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Eamon Oré-Girón, Infinite Regress LXXV, 2019. Courtesy of PAMM.

Pérez Art Museum Miami Buys Art from Local Galleries to Bolster Cultural Sector

The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) has added eight artworks by artists represented by Miami-based galleries to its permanent collection, the largest number of works purchased by PAMM’s Collectors Council in a single session. This round of acquisitions, which totaled $145,000, was part of the institution’s effort to give Miami’s arts ecosystem a boost amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As Miami’s flagship arts institution, PAMM must do what we can to shine a light on the city’s vibrant, multi-cultural community of artists and galleries who have been hit hard by the current crisis,” said museum director Franklin Sirmans. “Our Collectors Council, made up of prominent Miami-based collectors, has purchased an impactful selection of works—the most ever in its fifteen years of operation—which both supports the Miami arts community and bolsters our collection in a major way.”

The new works came from Central Fine Gallery, Emerson-Dorsch Gallery, Nina Johnson Gallery, PRIMARY, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Mindy Solomon Gallery, and Spinello Projects, and include Untitled/sumando lineas, 2019, a large assemblage sculpture by Yanira Collado; Untitled, 2020, an abstract geometric painting by Kelley Johnson; Exorcism, 1994–2019, a flag with elaborate beadwork by Myrlande Constant; and Infinite Regress LXXV, 2019, a large abstract work on canvas by Eamon Oré-Girón.

Commenting on the initiative, René Morales, PAMM’s chief curator and director of curatorial affairs, said: “It would be hard to overstate the importance of our local art galleries to Miami’s cultural and economic well-being. We hope this gesture will inspire others to support these spaces (and others) during this challenging time. We are all in this together.”