Leonidesarts New York Gallery at Art Basel, Miami Beach, with Art by Mark Vinsun, Terrence Benjamin, Ricardo Francis, John Kurtzman, Zilka Rosa, Monica Sarmiento-Castillo

New York, NY, December 20, 2010 --(PR.com)-- LeonidesArts New York Gallery opened its 2nd participation in Art Basel Miami Beach 2010 on Wednesday, Dec. 1st with a private cocktail reception, that served as a opening for its artists local and international the day before the start of Art Basel Miami Beach2010. Each artist created an objey d' art signed only in a secret place so the artists name was kept secret until after its sale in a silent auction alongside postcard-sized works of art available for $50.

The cocktail and exhibition featured new works by Mark Vinsun, Terrence Benjamin, Ricardo Francis, John Kurtzman, Zilka Rosa, and Monica Sarmiento-Castillo. The Cocktail Reception from 6 PM to 10PM was also held simultaneously in New York City at LeonidesArts New York Gallery inside the "art hotel"; The Skyline Hotel at 725 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY 10019 as well as the new temporary LeonidesArts Miami Gallery at 179th NW 23rd Street, Miami, Florida 33127. The Art Basel exhibition opened only in Miami to the public from December 2nd to 5th from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m, which was a a great opportunity to expand their presence in the community.

Proceeds from the cocktail sale are to be for the Ali Forney Youth Center in New York City. The Ali Forney Center (AFC) was started in June of 2002 in response to the lack of safe shelter for LGBT youth in New York City. We are committed to providing these young people with safe, dignified, nurturing environments where their needs can be met, and where they can begin to put their lives back together. AFC is dedicated to promoting awareness of the plight of homeless LGBT youth in the United States with the goal of generating responses on local and national levels from government funders, foundations, and the LGBT community.

The mission of LeonidesArts is to exhibit a new generation of art from the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean that is bold, fresh, innovative, passionate, and that stirs the soul completely. Together as a force they intend to showcase the very best of what is being created in their respective countries with a link to the New York Art Scene where they have a developing presence and a growing list of admires, supporters, collectors, critics with up and coming collectors.

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