Now on Display
Salvador Dali: Large and Monumental Sculptures: Amid the royal palms and thick-blade sod of the Village of Merrick Park plaza stand 15 of Dali's colossal bronze sculptures. Their stylistic range gives a comprehensive overview of the eccentric, mustachioed Spaniard's work — not to mention talent — in this medium. Flanked by The Collection's latest offerings from Jaguar and Lotus, the dynamic pieces created from Dali's original casts quietly struggle to steal glances from the mall's haute couture seekers. Although Dali is most remembered for his dreamlike, surrealist paintings, art historians are re-examining his work in other media, which only adds to the significance of this show. (Through May 2006, presented by Art+ Gallery at the Village of Merrick Park, 358 San Lorenzo Ave., No. 3135, Coral Gables, Call 786-497-1111 or visit www.artplusgallery.com.)
Everything about the Artist Known as Wyland — from his singular name to his bio, which touts him as an "artist of the sea" and "the most influential marine life artist of our time" — shouts BIG! USA Today once called him "a Marine Michelangelo," the U.N. named him official artist for the International Year of the Ocean (1998), and the Guinness people certified his Ocean Planet in Long Beach, California, as the world's largest mural. Wyland's empire also includes nearly three dozen galleries in eight U.S. states as well as Canada and Mexico. Most are concentrated, not surprisingly, in Hawaii (his base), California, and Florida, with Wyland Galleries on Las Olas Boulevard one of his seven Sunshine State locations. That's a lot of hoopla for an artist who, bottom line, appears to have a Flipper fixation. OK, to be fair, Wyland does have an extraordinary knack for what he does, and what he does has made him very rich and famous. If you like paintings, drawings, and sculptures devoted to dolphins, whales, and other marine life — and such art is enormously popular with millions of people — then Wyland's your man. He can capture the play of light just beneath the surface of saltwater like no one else, and he has an almost fanatical fidelity to anatomical accuracy and to capturing the way these creatures move through their watery world. And in much the same way that Clyde Butcher is an advocate for Everglades preservation, Wyland wields his clout to promote awareness of marine ecology. The local gallery has a wealth of his work in all media, along with the highly variable output of similar-minded artists such as Noelito, who does striking chiaroscuro seascapes bathed in moonlight; and Steven Power, whose landscapes have something of the feel of paintings by the Florida Highwaymen. (Wyland Galleries are at 1213 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-522-4222.)
