De Stijl Gallery will be joining the Ruskin community in January of 2021. ‘De Stijl’ are Dutch words for ‘The Style.’ The building is painted in the colors and art form of Piet Mondrian, who was the founder of the De Stijl art movement in 1918.
Wolf and Cindy Spring are the owners of the gallery and they wanted to offer the Ruskin community a vibrant art gallery.
“Cindy and I are recent transplants to Florida from Rhode Island in early 2019,” Wolf said. “We had friends in the area and had visited Ruskin a number of times over the last 10 years and liked the slower pace of life in the area. To us, that offered an opportunity, and in Ruskin we had our sights set on a building that was owned by the Mary Martha Organization.”
This building became available in late December of 2018 and it was ideal for the couple’s plans.
“Since we both have an appreciation of art, specifically that of mid-century modern style and design, the building style was ideal,” Wolf said. “That is what drove the paint design that is currently on the building. This paint scheme is in the style of Piet de Mondrian.”
The gallery is part of the couple’s retirement plans.
“In our plans for retirement, we felt that we could realize some of our visions for community involvement and development of potential young artists,” Wolf said. “For this to be realized, a smaller community provided the most opportune scenario and a greater likelihood of goal realization versus an older, larger and long-established environment. For the salability of artwork, it was the buying potential of young couples in the area and the great influx of new housing developments that they would raise their families in that best suited the De Stijl development goals. Art availability at affordable pricing is limited especially for original works and locally nothing is available other than prints from box stores. The De Stijl Gallery will allow for art purchases to meet a variety of tastes. Both graphic art and sculpture will be offered at the gallery.”
The couple hopes their gallery will reach many local artists and families in the area.
“We hope to provide something that is family-oriented and not intimidating, as some gallery environments can be,” Wolf said. “The intent is to be a place that one can spend time in and see works that showcase talent and encourage and challenge those that might have a desire to create.”
To learn more about De Stijl Gallery, you can contact Wolf Spring at 773-7771. The gallery is located at 100 E. Shell Point Rd. in Ruskin.
