Created: Feb 24, 2025 08:00 AM (Updated: Feb 24, 2025 08:18 AM)
An unforgettable evening of beauty, flavour and creativity: The Loren executive chef Lawrence Godinho and Holly Mazar-Fox of Mazar-Fox Art Consulting (Photograph by Jessie Moniz Hardy)
Holly Mazar-Fox, of Mazar-Fox Art Consulting, says the best thing about running her business in Bermuda is the partnerships she has formed across industries.
She has worked with jewellery stores, hotels and tech conferences.
“I don’t think I would have been able to have those partnerships somewhere else,“ she said.
Next month she is joining forces with The Loren at Pink Beach in Smith’s to offer From Palette to Palate.
The event will feature eight masterpieces by a range of artists from Pablo Picasso to Jean-Michel Basquiat, paired with an eight-course tasting menu.
The Loren’s executive chef, Lawrence Godinho, will take attendees through a progression where visual art is transformed into edible works of wonder.
He has thought deeply about the art and artists, and their connections with food and famous chefs. One artist to be featured at the event died young. His work has been paired with a famous dish cooked by a chef who also had a short life.
“This event allows guests to explore the boundaries between the visual and culinary arts in a way that has never been done before,” Ms Mazar-Fox said. “We are excited to create an unforgettable evening of beauty, flavour and creativity.”
She said this particular partnership worked really well.
“I love food, and I am a big supporter of The Loren,” she said. “There are a lot of close connections between food and art. I wanted to explore that.”
Andre Roberts, director of food and beverage operations at The Loren, said his hotel had always been a big proponent of art.
Mazar-Fox Art Consulting has grown by leaps and bounds in the four years since she moved it from Canada to Bermuda.
“When I first started, I really wanted to move beyond putting artwork on walls,” she said. “I wanted to do something much wider than that. I wanted to do something that really spoke to the cultural vibrancy in Bermuda.”
She knew of only one other art consultant on the island, Lisa Howie.
“Bermuda needed cultural ambassadors,” she said. “It is so rich in art, music and everything else that falls under the arts. I thought one more could not hurt.”
The art consultant has teamed up with jewellery store Astwood Dickinson, and last year curated an NFT art show for the International Tech Summit. She and Ms Howie also worked with the Masterworks Museum of Art to take a group of art collectors to the art fair Art Basel Miami, in Miami, Florida, last year.
“My most successful arenas have been the hotel sectors,” Ms Mazar-Fox said. “I recently worked with the Grotto Bay Hotel to curate all the art for their hotel renovation. I source work for a lot of businesses.”
One of her challenges has been the slump in the global art industry.
“I am continually reading articles about how business for the major auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s were down 20 per cent in 2024,” she said. “That is a lot. Now the auction houses have turned to selling things like NBA jerseys. They are having jewellery sales. They have really expanded to more collectibles. The market is in flux at the moment.”
She believes that Bermuda could be a leader in the arts.
Her dream is to bring an art fair to Bermuda along the lines of the Art Basel Miami Fair, which attracts 80,000 visitors each year.
“I am still working out the logistics of that,” she said. “It might take me a few years to organise.”
Ms Mazar-Fox said art lovers tend to go to the same places every year.
“People would find it refreshing to have the opportunity to go somewhere else,” she said. “There is definitely an appetite for it.”
She said art fairs are often put on in hotels, and The Loren would be a great location for one.
“An event like that would be very beneficial to Bermuda’s economy,” she said.
• From Palette to Palate will be held in the Maree Restaurant at The Loren on March 7 at 7pm. Tickets are $245 each, plus gratuities, available at www.ptix.bm
