YOUNGTOWN, OH.- The
Butler Institute of American Art has announced that George Bolge, Director of the
Boca Raton Museum of Art (Florida), and a former Ohio resident, painter Gregory Strachov, are the 2011 recipients of the Butler Medal for Life Achievement in the Arts. The honors were bestowed upon the two men by Butler Board of Trustees President Vincent Bacon at the May 15 Trustees Circle Members annual dinner, held at the museum in Youngstown.
Butler Director Dr. Louis Zona stated, “George Bolge’s contributions to the museum field are most remarkable. Our admiration for him and his good work could not be greater. This honor recognizes his achievements and pays tribute to him as a visionary and as a leader in the field of museology. Likewise, Gregory Strachov is one of this country’s great talents. His paintings, while technically pristine, offer a spiritual quality and aesthetic dynamic that is unparalelled. Calling upon history, science and emotion, his works reflect the great beauty of creation in itself.”
Created a quarter century ago, the Butler Medal has been awarded to some of the nation’s foremost art world personalities and talents. Among the many recipients are: artists Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), Clarence Carter (1904-2000) and Louise Nevelson (1899-1988); gallery dealers Leo Castelli (1907-1999) and Ivan Karp; museum directors Thomas Hoving (1931-2009) and Louis Zona; former New York Times art critic and current Dean of the Graduate School of the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, David L. Shirey; and artist/astronaut Alan Bean.
George Bolge, a decorated Vietnam veteran, began his museum career in South Florida in 1970, and was instrumental in the creation of the new Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale/Nova Southeastern University. He served as its chief executive until 1988, and remains Director Emeritus for this organization, one of the most celebrated museums in South Florida.
In 1995, Bolge was hired, once again, to build a major arts institution, this time in Boca Raton. The Boca Raton Museum of Art was housed, at that time, on Palmetto Park Road where the Museum’s Art School is currently located. Over the next four years, with the support of community leaders, Bolge stabilized the budget, re established organizational participation in the State, County and City granting resources, developed new educational outreach programming, upgraded the exhibition schedule, and enhanced the permanent collection. This professional profile qualified the Museum to be awarded its first American Association of Museums National Accreditation. Of the nation’s 17,500 museums, just 778 are currently accredited. This national recognition served as the impetus to launch a Capital Campaign in 1999, and just over a year later, the Museum opened a stunning new 44,000 square foot facility in downtown Boca Raton.
Under Bolge’s direction, the new Museum opened its doors in January, 2001. The Museum has achieved an international stature as one of the most successful, non-profit cultural and educational institutions in the state of Florida. Over the past decade since its move to Mizner Park, the Museum has welcomed nearly 2 million visitors and has organized more than 200 exhibitions, a significant achievement for a community organization the size of the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
Bolge will retire as Boca Museum director in June, but will remain active in the South Florida arts community and continue to pursue his creative interests through speaking engagements and consultation to educational and arts institutions both here and abroad.
Gregory Strachov has been a full time working artist for over thirty years. He was born of Russian heritage in Caracas, Venezuela on November 25, 1950. In 1955, his family immigrated to the United States. He was eight years old when he first received watercolor paints and brushes. He was fifteen when he was first awarded by the Mayor of Paterson, N.J. for his painting titled "Life." Strachov earned a BS degree in Biology and Chemistry, with minor emphasis in Marine Biology and Geology. However, as an artist, Strachov is self-taught.
In 1979, the artist had his first solo show. He was given the Meadowlands Sports complex for this one night event. Strachov's paintings all sold. He then decided to pursue a degree in art. Pratt Institute had waived his undergraduate degree, a decision that was based on the review of his extensive portfolio. However Strachov decided to pursue an undergraduate degree, "in order to fill the gaps" in his art education. He also studied by attending the Frick museum and their exclusive library in New York City and conducted his research for several years. Strachov had received an undergraduate degree in fine art along with a teacher certification from Kean University in only one year and with a 4.0 grade average.
Strachov's work has been exhibited throughout the United States. During his career, his work has earned sixty three awards. Strachov's paintings are hanging in private collections all of over the world. He has been marketing his own work in his own quiet and unassuming way. However his work has been honored with shows in prominent museums in this country as well as abroad. In 2001, sixteen mid career artists were selected from the United States to be shown at the Chateau Museé, a museum owned by the Grimaldi family of Monac, situated at the top of a hill overlooking the Mediterranean in Cagnes sur Mer, France. This was an exhibition to show that there are new directions as well as new explorations in painting. Four of Strachov's works were featured and he was honored with one of four top awards.
