by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens will open a new state-of-the-art gallery in December that will give it the opportunity to acquire exhibits it hasn’t been able to obtain in the past.
Construction of the Central Building — which includes the Central Gallery, two floors of storage space, a coffee bar and restrooms — will be complete in late October, said Maarten van de Guchte, director of the Cummer Museum. The Central Building is located between the Jacobsen Gallery and Art Connections, along the Barnett Concourse.
There are certain features that the Central Gallery will have to make it a gallery unique to the museum. At the rear of the gallery are three large, floor to ceiling windows that look out onto the Italian Gardens and the St. Johns River. If an exhibit requires no natural light or very little natural light, the museum will be able to adjust to the exhibit’s needs.
“Even though there is glass from the ceiling to the floor, there are screens that can regulate and control the light (coming in) from outside,” said van de Guchte. “The natural light from the windows on the ceiling can also be regulated with hurricane-like shutters.”
The screens for the three windows are automated and can be screen-free or they can be set anywhere from a 30 percent to 100 percent blackout. He said the hurricane-like shutters can be closed from the roof.
“We decided to do this because we want to bring in all kinds of (art) media,” he said. “It gives us a lot of flexibility, which is one big advantage. We can adapt to any exhibition. We have complete control.”
The museum wanted to have big windows in the gallery so their guests can look out into the gardens as well as the river, without sacrificing the ability to properly preserve and view the art.
The 40-foot wide, 120-foot long Central Gallery will be home to the museum’s temporary exhibitions. There is 4,800 square feet of gallery space in the Central Gallery within the 17,000-square foot Central Building. To the left of the gallery is the storage space, a coffee bar and additional restrooms.
In addition to natural light in the gallery, there will also be spotlights along the ceiling and the floor will be white oak, hardwood flooring.
“This space will be the largest gallery without any interruptions (walls) in Florida,” said van de Guchte.
He added the new gallery will help attract more visitors, as well as provide the current members what they have asked for in the past.
“This was a definite need to have large exhibitions,” said van de Guchte. “People want to see big, blockbuster exhibits in Jacksonville and we are filling that void.”
The Central Building will have its grand opening when the exhibit, “Temples and Tombs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from the British Museum” opens on Dec. 21.
The Central Building was funded by trustee contributions. The architectural design is by Rink Design, Inc. and construction is being executed by Elkins Constructors, Inc.