Pilgrimage: Anselm Kiefer at The Margulies Collection
Conceptual art in a literal city.
BY
CATHERINE MARY CAMARGO
Martin Z. Margulies is an American real- estate developer, philanthropist, and father of four, born and raised in Yonkers, New York. By the late 1970s he was a confirmed resident of what we call the “art world,” rubbing shoulders with dealers like Shaindy Fenton, Ivan Karp, and later on, with gallery owners Leo Castelli, André Emmerich and Arne Glimcher. Intrigued, he began acquiring a few sculptures and photographs that drew his interest. By 1999, he had acquired a vast warehouse in Wynwood to store and exhibit his evolving collection.
Today, The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse boasts a collection exceeding 5,000 contemporary works, spanning photography, sculpture, painting, installation, and video art. It is one of the world’s most significant collections of contemporary art. Despite this, it is not exactly a Miami hotspot.
I am a Miami girl at heart. I attended an arts high school (New World School of the Arts), have been an artist, poet, and admirer of art and writing my whole life. And yet, when it came time to interview for my first job out of college, I was shocked to discover that the Margulies Collection even existed. I was 21 years old, freshly graduated with a BFA in painting. I had just moved back into my parents’ house by the Miami River, and was grieving the recent loss of my father. I felt a bit lost the first time I met the Margulies Collection’s long-time curator, Katherine Hinds, at the Margulies Collection.
After my interview with Ms. Hinds, I had the chance to explore the Warehouse, where I encountered the works of Anselm Kiefer for the first time.