Mr M Margulies at Sculpture Garden Deck on Grove Isle

Martin Z. Margulies is a real-estate developer and collector of

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...

and

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

Margulies Collection

For many years, Margulies maintained a publicly accessible sculpture garden on Grove Isle, a small, private island with condominium towers and a hotel in

Coconut Grove Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...

and historically one of the most exclusive addresses in the city. After tensions with island management, much of the collection was moved to

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

’s main campus in West Miami-Dade. In 1998, Margulies along with his longtime curator Katherine Hinds began looking for a suitable space to display the growing collection. In 1999 they set up a warehouse space in then-derelict

Wynwood Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Wynwood is known for being an entertainment district, with artwork, restaurants, breweries, clothing stores, dance venues, among other retail options. Formerly an industrial district, the area is now ...

to show his holdings of contemporary and vintage photography, video, sculpture and installation work. The space was expanded and now offers over of exhibition space.Georgina Adam (November 26, 2010)
Collectors who transform Miami’s art scene
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

''. The Margulies Collection includes sculptures by the likes of

Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning (; ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married painter El ...

, Anselm Kiefer,

Olafur Eliasson Olafur Eliasson ( is, Ólafur Elíasson; born 5 February 1967) is an Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's ...

, Antony Gormley,

Donald Judd Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928February 12, 1994) was an American artist associated with minimalism (a term he nonetheless stridently disavowed).Tate Modern websit"Tate Modern Past Exhibitions Donald Judd" Retrieved on February 19, 2009. In ...

and

Sol LeWitt Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007) was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism. LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he pref ...

. In 2010, to coincide with Art Basel Miami Beach, the space showed both African artists and non-African artists who work in Africa:

Seydou Keïta Seydou Keïta (1921/23 – 21 November 2001) was a Malian photographer known for his portraits of people and families he took at his portrait photography studio in Mali's capital, Bamako, in the 1950s. His photographs are widely acknowledged not ...

Zwelethu Mthethwa Zwelethu Mthethwa (born 1960) is a South African painter and photographer. He was convicted of murder in 2017, and is currently incarcerated at Pollsmoor Prison. Biography Mthethwa, a native of Durban, graduated from the Michaelis School of Fi ...

George Osodi George Osodi is a Nigerian photographer from Ogwashi Ukwu, Delta State. Background and career He studied business administration at the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos between 1996 and 1999. He was a photojournalist at ''The Comet'' newspap ...

, Peter Friedl and

Tim Hetherington Timothy Alistair Telemachus Hetherington (5 December 1970 – 20 April 2011) was a British photojournalist. He produced books, films and other work that "ranged from multi-screen installations, to fly-poster exhibitions, to handheld de ...

, among others.

Philanthropy

Margulies is also the benefactor and owner of the

Art Sculpture Park. In 2010, he made significant bequests of $20 million to Lotus House, a

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

homeless shelter for women and infants, and of $5 million to the

New World Symphony New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, an orchestral academy based in Miami.Jennifer Maloney (April 15, 2013)
From Soaking Up Shows to Supporting Schoolchildren
''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''. Also in 2010, Margulies pledged $5 million each to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

and the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

in New York, a move that underlined his very public opposition to plans to redevelop the local

Miami Art Museum Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

(MAM). At the time, MAM was struggling to raise funds for its

Herzog & de Meuron Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd.,
" Herzog & de Meuron. Retrieved on 11 October 2012. "Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd. R ...

-designed new building which eventually opened in 2013. Margulies even took full-page advertisements in local papers to contest the project.

Controversy

In 1982, Margulies led the opposition against a $500,000 commission to artist

Beverly Pepper Beverly Pepper (née Stoll; December 20, 1922 – February 5, 2020) was an American sculptor known for her monumental works, site specific and land art. She remained independent from any particular art movement. She lived in Italy, primarily in ...

for a sculpture that would stand at the entrance to the seaport, citing in his complaint to the Dade County Art in Public Places program "the weak selection process" by which the Pepper work was chosen. Previously, the 1980 development of Grove Isle in

was only possible with Margulies' involvement who crafted a landmark settlement which significantly scaled back the project after a decade of litigation and local protest.Moore Parks, A. and Bennett, B. (2010
Coconut Grove, Florida: Arcadia Publishing
p. 119-122

Gallery

File:Grove Isle Scupture Decks and Gardens 3.jpg, Example of Martin Margulies Grove Isle Gardens sculpture File:Grove Isle Scupture Decks and Gardens 4.jpg, Example of Martin Margulies sculpture deck on Grove Isle

References

Links

"Margulies Warehouse"

''Miami New Times''

"Real Estate Developer"
* Grove Isle {{DEFAULTSORT:Margulies, Martin American businesspeople Living people Year of birth uncertain Year of birth missing (living people)