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Duval Street Art Galleries

For my extended inquiry project I decided to explore taking a trip to Key West, FL
during spring break. When conducting research I also decided to look up the history of Key West
to get an understanding of the islands background and culture. In 1513, Spain claimed Key West,
which at the time was called Las Martines and was discovered by Ponce de Leon. In 1823 the
first Naval Depot was established after the United States claimed a port of entry. After the influx
of Cuban immigrants during the revolution in Cuba, writers, painters and a number of artists
were imported to stimulate the tourist trade again. Furthermore in the 1990s the once sleepy
Duval Street is like a big city downtown with bars, tee shirt shops and tourist shops
intermingled with artists galleries, fine restaurants and exclusive designer shops.(History of Key
West)

As I completed extensive research on my spring break trip I found more information

about the famous Duval Street. You can find an assortment of things to do. There are multiple
restaurants, bar, art museums, and boutiques to visit. Although there are many attractions found
on Duval Street, I found the art galleries most intriguing. This includes the Adam Wyatt
Galleries and De La Galley.

The Adam Wyatt Galleries is located at 608 Duval St. The art gallery houses nine of the
most prestigious artist artworks. Many of them are known both nationally and internationally and
have earned numerous awards for their art. Some of the featured artist include Michael Cheval,
David Miller, Daniel Moe, John Jagger, Allison Lefcort, and Michael Godard. The artist Adam
Scott Rote, is a self-taught artist. Rote is famously known for the transparency of his painting,
which takes a variety of media to create. This includes acrylic paint, gouache, airbrush, and

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watercolor pencil. (AW Galleries) Another artist housed at the Adam Scott Rote Gallery that
caught my attention is Michael Cheval. His paintings are greatly influenced by Salvador Dali and
Rene Magritte, who are famous surrealist artist. Many categorize Chevals paintings as
surrealism, but he thinks of his artwork as absurdism, which is "...a game of imagination, where
all ties are carefully chosen to construct a literary plot."(AW Galleries)

Another art gallery that interest me is the De La Gallery, which is located at 419 Duval
Street. This art gallery showcases the artwork of Jorge de la Torriente. Influenced by his
architectural background, Torrientes photographs take on a life of their own. The use of long
exposure, a simplified color palette and printing on a smooth matte paper help achieve his
signature painterly effect.(De La Torriente)

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Works Cited
"Adam Wyatt Galleries Key West." Adam Scott Rote Galleries. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.
<https://adamscottrotegalleries.com/>.
Frank, Andrew K. City of Intrigue, Nest of Revolution: A Documentary History of Key West in
the Nineteenth Century. The Journal of Southern History 74.3 (Aug 2008): 747-748.
Academic Search Complete. CPCC Libraries, Charlotte, NC. 4 Nov. 2014.
<http://eds.a.ebscohost.com>
"History of Key West - At Home In Key West." At Home In Key West. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.athomeinkeywest.com/about-key-west/history-of-key-west/>.
"Jorge De La Torriente." De La Gallery. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.delagallery.com/new-page/>.
Navarro, Mireya. "Key West." New York Times. Oct 27 1996. ProQuest. CPCC Libraries,
Charlotte, NC. 4 Nov. 2014. <http://search.proquest.com>
Stein, Alan Harris. Grits and Grunts: Folkric Key West. Oral History Review 37.1 (Jan 2010):
150. Academic Search Complete. CPCC Libraries, Charlotte, NC. 4 Nov. 2014.
<http://uncc.worldcat.org