Ben Apfelbaum, 63, curator, folk art expert
Hyfler/Rosner
September 25, 2005 Sunday Home Edition
Ben Apfelbaum, 63, curator, folk art expert
BYLINE: DERRICK HENRY
New Yorker Ben Apfelbaum, an art curator and consultant with
a special expertise in folk and vernacular art, arrived on
the Atlanta art scene in 1993 like a whirlwind.
"Ben had an amazing ability to sweep into a brand-new
community and uncover artistic talent that those of us who
have been here for years haven't noticed," said Barbara
Archer of Atlanta, owner of the Barbara Archer Gallery in
Inman Park, which specializes in the work of self-taught
artists.
"Ben had the most remarkable eye and was the most inclusive
of curators," said painter Deanna Sirlin of Atlanta. "He
embraced art and artists."
"He loved looking at art and discovering new talent," said
Marianne Lambert of Atlanta, curator of the Swan Coach House
Gallery at the Atlanta History Center and ArtWalk at Lenox
Square. "He never missed an opening at local galleries. He'd
go to student shows and to all the shows in alternative
spaces."
Mr. Apfelbaum, 63, of Dunwoody died Friday at Piedmont
Hospital of complications following knee replacement
surgery. The body will be cremated. The memorial service
will be at 4 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Spruill Gallery. H.M.
Patterson & Son, Spring Hill, is in charge of arrangements.
At the Spruill Center for the Arts in Atlanta, where Mr.
Apfelbaum was director of exhibitions for the past five
years, he was noted for wide-ranging exhibits, often themed,
that involved dozens of artists.
In one show, "Looks Good on Paper," Mr. Apfelbaum squeezed
129 works by 85 metro Atlanta artists into the exhibit. "It
seems like a convocation of Atlanta artists talking
animatedly to one another," Atlanta Journal-Constitution art
critic Catherine Fox wrote in 2001.
A 2004 exhibit, "Reading Between the Lanes: Artists on the
Road," paid homage to America's love-hate relationship with
the automobile. The artwork encompassed painting,
photography, sculpture and video. "Memorable . . . a two
thumbs-up rave," wrote Journal-Constitution traffic
columnist Joey Ledford.
In 2003's "In-Flight Entertainment," both realistic and
abstract wildlife art shared space with "Mark Trail" comic
strips, a Georgia wildlife license plate and stuffed birds
by taxidermist Burk Edward Thompson.
The curator championed young and emerging artists, not just
by helping them get their work shown but also by buying
their work himself. Among the important local artists he
helped discover were Chris Verene and Kojo Griffin, Ms.
Lambert said.
Mr. Apfelbaum certainly had credentials. The Manhattan
native earned a master's degree in American folk art studies
from New York University. He was a folk art buyer for the
Polo-Ralph Lauren Corp. and curator of the East River
Gallery at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, showing and
selling the work of psychotic patients, with the proceeds
going directly to the artists. He was much in demand as a
teacher, lecturer, appraiser, judge and consultant.
"Ben was a tremendous information source, a walking
encyclopedia," said Rebecca Des Marais of Atlanta, director
of the Youth Art Connection of the Boys & Girls Clubs of
Metro Atlanta.
"He knew every artist around and was an amazing conduit who
connected people to each other. He was interested in an
artist's spirit, not his training. But Ben was no Pollyanna.
He was not shy about giving you his opinions. He could be
scathingly critical but was never mean-spirited."
It was impossible to ignore him. "He was tall and had great
bushy hair like Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead," Ms. Des
Marais said.
Mr. Apfelbaum also reveled in finding new taste sensations
at restaurants along Buford Highway and enjoyed delighting
his friends with a kitsch gift when they got together for
dinner.
"He was larger than life, passionate with tremendous
charisma," Ms. Lambert said. "He'd wear crazy Hawaiian
shirts with lots of color."
There are no immediate survivors.
GRAPHIC: Teresa M. Sims Ben Apfelbaum, shown at work in his
office at the Spruill Center for the Arts, where he was
director of exhibitions, was especially noted for his
ability to find and recognize new talent.