Gaudian of the Gallery

An exciting new art venue, the Fritz Gallery, is Royal Poinciana Way’s best kept secret… but not for long. The space’s soaring 26-foot ceilings and generous occupation of 2,500 square feet allow for endless possibilities. “Movable walls on casters allow me to manipulate the space, giving me the flexibility to have the museum-like shows I want,” says owner/Art Director Wendy Fritz.
Fritz’s dazzling 2019 lineup started off piping hot with Mira Lehr, the critically acclaimed octogenarian multimedia artist known for lighting her canvases on fire as step one of her unique process. It was the first of three large solo shows Fritz planned with established and investable mid-to-late career artists. This month, Fritz will exhibit Nathan Coe’s “Nantucket to Palm Beach,” a group show of works by select emerging artists titled Interstitial.
Soon after in March and April, the heat rises with Fritz’s second major solo show: Palm Beach Light, featuring the explosive, sizable abstracts of bigwig banker-turned-celebrated painter J. Steven Manolis. Under the tutelage of modern master Wolf Kahn, now Manolis’ mentor and close friend, the latter has perfected his gift for using the dynamics and beauty of color to evoke human emotion. The artist already has a strong following of Palm Beach collectors and will surely acquire many more once his creations grace Fritz’s walls. Next, Helmut Koller, who wildly celebrates the spirit of new pop with vivid, compelling animal paintings, opening in February.
Fritz is inundated with inquiries from droves of painters who want in, but, according to Gallery Director Paul Casto, “The 1 percent we want to work with are the ones Wendy seeks out.”
Both Fritz and Casto relish the thrill of the hunt, but unless the work has historical relevance, she won’t show it. “It needs to have evolved to be worthy,” says Fritz. “We are custodians and guardians of history.” 211 Royal Poinciana Way, fritzgallery.com