The Beverly Hills Arts and Culture Commission’s Feb. 9 regular meeting included a spirited discussion of the city’s outdoor art maintenance, the Burton Way Median Project, the mapped art walk and upcoming installations. Commissioners also reviewed the conservation of the 26 city-owned artworks located throughout parks and public spaces, and the annual maintenance budget of $42,010 for the city’s art collection. Maintenance in the past year has included protective coverings on artwork, due to the civil unrest that began early last summer.
Despite the full agenda, much of the meeting was spent on one topic: the installation of Alexandra Nephite’s sculpture entitled “Love Anatomy” this spring on the Burton Way median. The well-known Romanian American cubist painter first donated the piece to the city in 2018. The shapely 100-pound bronze sculpture is a stylized rendering of the female figure that exemplifies why Nechita is known as “Petite Picasso.” According to the artist, the piece is appraised at between $350,000 and $450,000.
