Palm Beach Gifted Youth
Jun 7, 2026
On Saturday, June 6th, over 40 Palm Beach and Broward Mensa Gifted Youth families gathered at the Cornell Art Museum at Old School Square in Delray Beach — a beautifully restored historic campus that's been a cornerstone of the city's arts and culture scene for decades.
Our docent-led tour included two standout exhibitions. The Surrealist Highwayman featured the dreamlike Florida landscape paintings of Rodney Demps, transporting visitors through vivid, imagination-bending scenes that were equal parts familiar and otherworldly.
The real showstopper, though, was Persistence of Matter — a collection of art made entirely from reclaimed and repurposed materials. The kids were absolutely captivated, especially by Limbots, a series of robot sculptures by Boca Raton artist Oliver Sarkis Degirmen, built from trash, nature scraps, and mixed media.
Also leaving a lasting impression: Boca Raton artist Sonya Sanchez Arias, who had not one but TWO jaw-dropping pieces on display. Dorian Gray is a full-length gown — over six feet tall — constructed entirely from recycled plastics including drinking straws, garbage bags, and water bottles. And Every Creed and Race is a sweeping wall installation of photographic portraits suspended from reclaimed boat wood on chains, a powerful meditation on identity and shared humanity. And then there was Dream On by Pompano Beach artist Patricia Cortez — a large-scale piece made entirely from medicine bottle caps, dedicated to the victims and survivors of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Check out photos of our visit here: https://www.palmbeachgifted.com/cornell-art