Coral Gables is a unique city replete with beauty and history and home to some of the finest art in Miami, but this could not be possible without the support of many who are advocates of keeping the “City Beautiful.”
Alirio Torrealba, board member of the dynamic Coral Gables Museum, is a strong promoter of arts and culture. His support of the city’s Art in Public Places program is a manifestation of his passion for the arts. One of his many contributions include sponsoring art exhibitions such as the most recent– Julio Larraz: The Kingdom We Carry Inside, which will be held through April 30, 2022. The exhibit is curated by Yuneikys Villalonga and sponsored by Torrealba.
Artist Julio Larraz (b. Havana, Cuba, 1944) is one of the most influential figures in Latin American art today. Throughout a career of six decades, he has received institutional recognition from all over the world that praise his mastery of technique, color and light, and the poetry and subtlety of his work.
In collaboration with the Julio Larraz Foundation, the exhibit takes over the main three temporary galleries of the Museum. The show is the first museum retrospective of Larraz in the United States. Pieces are drawn from private and public collections, as well as from the Larraz family collection and archives. Among the selection is his 1969 depictions of spacecraft Apollo 11’s launch from Cape Kennedy.
Works include Larraz’s early days in New York, as a caricaturist for major newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Vogue, to the drawings, paintings and sculptures created in New Mexico, Paris and Florence, as well as in Miami, where the artist currently resides.
A large supporter of art and culture in the city is Coral Gables Mayor Vince Largo: “The sign of any great city is the strength of its cultural life.”
Lago reiterates “The Coral Gables Museum is an incredible addition to our City. The Museum does an incredible job with programming and is vital to our community. It allows artists to showcase their work and serves as a cultural and historic destination to all those who live and visit our City Beautiful.”
The Coral Gables Museum is a very active institute promoting art, as well as historic and environmental preservation. Programming includes exhibitions, collections, educational offerings, lectures, tours, publications, and special events.
Another major milestone for the continuing expansion of art in Coral Gables was recently presented to the city –“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.” The original 30-foot-long stone bench is the inaugural dedication to the City’s Art in Public Places, Public Art in Private Development program, furthering Torrealba’s mission of enhancing arts and culture in the community.
“We are thrilled to present this sculpture to the City of Coral Gables and make history during such an important time in the community. We look forward to making additional contributions and making this an epicenter of arts and culture,” Torreabla said.
The expansive bench, conceived as a social space, located in Balboa Plaza, is an element of a bigger installation, the “Outdoor Room,” which includes lamp and carpet sculptures.
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