March 1, 2015

Exile Books in Art Circuits

The nonprofit spaces contemporary art collectors open to the public tempt connoisseurs with glimpses of personal predilections and market trends. Renowned for their acumen and foresight, South Florida’s intrepid jetsetters are as selective about acquisitions close to home as at art fairs, galleries and studio visits in far-flung locales.

To debut their latest discoveries, unearth gems from storage and reveal connective tissue, the spaces are re-installed each fall. Works created nearby don’t always fit the marquee shows, but most collections devise other means of exposure for artists reared and educated in the region as well as more recent arrivals.

The de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space devotes nearly all of the building Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz erected in the Design District in 2009 to conceptual constellations spanning their decades of patronage. “Beneath the Surface,” through October 2015, unearths the shifting foundations of American life amid globalization as viewed through domestic and foreign lenses.

On the outskirts are self-contained environments for initiatives funded by the de la Cruzes but returned to their regional makers. “We encourage artists to fully engage with the architecture of the space and to approach their projects by experimenting with non-traditional art practices,” says director Ibett Yanez. The 2015 lineup of locals defies boundaries: Amanda Keeley with her nomadic boutique EXILE Books; arts writer Rob Goyanes; and Emmett Moore, who fashions fine and functional objects.

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