event. It was great and I would do it again.

[fused]

Thanks for sharing your experience Bob NYC and Orestes, the work included in the Sculpture Biennale is certainly diverse in media and ideas, which sculptures are yours? The website is full of nice color images but doesn't give bios or name the award winners, would you be so kind as to fill in the blanks and report on who Jurors singled out for Cash Awards and Curator Recognition Awards.

[MichaelShacham]

I too participated in the Palm Beach Sculpture Biennale. I think that Kaato's remarks are totally unwarranted. It shows the inexperience of a young sculptor looking for quick sales and not understanding what must go into creating a cultural center that can become a home for the Arts and a showcase for sculpture and promote the sales and recognition of sculpture over the long term. The efforts of Manuel Bornia, Jody Young and the whole staff are to be applauded. I too am looking forward to the 2008 biennale in the hope that I will be able to participate. As for Manuel's young age I was surprised that such a young man showed the maturity that he did in dealing with all that was involved in the show. All power to him.

[mbornia]

I am not one to defend or tout the successes or failures of this institution. The Palm Beach International Sculpture Biennale was our first attempt to create something new, something innovative and a venue for sculptors. Instead of telling you in my words, I will let the artists speak for themselves. I encourage you to "google" the event and read the rave reviews and coverage that this event received.

To all artists who participated, we look forward to your continued participation and thank you for your faith and for sharing the vision. We will grow and learn from everything that we experienced this season to make 2008 a truly magnificent program.

[mbornia]

It's Tom Maley (UK) here,

I met Kurt Brill (kaato) the day before the show, as we were 'neighbours' he came over and introduced himself, "I'm not happy" he said and"What the **** are you doing here!" he asked playfully. I think that pretty much set the tone for Kurt's week.Unphased by this (I worked in the engineering industry for 20 years before becoming full time at the sculpture and have heard a lot worse than dear Kurt) I explained to Kurt that my circumstances in participating in the event would undoubtedly be different from his and that all the artist would be approaching this event from a different perspective, Everyone would have a different agenda in terms of expectations, sales etc.

I think Kurt came to the event to sell and nothing else, it may be that this is his only goal, I think that Jack summed it up about the other ways of 'profiting' from your work.

On the first day of the show Kurt wanders over again, again to tell me "I'm not happy, Tom", "oh and by the way my agent tells me I sold an $85,000 bronze to Hollywood's Halle Berry" and wanders off again after a bit of banter and me offering him my congratulations.

The next day Kurt skips playfully into my tent again, "Tom, I'm still not happy" (yes we know Kurt) "oh and by the way, I sold a second statue to Halle Berry, same price"! Way to go Kurt, I congratulate him etc.

Later on I'm thinking to myself, this guy has just told me he's done $170,000 worth of business with his gallery, and that he's not happy! Personally, If that was me, I would have to walk nose first into a plate galss window for a week to even begin to get the smile off my face!

MESSAGE TO KURT - HAVE A GOOD LOOK AT YOURSELF! YOU DONT KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE!

Kurt keeps repeating the words I AM NOT HAPPY, I'm not happy with this, I'm not happy with that, I'm not happy with him,.............................................. ... one thing I have learned in life is that happiness comes from within and that if you are not happy with yourself, then NOONE will ever change that! Kurt needs to take a good look at the cause of his unhappiness and stop blaming the rest of the world.

I came to Wellington from the UK not knowing what to expect, but only hoped to make some good contacts. The event exceeded any preconceptions that I had and I have made some excellent contacts, but what is more I feel that I have made some friends for life, especially yourselves at the Cultural Trust.

I cannot thank you all enough and you will have no idea what a boost this show has been for me after a particulary poor time recently both personally and professionally.

I can't wait for 2008 now and will have to come up with something to top Icarus! now that's gonna be tricky. Thanks to one and all and just ignore poor Kurts utterances

[mbornia]

Manny, Kate, Jody and all the volunteers did an outstanding job and I am personally very grateful for the hard work and dedication you put into the show. It was a huge success and sales are not the ultimate measure of how it went. While we all like them and need them to survive the camaraderie and fellowship shared by the artists and staff, combined with the overwhelming enthusiasm of the visitors, come together to make the entire experience about gaining exposure and knowledge, spreading interest about what we all do as a passion and celebrating sculpture.
If I weighed my success on sales of pieces and number of shows I've had it would be worthless when compared to the joy of working with my hands and having fun exposing people to objects that seek only to bring a smile and a moment for pause and contemplation. I make sculpture because I feel something deep down inside me that drives me to make what I make. Once one of my pieces is completed the only thing I want to do is to get it in front of a viewer. Not just a gallery owner, collector or museum curator but to everyday people who only need a small amount of curiosity to come to my objects and look. If someone with no interest takes just one second to glance up from their daily routine and look at one of my sculptures I have succeeded.
The biennale did just that. It exposed a wide array of people to sculpture that takes on many different forms and only takes a moment and a gaze to enjoy. The exposure, exchange of ideas, friendships made and good time had are the real measure of the success of the event and you should be secure in your knowledge that you put on a first class Biennale that generated buzz and excitement like no show I have ever been in.
Thank You and everyone else who shared the wonderful experience the biennale gave me. I have been riding the wave of excitement since it ended. You did good Kid!!

Sincerely,

Jack Howard-Potter

[mbornia]

I join Jack, Lucia, Bob, & all of the artists who have spoken up in your defense…..you guys were wonderful! I know how hard you worked to put the Biennale together, and I felt proud to be a part of it. It was a very enriching experience for me, & I would happily do it again. Keep up the good work!

Alina

[mbornia]

Manny + Staff , first I would like to say THANK YOU ! I'm a one finger typer and a poor speller so I'll be brief. Often times I have noticed when some people fall short of there unreasonable expectations they are quick to blame someone else, shame, shame Mr Brill . I can't wait for the '08 Palm Beach International Biennale ". I'm Inspired !!!! *You all did a Wonderful Job!

Sincerely,
Norman Gitzen *

[Merlion]

This is a latest news report about this Palm Beach Sculpture Biennale.

Organizers, but not artists, wowed by sculpture show

Some sculptors say event has not lived up to billing
By Ivette M. Yee
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted March 13 2006

Organizers and visitors at the Palm Beach International Sculpture Biennale are declaring it a big success, but it's getting mixed reviews by the artists who participated.

The Wellington event, which features large-scale sculptures by national and international artists, is meant to spotlight the future site of the village's $50 million Cultural Campus.

While most arts leaders and visitors agreed the Biennale showcased high-quality work, some participating artists said the venue was shabby and the event's labeling as an arts biennale was a misnomer. While some artists said they sold artwork and made valuable contacts, others said they felt used.

More details here.

[fused]

The Biennial has a decent website with images of sculptures by some of the artists, but there is no complete list of the artists, no biographical information and no titles of works. Now that the show has been open for a month it would be nice to see a few pictures of the actual exhibition as it is installed on the grounds and statements --including thoughts on the selection process or whatever interests them-- by the three jurors.

Never found a list of the juror's awards, but I did encounter the three cash prizes; 3rd place and $2500 to Bernard Klevickas, 2cnd place and $5000 to Roberto Santo and 1st place and $10,000 to Lucia W. Meister.

[mbornia]

Listing of All recent press coverage for the Palm Beach International Biennale:

Complete Article in Sun-Sentinel (above link only partial)
March 13, 2006

Palm Beach Post February 17, 2006

Wellington the Magazine (March Issue Cover Story)

Palm Beach Post February 17, 2006

Palm Beach Post, February 26 2006, ART CRITICAL REVIEW