By Franklin Einspruch
The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse remains one of the last reasons to bother driving to Wynwood. I was present for the Wynwood boom years, when the neighborhood was a dangerous stretch of concertina wire–festooned blocks of storage and light industry—but such is fertile ground for art and was, with countless galleries springing up. Word on the street is that it is now basically a Chinese real estate investment trust, full of locked buildings skinned with commissioned graffiti murals of such little distinction that locals have no qualms about tagging them. In their midst, Margulies has a deep and thoughtful collection of photography, including some prime Dorothea Lange, and the strongest Anselm Kiefer holdings in a thousand-mile radius.
Margulies also has on display “The Italians,” which follows up on a prior Arte Povera exhibition with contemporary artists whom the movement influenced.1 Standouts here include the softly architectural ceramic citadels by the team of Domenico Mangano and Marieke van Rooy, as well as an enticing collage by Isabella Ducrot of an embracing couple dressed in fanciful outfits, rendered in a playful cubist style.