The NSU Art Museum in downtown Fort Lauderdale opened a pop-up shop in Oct. 2018 as part of their William J. Glackens and Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Affinities and Distinctions exhibit.
This exhibit continues until May 19, leaving plenty of time for art connoisseurs and explorers alike to check out the lavishly French-themed shop on the exhibit’s second floor. Sally Glenn, the Museum Store and Café’s Retail Operations Manager, said the pop-up shop adheres to the same idea as an exit shop. That is, the shop is well-stocked with unique souvenirs related to the art in the exhibit, rooted in French design or related to the Picasso works also featured in the exhibit. The products are intended to encourage cultural commerce — something Glenn describes as a way to “[support] the museum but [get] yourself something to remind you of your visit.”
Of course, the idiosyncratic candles, stationary, toys and accessories aren’t items you can find anywhere. Glenn attends the New York trade show, New York Now, once a year to choose different children’s merchandise, jewelry, decor, cards and other gifts with the museum’s upcoming exhibits in mind. She also sometimes works with vendors who have an already-established relationship with the shop, so the products you’ll find in the museum store and pop-up shop have been hand-picked with artistic eye to slow with your experience.
For the Pop-up Paris shop, Glenn is using French vendors she may never use again, adding a little excitement and significance to shopping that is sometimes hard to find.
In fact, choosing what goes into the shop parallels curating an exhibit. NSU Art Museum staff member Barbara Buhler Lynes, Sunny Kaufman Senior Curator, organized the Glackens and Renoir exhibit in question to highlight the similarities and differences between the two artists. As he studied under and was heavily influenced by Renoir, Glackens is sometimes referred to as the American Renoir. Even a quick glance at two side-by-side paintings would explain why: Glackens experimented with coloring technique reminiscent of Renoir, intensifying shades of coral, emerald green and cornflower blue to draw viewer to appreciate a scene that might otherwise be erroneously considered mundane to those that don’t stop to smell the roses. Both Renoir and Glackens excellently portray intense beauty in the ordinary, but Glackens’ use of color is a resonating daytime call to appreciate all that is around while Renoir’s is a soft bedtime whisper from a friend-turned-lover.
The exhibit will move to the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga as-is in May. Glenn mentions that the work put into curating an exhibit is so intricate and valuable that museums often pass on their efforts because “it’s so much work; it makes sense to share it.” Given its May closing, visitors have several months to visit the exhibit and indulge in their fair share of cultural commerce. From delightful French storytelling torches, stuffed animal and dolls; hand-embroidered pins; French honey, cookies and candy; embroidered socks and printed scarves; aprons and tea towels; and surrealist paper products, there’s something for everyone in Fort Lauderdale’s own Pop-up Paris.
