OMA ACQUIRES NEW WORK BY FLORIDA PRIZE 2022 WINNER JARED MCGRIFF

Orlando, August 10, 2022 – The Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) is delighted to announce the acquisition of a new work by Miami-based artist Jared McGriff, Winner of the Florida Prize in Contemporary Art 2022, underwritten by Gail and Michael Winn.

Jared McGriff (b. 1977, Los Angeles, CA) received his BA in architecture from the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley in 1999 and his MBA in Finance from New York University in 2008. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Rubell Museum, ICA Miami, NSU Art Museum, Jorge Perez’s El Espacio 23, Beth Rudin DeWoody’s The Bunker, The Knight Foundation, Green Family Art Foundation, and Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places as well as in several important private collections. In 2021, McGriff had his debut museum solo exhibition, Where We Are You, at NSU Art Museum, curated by Bonnie Clearwater. This year he has been featured in museum group exhibitions at ICA Miami and The Florida Prize in Contemporary Art exhibition at the Orlando Museum of Art. Solo exhibitions of his works have been presented at Spinello Projects in 2019 and 2020 and featured in solo booth presentations at Expo Chicago, 2022, and The Armory Art Show (upcoming). He was the recipient of the Orlando Museum of Art’s Florida Prize in Contemporary Art award 2022. He lives and works in Miami and is represented by Spinello Projects.

The acquisition of the large oil on canvas painting, titled Increasing Odds by Trying, 2021 is an exciting opportunity for OMA to present one of Jared’s newest works, building on themes of figuration, representation, inclusivity, diversity, affirmation, and the spirit of community, with a fresh new contemporary perspective. This acquisition will enhance the OMA collection and provide excellent opportunities for OMA’s docents to engage local and regional audiences. This acquisition is also a testimony to the museum’s efforts to showcase and support the work of talented Florida-based artists, initiated through its reputable annual Florida Prize in Contemporary Art exhibition. In the past couple of years, McGriff has received a steadily increasing level of national and international attention, and the Orlando Museum of Art is proud and delighted to add this extraordinary painting to its permanent collection. The piece will be included in the museum’s major fall exhibition, American Journey, opening on September 10, 2022.

The works were purchased by the Orlando Museum of Art’s Acquisition Trust (AT), a membership-based organization that contributes annual dues to fund the acquisition of contemporary art produced after 1970. Since its founding in 1984, AT has built a significant collection of contemporary art for the Orlando Museum of Art and the Central Florida community. The OMA’s Contemporary Art Collection is now the largest section of the Museum’s permanent collection. It includes artwork by internationally recognized artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Robert Rauschenberg, Nick Cave, John Chamberlain, Elizabeth Murray, Robin Rhode, Pat Steir, Jennifer Bartlett, Mel Kendrick, Bisa Butler, Shirin Neshat, and Deborah Roberts.

Outstanding museum collections are the direct result of philanthropic generosity within a community, and the Orlando Museum of Art is grateful to its proactive Acquisition Trust and the community at large for investing in the arts.

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