Clearwater Couple Donates Sculpture to Museum

Friends and family members miss seeing the shiny, curling ribbons of metal that form the sculpture “Introspection” when they visit the home of Moshe and Ella Kedan these days.

But the good news is that this beautiful work by artist Gino Miles will be seen by tens of thousands in the coming years.

The Kedans recently donated “Introspection” to the museum, and Miles installed it outside the museum entrance in February. Now the sculpture is on display for all to see, perched atop four rocks totaling 2,000 pounds pulled from the Pecos River in New Mexico.

The Kedans determined the Polk Museum of Art was an ideal spot for exhibiting Miles’ work after visiting here last Spring.

“We were impressed with this particular museum because it is really geared toward contemporary art,” Moshe Kedan said.

The Kedans met Miles several years ago at Art Basel Miami and instantly felt an attraction toward his work for his ability to mastered “such a tough, hard, heavy metal and make it like a rubber toy,” Kedan said.

They have purchased five pieces, and opted to donate “Introspection” so that others could see and be inspired by Miles’ work.

Claire Orologas, executive director of the Polk Museum of Art, says she is grateful for the generous gift, and she views the donation as a sign that the museum’s regional outreach efforts are working.

“We serve the entire region, not just Lakeland or Polk County,” Orologas said. “The fact that this gift was made by collectors who live in Clearwater shows that people outside Polk County are noticing and appreciating our facility and our programming.”

About Gino Miles

A native of the Western slopes of Colorado, Gino Miles received a Master of Art in sculpture from the University of Northern Colorado in 1979.

He lived in Florence, Italy for several years and helped found Italart, a school for American and German students in the Chianti region. He also taught design and sculpture classes while making and exhibiting his own pastels and sculpture.

Today Miles and his wife live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has owned and operated his own gallery, Sculpture 619, since 2003. You can learn more about Miles here.