MIAMI, FLA.- At the Ninth Annual Pérez Art Museum Miami Corporate Luncheon, presented by STARR Events, South Florida’s business community gathered to honor Cricket Taplin and The Sol Taplin Charitable Foundation with PAMM Corporate Honors. Taplin, a renowned philanthropist and art collector involved with numerous arts groups and charitable organizations, has played a fundamental role in the South Florida arts community for over 25 years.

“Cricket Taplin and her late husband Marty were community philanthropists that brought their joint passion of art collecting into the public sphere and fostered the fledging artistic community in South Florida years before the arrival of the revolutionary fair Art Basel Miami Beach,” said PAMM board of trustees Chairman Aaron Podhurst. “In honor of her and Taplin foundation, we are pleased to donate all funds from the Luncheon to strengthen the museum’s education program.”

In the spirit of philanthropy, powerhouse trial attorney Alan Kluger, whose corporate collection was highlighted at the luncheon, announced a gift of art to the museum’s permanent collection. The newly created work, In The Land where Gold is Black II (2015), by Venezuelan-born artist Tony VazquezFigueroa is all about messages and messaging - connecting history, advertising and oil in relation to cultural self-definition in Venezuela. Rendered in crude oil on paper, it is from a series that explored foreign print ads from Venezuela’s oil boom era and how the images and text manufactured by those outside the country created a distorted prism of the country and its people. Kluger’s gracious contribution adds to PAMM’s permanent collection, which features Latin American artists through an art historical lens.

“Miami is fortunate to be home to many successful businesses and professionals who care about the community they operate in,” said Luncheon Co-Chair Jorge M. Pérez. “This museum, and Miami’s cultural landscape, is growing and thriving because of the businesses that provide support in arts and culture, and incorporate arts into the core of their business philosophies, like Kluger Kaplan Silverman Katzen & Levine P.L.”

Art&Art Collection Founder and Chairman Juan Carlos Maldonado also announced the long-term loan of Penetrable BBL Blue 2/8 by leading Kinetic and Optical Art Movement artist Jesús Rafael Soto. The large-scale installation, located outside on the museum’s West Portico, allows for visitor interaction, breaking down barriers between artwork, viewer and museum.

Hundreds of South Florida’s most influential business leaders attended the highly-anticipated luncheon, which honors the corporate community for its vital support of the arts in South Florida. Attendees enjoyed a delicious lunch reception by STARR Events, explored new exhibitions and viewed a short film highlighting corporations with local art collections including Faena District Miami Beach, Four Seasons Hotel Miami, and Kluger Kaplan Silverman Katzen & Levine P.L. The video showcased each corporation’s unique history with art collecting and the significance of corporate art collections.