‘Who doesn’t love Derek Jeter’: Here’s why the MLB legend stopped by Miami Art Week
Towering over the early birds on opening day of Art Miami in downtown Miami was baseball legend Derek Jeter, the former Yankees player, former Miami Marlins CEO and current artistic muse. At Taglialatella Galleries’ booths in both fairs, large glittering portraits of the Hall of Famer’s most iconic plays hang on the walls: “The Swing” and “The Jump.”
Major League Baseball partnered with English artist Russell Young, known for his shining “diamond dust” portraits, to create the collection of artworks called JETER. The pieces debuted in October at Taglialatella Galleries in New York.
“Who doesn’t love Derek Jeter if you’re a baseball fan, and, more importantly, a person who loves people with great character,” said Art Miami director Nick Korniloff. “It’s wonderful to have Derek here at the show.”
The collection and its appearance at Miami Art Week was a year and a half in the making, Young said. The artist and Jeter met in New York to hand-select the two images reimagined in the works. Young, who jokes that Tinkerbell dusts his sparkly artworks herself, said he loved the opportunity to portray moments of action, especially since his portraits of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Kendrick Lamar are still.
“You can really feel the tension and the concentration. In the swing, look at his eyes, he knows the ball’s gone,” Young said pointing at the works. “You can see that energy.”
A portion of the proceeds generated from sales will be donated to Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation, which advocates for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse for kids, and the Perry J. Cohen Foundation, a nonprofit benefiting the arts, marine wildlife and boating safety dedicated to Perry, Korniloff’s 14-year-old step-son who went missing at sea in 2015. Korniloff and his wife Pamela Cohen founded the organization.
“It’s magical. Perry, my son, was an avid, active baseball player and was just mystified with Derek from the from the earliest days,” Pamela Cohen said. “My family was die-hard Yankee fans, die-hard Derek Jeter fans. It’s really just come full circle.”
Jeter told the Herald that it’s important to center his post-MLB career around giving back to the community. While he has “zero artistic skills whatsoever” and knows very little about art, Jeter said he’s thrilled to be part of the art world in this way. “This is one of those things where you never know what’s going to happen in life,” he said.
“People always talk about legacy. While I have a legacy on the field, I think it’s more important to have a legacy off the field and try to impact kids’ lives in a positive manner,” Jeter said. “I retired 10 years ago, and the foundation still chugging along. Hopefully it goes on for many, many more years, and I can pass that legacy on to my kids.”