Fifty-seven original prints by Pablo Picasso are hanging in Downtown Coral Springs, and the clock is running: Picasso: A Graphic Journey closes Saturday, December 5, at the Coral Springs Museum of Art's new street-level gallery at 3380 N. University Drive. Admission to the gallery is free.

That leaves four weeks of gallery days to see a collection that spans almost half a century of the artist's work, in a building the museum moved into only a month ago.

What is on the walls

The 57 works were made between 1923 and 1972, the year before Picasso died. They cover the three printmaking methods he returned to again and again: etching, lithography and linocut. The show also includes something visitors rarely see in a gallery, a canceled copper printing plate. A plate is canceled by scoring or marking it once a print run is finished, so no further impressions can be pulled from it, and it offers a direct look at the surface Picasso worked on before ink ever reached paper.

One section follows a single image through several stages. Multiple proofs of Tête de Femme au Chapeau (Head of a Woman in a Hat) are shown together, tracing the composition from early color studies to its finished state. Seeing the proofs side by side shows how a print changes as an artist adds, removes and reworks layers.

The prints were selected from the collection of Timothy Collins of Los Angeles, and the exhibition carries an essay by curator Eric Mourlot. Support for the Coral Springs showing comes from the Broward County Cultural Division, the City of Coral Springs and Funding Arts Broward.

A new home for the museum

The Picasso show was the first exhibition in the museum's relocated gallery, which opened with a ticketed celebration on Friday, October 9. The new space sits on the ground floor of the Modera building at the corner of Sample Road and University Drive, with its entrance facing Sample Road. It has more than 5,000 square feet of exhibition space with movable walls, a street-facing design, a retail shop, a coffee station and a studio for classes.

The museum has operated in Coral Springs for close to 30 years. Since 2019, the City Commission has served as its board. Classes also continue at the museum's Creative Studios on the second floor of the Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive.

Two other exhibitions share the gallery. Cages and Collage features local artist Janet Gold, who builds new pieces out of found materials; it runs through December 31. Art and Evolution tells the story of the museum itself and how its new identity was put together.

Ways to see it before it closes

The simplest is to walk in during gallery hours. For families, the museum's free ARTventures program runs Saturday, November 7, from 2 to 3 p.m. at the downtown studio. It starts with a tour of the current exhibit and finishes with an art activity for the whole group. Participation is free, and the program is sponsored by Funding Arts Broward.

On Thursday, November 12, Janet Gold leads No Wrong Answers: Exercises in Creativity from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the downtown studio. The workshop uses brainstorming, word games and self-reflection exercises. The cost is $65. A second session is set for Saturday, January 16.

The exhibition's final day doubles as a hands-on printmaking session. On Saturday, December 5, from noon to 2 p.m., multimedia artist Kaili Woop teaches a beginner-friendly Gelli printing workshop, working with color, texture, layering and pattern. Gelli printing uses a soft gel plate rather than a press, which makes it an easy way to try the layered approach seen in the Picasso proofs. Tickets are $45 for museum members and $50 for nonmembers.

After Picasso

The gallery keeps its calendar moving once the prints leave. Jazz in the Galleries, a series of live jazz performances inside the exhibition space, begins Friday, December 11. An opening reception on Friday, December 18, previews an exhibition of woodworking by artist Luke Jenkins.

Plan your visit

Where: Coral Springs Museum of Art, 3380 N. University Drive, Coral Springs, FL 33065, ground floor of the Modera building at Sample Road and University Drive. The entrance faces Sample Road.

When: Picasso: A Graphic Journey runs through Saturday, December 5. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, noon to 8 p.m. The gallery is closed Sundays and on nationally observed holidays, which includes Thanksgiving Day. Monday visits are by appointment; call at least 24 hours ahead.

Cost: Gallery admission is free. Workshops carry their own fees, listed above.

Parking: Free with validation at the museum's front desk on the ground level of the Modera lot, entered from Sample Road. The City Hall parking garage is also free and a short walk away.

Accessibility: The gallery has a ramp entry, and a manual wheelchair is available at no charge. The museum is KultureCity certified and lends sensory kits with noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards and weighted lap pads. Leashed service dogs are welcome.

Questions: Call 954-340-5000 or email [email protected].

Sources