Riding my bike through the Riverwalk and stopped for a cold tea at Pura Vida where the giant THRIVE…read morecavelike stone sculpture proudly stands with green vines filling the sides of the cave. Im not really an art buff, but this sculpture by Daniel Popper was impressive. The stone sculpture depicts a woman cracking open her rib cage with both of her hands symbolizing transformation and hope. People can be seen taking pictures inside the cave. Its worth a few minutes to take a peek at this artwork if near Las Olas in Ft Lauderdale.

The Thrive Statue is one of those pieces that stops you mid-walk. It's powerful, expressive, and…read morequietly emotional--capturing strength, growth, and resilience all at once. The scale alone draws you in, but it's the details and posture that really make you pause and reflect. Set against the modern surroundings, it feels both grounding and inspiring, like a reminder to keep pushing forward even when things feel heavy. Beautifully done, thoughtfully placed, and absolutely worth a moment (or a photo) if you're in the area.

Downtown Hollywood has vibrant wall murals everywhere from the Art Park better known as Young…read moreCircle to Dixie Highway along Harrison Street and Hollywood Blvd. The idea behind the Hollywood Mural Project was to transform urban space into public art. Its free and easy to take a self guided tour to find all the exhibits. We found five that really stood out and discovered their origin and creators.

As part of the monthly Hollywood Art Walk, there was a free Mural project tour guided by a local…read moreartist and professor. We all met at the information booth of the Art Walk for a map of the murals (all 35 of them) and then we followed her on a selected tour of several of the art works. She was really knowledgeable and fun to talk to. She explained the significance of the art piece, a bit about the artist and some of the details of the actual "making" of the mural. There were local as well a national artists in this project, people like Susana Vergara, Ernesto Maranje, TM Sisters, Key Detail, Rob Robi, Evoca1 and many more.... You can also find a self guided tour of the murals on their website...a great way to spend a few hours in downtown Hollywood..... Go to HollywoodCRA.org/dhmp

Marc Quinn's "Broken Sublime," is a stunning stainless steel seashell sculpture on Las Olas Blvd &…read moreSE 6th Ave. The conch shell, a piece by British artist Marc Quinn stands over 7 feet tall & weighs more than 5,500 lbs, This larger-than-life stainless steel seashell sculpture valued at nearly $1 million graces the grounds of downtown's long-awaited Tunnel Top Plaza, an artificial turf zone that cost taxpayers $10.6 million. This new sculpture and sitting area is in front of the cheesecake factory. The beach is steps away and the new art here is meant to evoke positive feelings about the Fort Lauderdale seashore.

Broken Sublime (The Hunger) is a new stainless steel public art piece that was purchased for the…read morenew Tunnel Top Park that sits over the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel. You can find the giant stainless steel conch shell between the Cheesecake Factory and Sushi Garage on Las Olas Boulevard. The shiny conch shell is over 7 feet high and weighs 5,500 pounds. This art piece and future pieces that will be placed in the park were paid from a 5 million dollar donation from the estate of the late James Winder Laird. Broken Sublime (The Hunger) is by British artist Marc Quinn. Quinn is a contemporary visual artist whose subjects include the body, genetics, identity, environment, and the media. Although primarily known as a sculptor, he has also produced prints and photographs. Quinn has had exhibitions in major galleries like the Tate and he has created public art work for cities all over the world. The public art here is meant to make Tunnel Top Park an inviting place for tourists to hang out on Las Olas Boulevard. Broken Sublime (The Hunger) in particular is meant to evoke the idea that the beach is a short distance away and that Ft. Lauderdale is a beach town. I think this piece adds interest to an otherwise plain pedestrian area. It is also a nice place to take a selfie.

We love art! You got to--to appreciate this space. Great staff Rachel (so informative), Alex in…read morespray paint, and Alex -the one checking tickets- all sooo friendly and great. Rachel is above and beyond awesome. Beautiful art space outdoor and indoor (this was a great break from the heat). The outdoor fans, great idea but they aren't cold so not helping anyone cool off hehe On our second visit we brought the kids and did some spray painting on canvases and a skateboard. Such a great experience. Alex and her partner Andres were so helpful made the experience very enjoyable.

Wynwood Art Walk Tours isn't just walking past murals. It's walking with someone who knows which…read morewalls have stories attached, which artists took risks, which pieces cost the neighborhood something. The murals themselves are massive and they're professional, but scale alone doesn't make art work. Context does. Shepard Fairey's augmented reality layer is the differentiator here. It's not a gimmick. When you scan a mural with your phone, the piece opens up into layers and motion. It's the artist's way of saying "there's more here than what you see." It works because it's restrained, not constantly pulling you into your screen. You're still in the neighborhood. You're just seeing deeper. The guide we had knew the economics of gentrification in Wynwood. Knew which artists have been here for years and which are new money. Knew the politics of murals, why some walls get painted and others get buffed, why some artists collaborate and some don't. That knowledge cost something to build. You're paying for it. We took three teenagers, ages 14-17. Not a group naturally inclined to stand still for street art. They asked questions about technique, about why certain artists choose certain walls, about whether the AR experience changes how you see the piece or adds distraction. They engaged. That's not about impressive art alone, that's about the tour structure creating room for actual thinking instead of passive consumption. The neighborhood is dense and chaotic and intentional all at once. You'll see pieces that are technically flawless next to pieces that are deliberately rough. Some murals are massive, some are character-scale. Some artists are making statements about politics, some about beauty, some about ownership. The variation is what keeps it alive. A sanitized art walk would kill this. Walking it yourself is free and worth doing once. Walking it with the tour is $29 and worth doing if you want to understand why these walls matter to the city and why some artists chose to paint them. The difference is context. Context costs something, but you leave with more than photos. The sun hits different at 4 PM than at 11 AM, so timing matters if photography is part of your thing. The neighborhood gets foot traffic but it's not overwhelming. You're in a real place, not a theme park. That texture is part of why this works.

Coral Gables is known for it's numerous plazas, entrances, and fountains from 1920's. That's why I…read morefind it so interesting to see what current works of art are being added. Anything new needs to harmonize with the beautiful features that George Merrick added in when he created the city. In 2014 the city approved two sculptures to be installed at the traffic circles along Segovia Street. They were designed by New York-based artist and sculptor Alice Aycock. The two installations are the first public art pieces to be added since George Merrick was alive. The sculptures are inspired by the passion flower and are constructed of more than 4,000 pieces of metal. The two sculptures are different. The sculpture on Biltmore is larger and has two flower designs. The Coral Way sculpture is designed to mimic a flower flowing in the breeze. More than 180 submissions were judged before a panel selected Aycock's design. The flowers have received mixed reviews from the community. Many feel that the modern art is not in keeping with the look of the city. A group of residents tried to have the sculptured removed but did not muster enough signatures for the ballot. Some of the complaints are that the sculptures are not Mediterranean and that accidents have increased at the traffic circles since the sculptures were installed. Others complain bitterly that they are not even able to choose a paint color for their house yet the city has moved away from the Mediterranean look of the city without consulting them. The city has decided to keep the sculptures despite the protest of some people who do not care for the look of modern art in their 1920's Mediterranean Revival city.

Interesting new metal art located near the golf course and situated on two roundabouts. There are…read moretwo pieces one on each roundabout - They are passions flowers. Other people here have told the history about them so I will leave it at that. However what I did read about on the net and thought was amusing - was some local residents were not very happy with them, thinking they did not represent Coral Gables mediterranean image, so they started a petition to get them remove. They did get over a thousand signatures but no where near enough to make an impact and get them removed. Looks like they are here to stay. I was not too keen when I first saw them and had a little chuckle to myself as the largest one is situated in front of a plastic surgery office (HE HE)...(apt? - you decide). However after walking around and actually really looking at them, the location, the area, they started to grow on me!...Let me know what you think - when you go for a look!

Plenum Orb is a public art sculpture that is part of the MCC Artscape. The MCC's slogan is "where…read morecommunity and culture converge". MCC features public art on loan displayed in their art in the Botanical Garden, the green space around Miramar Town Center, and around the the perimeter of the lake behind the Miramar Cultural Arts Center. These free public art displays bring the arts and culture bring to the city of Miramar. Artist Donald Gialanella has two public art works that are part of the MMC Artscape, Celestial Fish and Plenum Orb. Gialanella is an artist specializing in the design and fabrication of public art. Originally from Maplewood, NJ, he now works out of his studio in St Petersburg, Florida. He has taught art at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, and spent ten years as an Emmy winning television graphics producer in New York City. His art work is displayed in cities from California to New York. The Plenum Orb is a metal sphere made up of common objects like pots, pans, pet bowls, hub caps, coffee creamers and containers permanently welded together. The sculpture is meant to evoke the memories that are trapped in abandoned objects. The orb also explores the theme of disposable objects of a material based culture. I think it also carries a message about recycling. However you view the meaning of this work, this art piece is fun to examine it and see how many everyday objects you can spot.

An incredible piece of local art? Not too sure, but it's size alone is impressive…read more The 10 foot tall multi pastel colored "I LOVE YOU" artwork is positioned at the main entrance of the West Davie Branch Broward County Library. The exhibit was created by artists Rosario Marquardt and Roberto Behar. Ok, it was a cool eye catcher when I drove into the parking lot, but thats as far as it goes.

I Love You is a public art piece completed in 2012 at the Broward County Library Branch which used…read moreto be the home of Young at Art. This installation was created by wife and husband artists Rosario Marquardt & Roberto Beha from R & R Studios who create art, architecture, and design for cities. They also created the Living Room in the Design District in Miami and A Midsummer Night's Dream, in Balboa Square in Coral Gables. Florida. They have created many other public art arts all over the country and internationally. This is the artists statement "We weave together visual arts, architecture, design, landscape and the city. The ambition of our practice is to reclaim, enhance and develop the public dimension of the city. We seek to produce a public architecture that highlights the communal and civic dimension of life and erases boundaries between art and everyday life. We understand our work as experiments in public space, models of possibilities that might imbue the construction of the city with new meaning and emotion." This art installation was designed as a secret garden or an outdoor open room perfect for telling stories or secrets. In addition to the 10 foot high letters which spell out the words I Love You, the piece also has five brightly colored, flower shaped benches for seating. Although the children's art museum is no longer here, the letters still make the perfect backdrop for romantic photos. Come visit this unique and whimsical piece of art. "It's a love story, baby just say yes!"

R&R is a mural created in 2022 by artist Nina Chanel Abney, an African American contemporary artist…read moreand painter. Abney was born in Illinois and currently works out of New York. She received an MFA in 2007 from the Chicago Art Institute and the Parsons School of Design. Abney is best known for colorful graphic large-scale paintings. Race, gender, pop culture, homophobia, and politics are common themes in her work. In September 2018, Abney curated a group exhibition highlighting current socio-political issues at the Jeffery Deitch gallery entitled Punch. The exhibition called upon current socio-political issues and featured art by Abney herself and some of her close friends. R&R was commissioned by Miami Worldcenter as part of its 5 million dollar Worldcenter public art program outdoor museum. Miami Worldcenter is a 27 acre, 4 billion dollar mixed use center with retail, luxury condos, hotels, public art and restaurants. It one of the largest private real-estate developments in the United States. The outdoor art museum is overseen by art dealer Jeffrey Deitch and Primary, a Miami-based curatorial collective that focuses on public art. This public art program was unveiled during Miami Art Week and the 20th anniversary of Art Basel Miami Beach. All of the art work chosen by Deitch depicts people so the viewer can relate and connect to the artwork. R&R uses graphic figures, bold color planes, and musical notes inspired by Overtown, a historic Black neighborhood in Miami. Overtown was incorporated as a colored neighborhood in 1896 during segregation. It was the place where Henry Flagler's black railroad workers lived while building the infrastructure of Miami. Overtown is the second oldest neighborhood in Miami. During the 1920's, it was home to D.A. Dorsey, one of the first black millionaires in the south. After WWII it became the epicenter of black culture and was known as the Broadway of the South. Many famous entertainers stayed here when performing in Miami like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Nat King Cole. In the 1950's, the area suffered an economic decline and in the 1960's many residents were displaced by the construction of I-95. R&R is meant to remind people that gentrification has erased the rich cultural heritage of many primarily black neighborhoods. About her mural Abney has said "The impact of gentrification is greatly felt in its tendency to displace and erase the lives and legacies of Black and poor people. Few Black communities have been able to survive the political decisions and economic trends that exploit the cultural desirability of these often (but not always) already disenfranchised neighborhoods. In some cases only remnants of these communities remain, and this is after archival excavation. I created a pictorial language to depict a speculative narrative that investigates community 'renewals' and subsequent removals. The mural location, a tunnel formed by the dark passageway under the building, inspired me to consider the recognition of sacred spaces with story. I hope to spark a dialogue around gentrification and encourage a curiosity amongst viewers to engage with and learn about the previous and adjacent neighborhoods." This is a thought provoking piece and a great addition to the outdoor art museum at Miami Worldcenter.

What a cool place! The Village Art Plaza boasts many unique outdoor art installations and…read moreactivities for the community. The location is significant as it is the location of Sunrise's first post office. My favorite piece of artwork was the upside down house, it was a replica of an upside down house built by Norman Johnson back in the 1960s to encourage people to visit Sunrise Golf Village. There is an augmented reality historic mural in which you can scan a QR code and the mural comes to life on your phone. There is a playground.

The Village Art Plaza is a new event space and sculpture garden next to City Park. The art plaza is…read moreon the site of the City of Sunrise's first post office that served residents from 1970 until 2007. Once a gathering place for people to send mail, buy stamps, see a friendly face, and chat with neighbors, the space has now been turned into a different kind of community space. This public art space was designed to be a place where Sunrise and its visitors can gather for cultural events. The colorful open space has murals on the wall including the Stay Sunny mural by Surge Contemporary Artist Murals. There are also several sculptures, my favorite is the T-Rex. There is a stage and lots of seating in the area along with beautiful landscaping. This new space kicks off with The Village Art Plaza Grand Opening on March 29th. This event will run from 5 to 9 PM and it includes live music, food and drinks, giveaways, and kids crafts. Other upcoming events include food trucks, morning yoga, story time, and a farmer's market. I am super excited to enjoy this brand new space where the community will be able to experience art, food, and cultural events.

Green Turtle and Blue Tang is another one of the beautiful public art works in…read moreLauderdale-by-the-Sea by artist Laura Fisher Huck. I have always admired this piece at the entrance to Green Turtle Plaza, the home of one of my favorite sub shops, La Spada's. Laura Huck created several pieces for Lauderdale-by-the-Sea including the Coral Reef Arch at the town entryway. Town Manager Connie Hoffman first spotted Huck's work in Nova Scotia where the works were installed in 2002. Huck specialized in outdoor painted sculptures and has developed a process where they do not weather. She ended up designing five colorful sculptures for the city with inspiration drawn from her dives with scuba instructor Rene Bobadilla. Artist Laura Fisher Huck visualized, researched, designed, and then drew the art work. It was then cut and fabricated by a structural engineer. The pieces were made out of aluminum so it would not corrode, coated with zinc oxide primer, and then hand painted with UV protecting acrylic paint. During the last step, six coats of UV protecting epoxy were also applied. Green Turtle and Blue Tang was installed in 2013 and features a green sea turtle, the largest of the hard shelled turtles. They are unique because they are herbivores with a diet consisting of sea grass and algae. Green turtles are found around the world but their numbers have declined as they have been used for their meat and eggs. They have also lost nesting habitat due to coastal development. They are listed as an endangered species. Surrounding the turtle are colorful blue tangs, a fish often seen on Florida's reefs. The blue tangs are giving the turtle a bath by eating the algae off of its shell. In 2021 Lauderdale-by-the-Sea budgeted $200,000 to restore the Laura Fisher Huck sculptures by the beach. Green Turtle and Blue Tang has never looked better. I love the intricacy of this sculpture and it's theme. It's a great reminder to protect endangered sea turtles and keep your garbage off the beach. These and other sea turtles nest on the beach a few feet away March through October.