l o c a l a r t i s t
A Curation of Passion b y L i e s e l S c h m i d t
A rt and wine seem to have a natural affinity for one another; and in an area like Rosemary Beach where fine art is savored with as equal an appreciation as the finest vintage, Gary Handler couldn’t have found a better location to open a gallery for showcasing the works of some of his favorite artists and bringing the beautiful beachside community a taste of what has always captured his passion. “I wanted to create something different here, a gallery offering a wide variety of different works and different artists who span from the locally known talent to those who are nationally and internationally represented,” says Handler, who took the years of experience he’s had as the owner of Vinings
Work of David Wight
sculpture rather than merely a vessel. After learning how to manipulate the molten glass into pieces that embody the changing beauty and dy- namic form of waves, Wight channeled his energy into this passion. For Handler, Wight’s waves were the perfect addition to the pieces at Curate—like a love story to the water that is so much of part of Wight’s life
as well as the beautiful seascape that edges along the community of 30-A. As such, Wight created a series for Curate entitled Serenity. “I saw David’s work while I was on va- cation on the West Coast and fell in love with the pieces I saw,” says Han- dler. “His work is incred- ible and possess this amazingly deep concen- tration of color that make them impossibly realistic. The blues, the turquoise, and cobalt…I believe in his talent and that he will go incredibly far as an artist whose work be- comes highly collected.” Bringing his eye for talent to Curate, Handler hopes that the artists he represents in this new space will experience their own transformation and growth, brought into greater light in a place where they are given appreciation and respect. He has created a place for this art to thrive, in an atmosphere that is welcoming and approachable, where collectors become friends and pieces are delivered to homes to ensure that the “perfect pieces” have found the right space. At his essence, Handler is a curator of art—and, in his way, a curator of dreams.
Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, and used it to create Curate, which has been open since 2016. “Every artist represented in my galleries is one that I would personally collect. I have to love their work, and I have to love them as a person.” At its core, Curate is a collaborative art space that seems to pulse with creativity; and over the past six years, Handler has watched that pulse strengthen under the warmth of the Florida sunshine. And herein lies the intersection of where business meets pleasure: when the 2014 Destin Charity Wine and
In addition to Arvid, Curate represents such talents as Simon Kenevan, whose realistic seascapes capture the essence of the Emerald Coast and the spell it cast on the U.K. native; Nicoletta Belletti, known for her textured mixed media paintings as well as her stunning pet por- traiture; and Steven Quartly, whose romantic expression- ism is the perfect canvas for his 30-A seascapes. Among Curate’s most dynamic and unique artists is David Wight, a native of Washington whose ability to capture the strength, beauty, and unpredictability of the wave in glass is unmatched. Having started his career in glass blowing as a craftsman of water features, he realized that capturing moving water could be done in glass as a
Food Auction brought about the chance meetings of Handler with a number of people who had long been his clients at Vinings in Atlanta. Naturally enough, Handler was there in a professional capacity, participating in the event along with his long-time friend and top-selling artist, Thomas Arvid, America’s preeminent painter of wine whose work Handler had represented for many years. As an area rife with secondary homes owned by people from all across the globe, Rosemary Beach became part of an even smaller world for Handler; and his existing relationships formed the foundation he needed to make a successful go of bringing more color to the art scene at 30-A.
Curate is located at 72 Main Street, Rosemary Beach, Florida 32461. For more information, call (850) 231- 1808 or visit www.curate30a.com.
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