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Now through Nov. 15 the galleries at Selby Garden’s Museum of Botany & the Arts are filled with more than two dozen works on paper by an accomplished local artist and scientist.
“Gardens of the Mind: A Retrospective of Dr. Joel Elkes at 102” is a collection of giclée prints inspired by natural light and texture. The work is abstract expressionist in style with dark, bold charcoal lines combined with a palette of saturated watercolors.
Born in 1913 in Lithuania, Elkes moved to England in his early 20’s – just prior to the Holocaust. There he studied medicine, like his father who remained in Lithuanian to care for his fellow Jews during the Holocaust. Later Elkes moved to the United States to practice medicine and went on to become the pioneer of psychopharmacology while Johns Hopkins. Elkes’ cutting edge belief was that modern psychiatry provides a natural bridge between the behavioral sciences and medicine as a whole.
His unique painting process begins with dampening charcoal then dragging it across a small piece of coarse watercolor paper. The powerful dark lines create a focal point and texture while causing the viewer to pause in silence. He then adds layers of watercolor using an established palette – this creates the light that draws the viewer in. Once he’s created the composition, the work is enlarged by Miguel Figueras with Artfinity, a Sarasota giclee printer. Figueras has been creating these limited-edition prints of Elkes’ work for 15 years.
Dr. Elkes speaks openly about the power of art to transform and heal – through his artistic process, he works through the memories of his long life. Like many lives, his is one filled with joy & sorrow, with light & darkness. Elkes feels that art is therapeutic – being a psychiatrist and a Holocaust survivor his art is an expression of emotion and a way of healing. Each painting tells a story about history, the strength of the Jewish people and the beauty of nature to heal.
Selby Gardens is proud to display Gardens of the Mind in our museum, which, fittingly, was established with the help of Dr. Elkes’ wife, Sally Lucke-Elkes, among many nearly 40 years ago. This fall, we hope you’ll bring your guests to enjoy Gardens of the Mind and to marvel at Dr. Elkes’ enduring creativity and eternal optimism.