Molly Demeulenaere, director of G.WIZ Museum, and Kafi Benz, the studio director of Jim Gary’s Twentieth Century Dinosaurs, have announced that negotiations are in progress to bring the entire traveling exhibition of Jim Gary dinosaur sculptures to Sarasota (from Gary’s New Jersey studio) for a permanent home at G.WIZ. Gary was known for a body of work that included these large, colorful creations of dinosaurs made from discarded automobile parts. These sculptures have been exhibited in such major museums as the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.; the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts in New York City; The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia; the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh; and The Field Museum in Chicago.
The late Jim Gary with some of his
sculptures created with discarded automobile parts.
"This is a significant opportunity for G.WIZ and for Sarasota," says Demeulenaere. "We’re putting a call out to the community to help us raise the funds to transport the exhibit to Sarasota." Demeulenaere says that the museum estimates the costs for transporting and installing the exhibit will run close to $50,000.
Born in Florida, Gary was raised and worked throughout most of his career in Colts Neck, New Jersey. He died in 2006. His fine art ranges from life-sized figures such as "Universal Woman," which is composed entirely of hardware, to abstract sculpture, furniture, and works of table-top size. His sculpture is represented in corporate and private collections around the world.
In 1990, during the peak of Gary’s career, the traveling exhibition was given a solo show at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History, which, according to Benz, "drew record-breaking attendance." Smithsonian museum director, Larry O’Reilly, stated in a 2006 tribute to Gary that his dinosaurs were "fun, clever, warm and approachable by kids—a perfect compromise between art and science."
How can people help ensure that G.WIZ becomes the permanent home for Jim Gary’s Twentieth Century Dinosaurs? The museum is offering individual and business sponsorship and donor opportunities. Call Molly Demeulenaere for more information: 309-4949, ext. 101.
For more information about Jim Gary’s Twentieth Century Dinosaurs, contact Kafi Benz at jim.gary.tcd@gmail.com or visit the Jim Gary web site at www.kafi-benz.com.