Darren Miller’s Explorations of the Dance will be displayed on Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach. Photo provided
By Tao Woolfe
Boynton Beach is promoting this year’s kinetic art exhibition as one that kids will especially enjoy. But because many of the huge, outdoor sculptures sport bright colors and parts that move with the wind, they bring out the child in everyone.
The exhibit, formally known as the International Kinetic Art Experience in Boynton Beach, will be held Feb. 1-2 at two venues — one inside at the Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center and one outside.
The outdoor installations will be placed in downtown areas from Seacrest Boulevard to Federal Highway, said Craig Clark, the city’s director of recreation and cultural services, who is organizing the event.
The indoor pieces will be on display for only two days, but the outdoor sculptures will remain for 18 months, Clark said.
“Kinetic art is art that really moves, or gives the illusion of motion,” Clark said, adding that the art form — which requires engineering expertise as well as artistic talent — is popular and brings artists and visitors from around the world.
He said he is especially excited about some of the local artists who will be among the 30 exhibiting this year. Among them is Harold Caudio, a Haitian mixed-media artist who lives in West Palm Beach.
Caudio’s work, which has been featured at Art Basel in Miami and on television’s “Good Morning America,” uses unconventional materials such as Skittles candies for pop art pieces.
His “Colored Collextion” will feature portraits of Black celebrities constructed from hundreds of Skittles.
He has sweetly remembered Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, and Michelle Obama, to name a few.
“The idea of the collection is to bring people together, no matter what color or background while spreading unity and peace,” says a blurb on the website of the Trap Music Museum in Atlanta, which has exhibited Caudio’s work.
Other artists Clark plans to showcase include Darren Miller, of Decatur, Ill., and Laurence Gartel, of New York, who is considered a pioneer in digital art.
Miller’s Explorations of the Dance is 7 feet tall and will be on exhibit along Ocean Avenue.
“It moves and turns and plays musical notes,” Clark said.
A little further down Ocean Avenue, Gartel’s playful murals of underwater flowers and fish will grace the Boynton Beach Amphitheater in Centennial Park.
“It’s an underwater colorful theme that looks like it’s moving,” Clark said.
Boynton Beach has been featuring kinetic art exhibits since 2013 and has established itself as an annual destination for the big, moveable pieces.
Last year’s show brought in some 6,000 visitors, Clark said.
“This is our seventh one,” Clark said, explaining that although setting up such exhibits is not usually his job, he has enjoyed the task.
“I’m excited and proud to be putting in this show. I do love art!”
The exhibition weekend will include artist and designer talks, student displays, turbine demonstrations, light projections and choreographed motion performances with community volunteers. There will also be live music, food trucks, artist booths and other activities.
The indoor exhibit will be held Feb. 1-2 at the Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E. Ocean Ave. Hours for the Feb. 1 indoor exhibition are noon to 4 p.m., and for Feb. 2, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The outdoor weekend events will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on Feb. 1 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 2. The outdoor exhibits are self-guided. Admission is free.
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