America on Canvas

One of the most ambitious exhibitions in recent SoFla memory is now running at the Boca Museum of Art (501 Plaza Real, Boca). It's called "American Treasures," which doesn't quite do justice to the thing's scope. From the press release: "American Treasures, an exhibition featuring thirty-six artworks by renowned American artists... offers viewers the opportunity to review two centuries of artistic achievement and reflect on the diversity of period styles and individual voices that make up the history of American Art." And -- wow -- what artists they've lined up, what diverse visions of the continent! You've got the sweaty power of George Bellows' broken-lens America; the angelic vastness of Albert Bierstadt's America; the sanctified America of Thomas Coles' landscapes, which look so providential they could be illustrations from Mormon propaganda; the calibrated despair of Edward Hopper's America. And there's Warhol, and Wyeth, and Pollock, and lots of others -- an incredible assemblage of minds transcribed to canvas, who will absolutely convince you, if you're in need of convincing, that the country is very, very strange, and very, very large. "American Treasures" runs through March 18; admission is $6 to $14. Visit bocamuseum.org for more info.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Dec. 24. Continues through March 18, 2011