When members of the Athena Society of the Vero Beach Museum of Art met for their annual dinner, they were once again tasked with selecting the next major piece of artwork to acquire for the museum’s permanent collection.
Formed in 2003, members contribute an additional $5,000 over the Chairman’s Club level or higher, and each household, whether individuals or couples, are entitled to two votes.
During the cocktail hour members perused the selection of six artworks, as curated by VBMA chief curator Caitlin Swindell, CEO Brady Roberts and the collections committee.
After a delicious dinner and a presentation by Swindell, the group ultimately voted to purchase “Wind Sculpture in Bronze VI,” a 2025 hand-painted bronze sculpture by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire).
In a delightful gesture of munificence, the artist had offered that should the sculpture be chosen, he would also gift the museum his “La Méduse.” The 2008 chromogenic print on aluminum is of a wave-threatened ship outfitted with Dutch wax fabrics that evokes Théodore Géricault’s large-scale painting, “Raft of the Médusa.”
Shonibare’s works frequently examine issues of colonialism and the interrelationship of Africa and Europe, and often incorporate the Dutch wax fabrics inspired by Indonesian batik textiles that eventually became widespread in West Africa.
The two acquisitions complement each other, with the sculpture suggesting sails billowing in the wind. Swindell observed there is also a distinct botanical motif to it, which will align well with the design of the proposed outdoor sculpture garden.
Of the works not chosen, the earliest chronologically was “Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice,” an 1893 oil on canvas by English born American Thomas Moran.
Next was the vibrant “Paysage (Landscape No. 83),” a 1935 casein on panel by German born American Hans Hoffman painted early in his career.
“James Schuyler,” a 1960 oil on canvas by American artist Fairfield Porter, was indicative of the artist’s representational and figurative realism.
A 1978 work by American artist Dan Flavin, “untitled (for you, Leo, in long respect and affection) 4,” was a 4-foot-square work consisting of two each of blue, yellow, pink and green fluorescent lights.
And finally, “At the Foot of the Hill,” a representative abstract oil on canvas painted in 2024-25 by British artist Cecily Brown, who moved to New York City in 1994.
For more information, please visit VBMuseum.org.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
