During the winter of 2017 in West Palm Beach, The Bunker Artspace opened its doors, offering access to the profound Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection. Diverse and ever-evolving exhibitions, showcasing contemporary art, era-defining furniture, and more, champion both emerging creatives and world renowned luminaries. The space’s visionary co-curators Laura Dvorkin and Maynard Monrow deftly invoke the enthusiasm and foresight of DeWoody, building on the revered collection to create a comprehensive perspective on the global art landscape.
For The Bunker Artspace’s current 2024/25 season, guest curators Zoe Lukov and Kyle DeWoody lend their perceptive practices for the space’s latest exhibition: “A Wing and a Prayer,” currently on view through May 1. More than 140 pieces, derived from both the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection and the personal collection of Kyle DeWoody, embody the question, “How do we dare to hope when so much is stacked against us?” A compelling range of artists are included, such as Howardena Pindell, Lonnie Holley, Robert Irwin, Brittney Leeanne Williams, Elizabeth Jaeger, Tavares Strachan, Brad Kahlhamer, and Isabelle Albuquerque. Whitewall sat down with Lukov and DeWoody to speak about the crafting of their curatorial vision, the depth and breadth of the collection, as well as appreciating the way in which art has become a safe space for all.
WHITEWALL: What was your curatorial vision for this particular exhibition at The Bunker Artspace?
ZOE LUKOV AND KYLE DEWOODY: “A Wing and a Prayer” is an exhibition of over 140 works from the Bunker Artspace collection that originated from a question—how do we dare to hope when so much is stacked against us? We were very much responding to the times we were in, a particular moment of shared disillusionment.
As we began to dive into what it would take to imagine a future we want to exuberantly inhabit, we kept coming back to our connection with nature, the ancestral/spiritual, and ultimately with each other. We talked a lot about artists as conjurers, seers, channels to the divine—about acts of creation as acts of faith—about the very act of making an art object as a form of prayer. We talked about how artists can help us craft a world beyond the now, with both creative power and a channeled foresight.
“We talked about how artists can help us craft a world beyond the now,”
Zoe Lukov and Kyle DeWoody
We looked at how artists across generations,disciplines, traditions, geographies and perspectives are addressing the relationship between the sacred and the mundane, prayer and ritual, the cosmic and the human, the natural and the supernatural—how often they reflect the capacity of the human spirit to not only endure, but find and propagate beauty and hope. We wanted to highlight artworks that might serve as signposts towards an equitable future and for the exhibition itself to be an experience that might inspire connection and transcendence.
“A Wing and a Prayer” Exhibition; Courtesy of The Bunker Artspace.
The Uniqueness of the Bunker Collection
WW: The Bunker Artspace itself is a unique venue. How did its architectural and spatial qualities influence your curatorial decisions?
ZL AND KD: We laugh because if we could have, we would have filled the whole building. The most unique aspect is not so much the architecture but rather the depth and breadth of the collection—the access to so many incredible works that you could conceivably do this show 5 times over with all different work. So we took every opportunity to include work which often led to unexpected and alternative installation choices.
“We took every opportunity to include work which often led to unexpected and alternative installation choices,”
Zoe Lukov and Kyle DeWoody
Inevitably this sparked new conversations among the works and unforeseen threads of connection. There were times we searched the collection based on a particular theme and ended up discovering artists we hadn’t previously known about. Or found works by artists in a less recognizable style for them. And that is the great gift of the Bunker collection. Otherwise to your point about the architecture: the angles, niches and unusual spaces are often an opportunity to be more creative. Maynard and Laura are masters of leaning into these unique opportunities and have been great to learn from over the years.
WW: What’s the most surprising discovery you made while working with the collection together? Did you encounter any hidden gems or lesser-known works in the collection that you felt deserved a spotlight in this exhibition?
ZL AND KD: There were so many discoveries! That is the beauty of this collection—there is an incredibly unique perspective and a wide range of artists from different places and backgrounds, working across diverse disciplines. It’s virtually impossible to highlight any one of the gems that we felt deserved a spotlight. But the altar installation in the inner sanctum of the exhibition was an example of how we hoped to reveal some of the smaller yet incredibly powerful treasures within the collection. Giving them an altar felt like a potent way to experience these works as if they were sacred amulets or talismans. And across the exhibition, you will find artists whose works you may not have previously encountered alongside artists who could just as easily be displayed in major museums and institutions—the uniqueness of the collection really made these kinds of surprising or unexpected pairings not only possible, but incredibly powerful.
Judy Chicago; Courtesy of The Bunker Artspace.
Zoe Lukov and Kyle DeWoody’s Shared Curatorial Perspective
WW: Both of you have unique curatorial backgrounds—how did your individual perspectives shape the exhibition?
ZL AND KD: It was a kind of alchemy and unexpected magic that took place thanks to our very different backgrounds and our styles of working. What was perhaps most unique about this project is that we are such close friends. We were actually able to imbue a level of care into the co-curatorial relationship that felt much less formal and much more familial—which potentially served to better transmit the ideas of the exhibition.
“We were actually able to imbue a level of care into the co-curatorial relationship that felt much less formal and much more familial,”
Zoe Lukov and Kyle DeWoody
On a more practical level, we were both able to introduce each other to artists and work that the other had not previously been aware of or worked with, so there were new learnings and discoveries for both of us and shifts in our own perspectives.
Pat Phillips, “Red To Yellow Kill A Fellow,” 2019; Courtesy of The Bunker Artspace.
The Private and Public Cross-Over of Bunker Artspace
WW: The Bunker Artspace operates at the intersection of private collection and public access. How does this dual role shape the viewer’ s experience?
ZL AND KD: It’s very much open to the public for free (by appointment). This year it feels like many more people are coming for their first time and hearing about the collection and how accessible it is. There is always such excitement from those who come in new because they have no idea how much will be shared and who they will discover. Of course while private museums are generally shaped by the vision and interests of one person as opposed to a public museum board and its curators, in the case of the Bunker, Beth DeWoody’s tastes and interests are so varied and multifaceted that the collection ends up being broad and inclusive and ultimately unbridled by trends or any rules really.
WW: What role do you think private collections like Beth Rudin DeWoody’ s play in expanding public access to contemporary art?
ZL AND KD: Ultimately these collections are free and open to the public and should serve as resources to a broad community. As mentioned above, the Bunker is unhindered by market considerations—you are just as likely to see an artist you have never heard of who has no gallery representation as you are to find a rare artwork by a great modern painter who could just as easily be hanging in the MoMA.
“Ultimately these collections are free and open to the public and should serve as resources to a broad community,”
Zoe Lukov and Kyle DeWoody
The depth and breadth of the collection is a resource in itself, and it bears repeating that it’s free which is one less barrier to entry. It is also a lending institution and at any given time hundreds of works may be out on loan to museums and nonprofits around the country—which is extremely important in making sure that these works serve as educational tools for a broad public.
WW: What lasting impression do you hope visitors take away from the exhibition at The Bunker Artspace?
ZL AND KD: We love how art has become a safe space to bring people into deep consideration of ideas beyond the conventional and even share emotional experiences. We hope this show gives space for people to find solace from our uncertain reality and connect with the deeper currents of our spirits, the parts of ourselves that are always within us, beautiful and resilient and have the capacity through expression, ritual and expansion, to find those strings of hope, connection and joy and weave them into their lives wherever possible.
Paul Shore and Nicole Root Exhibition; Courtesy of The Bunker Artspace.
