Museum of Latin American Art names sculpture garden for founder

Art Business News, July, 2006

LONG BEACH, CA -- The Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA) honored founder Dr. Robert Gumbiner by naming its new sculpture garden, "The Robert Gumbiner Sculpture and Events Garden."

Gumbiner began the museum from his extensive personal collection of art work--more than 400 works--of contemporary Latin American art and his commitment to creating a significant cultural landmark dedicated to the art genre. A distinguished philanthropist and prolific art collector, Gumbiner has contributed assets to MoLAA of $40 million over the past decade. His current $2.2 million donation was the largest personal gift to the $10 million capital renovation and expansion of the museum.

"When I founded the museum almost 10 years ago," says Gumbiner, "I wanted the public to have a place to experience the arts of Latin America. The need for this type of institution is long overdue. Little, if anything, has been done to exhibit the contemporary fine art of South America and Central America. Now, with the garden and expansion and associated programming, MoLAA is escalating its mission to educate the public about the art and culture of contemporary Latin America."

"The Robert Gumbiner Sculpture and Events Garden" features 16 sculptures, including pieces by such noted artists as Raul Diaz and Jorge Segui from Argentina; Ramon Rodriguez from Boliva; Williams Carmona and Florence Gilbert from Cuba; Ivan Rojas from Venezuela; Benito Rosas and Fernando de Szyszlo from Peru; Alejandro Quijano, Alberto Vargas Aguirre and Marco Aldaco of Mexico; and Cecilia Miguez from Uruguay.

The 15,000-square-foot garden also contains native cacti and plants indigenous to several South American countries, The garden houses a diverse array of native vegetation, including agave, palms, groundcovers and succulents. The Latin American garden plantings complement the museum's collection and represent all of Latin America as well as Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries.

For more information, call 562-437-1689; visit www.molaa.org.