As an art collector, Dennis Scholl searches for cutting edge contemporary pieces from lesser known artists.

He describes the works as "art made last Tuesday.''

As a winemaker, he shies away from the world of more common merlots and chardonnays.

''Trying to change the world for Grenache,'' said Scholl, 52.

But in 1973 -- when Scholl won the Silver Knight for science -- both disciplines seemed unlikely to one day become his passion.

Winning the Silver Knight was ''one of the moments that lets you know there's a bigger world out there and a lot of things are possible,'' he said on a recent morning in the office inside World Class Boxing, his Wynwood exhibition space.

"It wasn't so much about it being in science, it was more just about people acknowledging public service was something you can do and should do for the rest of your life.''

For his public service project, a part of the Silver Knight process, Scholl worked on a study of the water coming from the Florida Power & Light plant at Turkey Point as part of a project done by the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

The study found the water was too warm and was killing turtle grass. As a result, FPL built cooling canals for the water before dumping it into the bay.

That early experience and reward for public service is a legacy that has stayed with him.

Scholl's been the founding chairman of new acquisition committees for London's Tate Modern, New York's Guggenheim Museum and the Miami Art Museum. In each case, he worked to raise money to acquire art from artists whose work wasn't already inside a museum's walls. He was also the founding chair of Locust Projects, an alternative art space in Miami focusing on younger artists.

After graduating from Miami Norland Senior High School, Scholl went to Florida International University. In college he found his interests shifting from science to business and decided to get a degree in accounting.

For three years he worked as a certified public accountant -- but issues would often intrigue him that were handled by lawyers, not CPAs, so he signed up for law school.

FATEFUL MEETING

It was there, his first day of law school at the University of Miami, where Scholl met two people who would have a big impact on his life:

Seated in alphabetical order were Debra Schwartz, his future wife, on one side of him and Jeffrey Roth, a future business partner, on the other.

''I was very lucky that day,'' Scholl said.

He describes his family growing up as blue collar, with both of his parents working in construction. He'd had little exposure to art before he met Debra, who took him to his first art museum.

To pay their tuition, Dennis and Debra, who were dating at the time, got jobs working in a local gallery. The only trouble was, they spent all of their earnings on art and had nothing left.

''An undying passion,'' is how Scholl describes it. ``Art has been one of the things that has stayed with us. Everyday when I wake up in the morning I think about art.''

The Scholls have about 500 pieces in their collection -- but there's only room to show about 50 works in their home on Miami Beach's Di Lido island, which they open to about 2,000 people a year.

The impressive art collection has relegated his Silver Knight trophy, with a broken arm, to the bathroom.

``We have a lot of people who come through the house to look at the art and we just keep [the Silver Knight] hidden away in the bathroom. . . . The house is curated as an art exhibit. We don't want to break up the aesthetic by having this poor broken-down knight.''

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