Members of the Vero Beach Museum Athena Society had a difficult decision to make at its annual dinner: choosing which of five outstanding works to purchase for the museum’s permanent collection.
The top tier membership of 148 households selected from four contemporary works and one 19th century painting. All had been on view for three weeks prior to the dinner, and guests had a chance to peruse the options one last time over cocktails before voting their choices.
That evening, the decision was made to acquire “Magenta, 2020,” a mesmerizing stainless-steel and lacquer sculpture by British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor. The compelling concave sculpture, measuring 63-by-63-by-9 5/8 inches, is unlike anything currently in the permanent collection.
Caitlin Swindell, VBMA senior curator, explained that Kapoor uses highly polished surfaces so that the viewer becomes part of the sculpture through their reflection. Additionally, his use of color is deliberate, their symbolic meanings influencing how the viewer experiences his work.
In a surprising twist this year, two of the pieces not chosen that evening by the Athena Society were also purchased, thanks to generous donors.
“Mermaid Cove, 2022,” a 60-by-80-inch oil on linen by American artist Bo Bartlett, was purchased through funds provided by an anonymous donor. A lovely example of his large-scale realist artwork, Swindell called it an example of his narrative figurative paintings in the American regionalism tradition.
In this and other more recent works, she said, he begins with a pink base paint, which gives a warm, luminous effect. Also unique, his signature is his own red thumbprint.
“Quimbaya (Sacred House), 2024,” by Colombian artist Ana González, a sublimated photograph on roughened tarp, comprised of five equal-size panels spanning 97 5/8-by-244 1/16 inches in total, was made possible by the William B. and Marcia H. Howell Endowment Fund for Collections, the Mr. and Mrs. Rex L. Brophy Endowment for Acquisitions, the John McLaughlin Booth Fund, and other acquisition funds.
González inverted her photograph of a tropical mountain forest in her native Colombia at the horizontal center to create a mirror image, like a reflection. She then unraveled each horizontal thread of the tarp from the center on down, leaving a sort of fringe that presents a gossamer version of the image.
Swindell said she used the same green that the American dollar bill is printed with, exploring the idea of this meditative, sacred place as a commodity.
One of the two pieces not chosen was “Isla (antes que anochezca), [Island, Before Night Falls], 2024,” an intriguing 43 1/4-by-70 7/8-by-4-inch mixed media piece by Cuban artist Yoan Capote, made from paint, nails, and thousands of fishhooks. The other was “Quai Book Stalls (Booksellers by the Seine), 1888,” a framed 37½-by-28-inch oil on canvas by American impressionist Childe Hassam.
The newly purchased works will be on view from Sept. 27 through January 2026 as part of the upcoming Recent Acquisition Highlights exhibition.
For more information, visit VBMuseum.org.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
