Wondering how to get the jump on a silent art auction? Here’s some advice: go to a silent art auction preview. This is especially true with Locust Projects’ Annual Spring Fling auction, an absolute favorite on the local arts circuit. Curator extraordinaire Claire Breukel is turning the main event’s theme—a riff on Truman Capote’s 1966 Black and White Ball—on its head with the fundraiser exhibition titled Making It Grey. A selection of 29 works range from drawing and painting to photography, prints and sculpture, and explore the twilight where ideas, process and materials aren’t measured in absolutes. The Locust Projects silent art auction preview from April 1 to 7 is a golden opportunity to learn about the artists, examine their work in-person, and get a headstart on bidding.
[Photo Credit: Valerie Hegarty]
“The exhibition and auction, Making it Grey, is a nod to the artists who work in in-between spaces—neither black nor white, but rather within utopic or contrary anxiety-inducing grey. The artworks selected for the 2016 Spring Fling auction are themed accordingly,” explains Breukel. “The artists selected push the boundaries of expectation, make our world more interesting and allow for dreaming. This is the grey space in which Locust Projects belongs.”
Part of this non-profit’s allure is the close-knit community of creatives that it has cultivated since 1998; and while Locust Projects is open to national and international artists, its Miami roots remain strong. For this year’s Spring Fling, founding artists Elizabeth Withstandley and Westen Charles have each donated pieces, in the form of ambiguous objects, as a starting point for dialogue. Participating Miami natives also include long-time supporters and alumni Lori Beltran, Susan Lee-Chun, Cristina Lei Rodriguez, Autumn Casey, and Luis Gispert, among other notables.
[Photo Credit: Elizabeth Withstandley]
For a full list of stellar artists or to begin bidding online, visit paddle8.com. The Spring Fling silent auction preview party takes place on Friday, April 1 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Locust Projects (3852 N. Miami Avenue); and the Black & White Bash is Saturday, April 9, from 7 – 10PM in Miami Design District’s Palm Court (140 NE 39th Street). For details, visit locustprojects.org.
