A flashback to earlier this year and checking out Juan Alonso-Rodriguez’s studio when he opened it for St. Pete’s 2nd Saturday ArtWalk. His studio will be open again for this month’s ArtWalk and is filled with all new and different work.
You can also check out his studio on Instagram.
Above is “A very anxious feeling”, 2007, by assume vivid astro focus, part of Tampa Museum of Art’s 2022/3 exhibition All in Favor: New Works in the Permanent Collection.
From the museum about the artist collective and the work-
A very anxious feeling by the collective assume vivid astro focus (avaf) conjures both sense of worry and whimsy. In this vibrant neon artwork each letter is rendered in a different color-ranging from pastel pinks and blues to bright primary colors. The final letter, a yellow capital “G,” appears to fall away from the text.
Eli Sudbrack founded the collective assume vivid astro focus in 2001 and works collaboratively with fellow artist Christophe Hamaide-Pierson. A very anxious feeling represents a prime example of their art, as they are known for their colorful, kaleidoscopic paintings, drawings, sculptures, and light installations. assume astro vivid focus explores notions of free speech, gender identity, and civil rights in their artworks and projects. The collective often partners with other creative types, including musicians, dancers, and designers.
Cardboard sculpture by Richard Entel and his 5 year old daughter Emily; Photographs by Jane Housham
Jane Housham, “Color Squares”
Meryl Bennett, “Fountain 3”, epoxy resin
Toys by Weston Brownlee
Sculptures by Richard Entel and his daughter Emily
Every autumn Dunedin Fine Art Center chooses a universal theme that runs through all of their galleries. This year they chose PLAY. It’s a wonderful choice and makes for a delightful time in the various galleries. This is the last week to see two of the exhibitions- PLAY On!, a selection of wonderful artist made toys and toy related art (photos above), and LOL: Funny Papers, a juried selection of art work incorporating comics, illustrations, zines and mixed media collage (photos below).
Catch both of these shows before they close on 10/15/23.
Barbara Hubbard, “Quantum Entanglement #5”, print collage/hand colored
Cory Robinson, “Just a Reminder”, spray paint and acrylic (left); and Cort Hartle “You’ll Come Back to Haunt You” acrylic, and “We were running hand in hand”, ceramic
Michael Crabb, “Spaceman Spiff”, mixed media
Kaitlin Crockett/ Print St. Pete, “Rizo Zoo” and “Welcome to My Adult Life” risograph zines; Denis Gaston, “Fear of Flying”, book
Yhali Ilan, “Meanwhile”, acrylic
Corey Robinson’s work can also be found every week in the Creative Loafing Tampa Bay newspaper.
Print St. Pete, founded by Kaitlin Crockett and Bridget Elmer is a small community letterpress and risograph printshop which offers studio access, workshops, and custom printing.
Emiliano Settecasi, “Baby Blue Blowers”, 2023, faux fur, metallic fringe, box fans, wood
Jessica Caldas, “I come honouring your power (Clytemnestra)”, 2023, house linens, poly fiber fill, house patterned quilt, fabricated structures from gifted furniture, fabric wallpaper, found and embellished light fixture
Saumitra Chandratreya, “Throne”, 2022, Cyanotype on sateen, hand embroidery
Touchy/Feely at Hillsborough Community College’s Gallery 221 in Tampa has a lot of great interactive (and non-interactive work) on view. The three artists in the exhibition- Jessica Caldas, Saumitra Chandratreya, and Emiliano Settecasi– have contributed work that explores important themes while also adding an element of fun by allowing the viewer to become actively involved in the show.
The Curatorial Statement by Alyssa Miller-
Art touches you, and sometimes you get to touch it back. Challenging conventional gallery manners, Touchy/Feely encourages visitors to assume the role of participant by handling and manipulating several of the works on view. Contemporary fiber artists disrupt the long-held distinction between art and craft, blending the conceptual with the experiential in a highly tactile medium. In Touchy/Feely, artists Jessica Caldas, Saumitra Chandratreya, and Emiliano Settecasi go one step further in collapsing the space between artist and viewer, exploring themes of labor, motherhood, relationships, conscious choice, and joy through fiber art that both holds and is held.
So much of art and history is exhibited at a distance, close enough to see but never touch. Whereas engaging with the nature of textiles can be familiar, exciting, and sensational. Combinations of art and cloth have a long and fraught history within contemporary art, such as the novelty of interactive exhibitions that can become a commodity in contemporary museums. Ogled and beaten become the play spaces, tarnished and brassy the sculptures, worn and bruised the forms become overtime through the nature of interaction. Touchy/Feely aims to be a space in between museum rules and contemporary art photo-ops. Here, artists display a mix of interactive and static artwork that exemplifies intense feeling, encouraging the viewer to make decisions in real time, and submerge themselves in something they did not expect.
Ultimately, this exhibition satisfies my urge to explore, manipulate, caress, and experience art in a way not many individuals are able to do. In working behind the scenes, I am allowed to safely satisfy my interest in exploration. I will forever be grateful to the HCC Art Galleries team for their dedication to students, staff, and artists for this exhibition and the work they do year-round. I hope that visitors come away from this exhibition with a new experience, perspective, feeling, or sensation.
This exhibition closes on 10/12/23.
Jessica Caldas, “A name can be in a lot of places at once (Helen)”, 2023, house linens, crochet, fabricated structures from gifted furniture, polymer clay, yarn, polyfiber fill, fake pearls, and ceramic
Emiliano Settecasi, “Neon Green Furry Shelf”, 2023, faux fur, plywood, metal brackets; “Hand Bags (Purple)”, 2023 velvet Velour, polypropylene pellets; “Inman Ottoman”, 2023, ottoman reupholstered with vintage fabric that matches family chairs; Hand Bags (Merlot), 2023
Above are images from Olimpia Zagnoli’s 2018 exhibition Cuore di Panna at HVW8 Gallery in Los Angeles. She is currently showing her work, along with her talented family at Antonio Colombo Gallery in Milan, Italy. That exhibition, ZaLiZaZa. Inventario di famiglia will be on view until 11/19/23.
The press release from the gallery-
Galleria Antonio Colombo is pleased to present the exhibition ZaLiZaZa. Inventario di famiglia, curated by Francesca Pellicciari, featuring a group of artists belonging to the same family: the photographer Miro Zagnoli (Za), the artist Emi Ligabue (Li) and their two daughters: the illustrator Olimpia Zagnoli (Za), already connected with the gallery, and the costume designer Emilia Zagnoli (Za).
The members of ZaLiZaZa are a very modern family, but also one of days gone by: were they not engaged in making their own various artifacts, we could imagine them operating in a family workshop in the Renaissance or Baroque spirit, experimenting with new painting techniques, revolutionizing styles or using them as examples to make their own; creating majestic theatrical wings, garbed in their style which is simultaneously classic and eccentric.
After all, this image is not so far from what ZaLiZaZa are doing today, in the 21st century, each in his or her own field – contiguous and often overlapping ambits – constantly coming to grips with their own research and experimentation, relying on a shared language, a true family lexicon.
The exhibition pathway is an inventory of works of all kinds – drawings and photographs, wooden books, collages, object/sculptures, fabrics, screens and magic boxes – in an intense dialogue of correspondences, where the four voices alternate and take turns, without a chronological order; a dialogue accompanied by a selection of items (sketches, notes, postcards, family photos) that document a methodology, while at the same time emphasizing the constant presence of art in the private life of ZaLiZaZa.
Thus it is no coincidence that many subjects are similar in the work of ZaLiZaZa.
While for decades design has pervaded the still analog settings and photographs of Miro (Za), it is also a recurring theme in the works of Emi (Li), from the Cicognino of Albini to the life and work of Charlotte Perriand, or anonymous design found for sale online: “I have no taboos, no type of respect or norm.” Similar use of anonymous and unconventional materials is found in the “Souvenir” clothing series by Emilia (Za), made from touristy dishtowels with the map of Italy, just as certain archetypes return in the thousands of stripes traced by Olimpia (Za), always in pursuit of the perfect synthesis between the idea and its representation.
Beyond this, beyond design, mountains, figures, bodies, portraits, chiaroscuro effects, balconies, there is the continuing echo – in the various generations of ZaLiZaZa of what Matisse said one day to Picasso, as Emi (Li) reminds us: “In the end, Picasso, we don’t have to try to be so smart. You and I are alike: what we try to rediscover in art is the atmosphere of our First Communion.” To always observe the world with the eyes of children, with the gaze of ZaLiZaZa.
If Olimpia Zagnoli’s work looks familiar, she also designed The New Yorker’s August 28th issue, seen below.
Mark Georgiades, “Ghost of the Abandoned Bride”, Metal Steel and copper
Shelly Steck Reale, “The Fate You Choose”, Ceramic, wood, moss
Spooky season has begun and Florida CraftArt’s current exhibition Ghost Stories, curated by Catherine Bergmann (Curatorial Director of Dunedin Fine Art Center), is a perfect way to start celebrating.
The following artists are featured in the exhibition: Alegrobot, Demeree Barth, Karen Brown, Wendy Bruce, Joyce Curvin, Creative Clay, Coralette Damme, Katie Deits, Ed Derkevics, LA Finfinger, Eric Folsom, Janet Folsom, Mark Georgiades, Kristina Gintautiene, Erin Griffin, Cort Hartle, Judy Heady, Emma Hobbs, Pam Jones, Polly Johnson, Tyler Jones, Janna Kennedy, Traci Kegerreis, Betsy Lester, Cindy Linville, Richard Logan, Trent Manning, Francine Michel, Elizabeth Neily, Jacqueline Philip, Nick Reale, Shelly Steck Reale, Christine Renc-Carter, Jennifer Rosseter, Addie Rodriguez, Cooky Schock, Donna Slawsky, and Brandy Stark.
On Thursday, 10/5/23, in partnership with Keep St. Pete Lit, a group of local writers will be telling ghost stories at the gallery inspired by pieces from the exhibition. The reading will take place at 6pm.
Below are a few more selections-
Work by Alegrobot, Hand sculpted paper clay, acrylic paint
Janet Folsom, “Apparitions”, Mixed media (top left); Eric Folsom, Gravestone, bronze on marble; Donna Slawsky, (top right) “The Devil’s Work”, Stained glass, beads, and Creative Clay, Stephanie,(bottom right) “Monkey Dreams”, Mixed Media
About Creative Clay, who contributed several works to the exhibition-
“Creative Clay achieves its mission by providing ongoing studio arts workshops for individuals with disabilities five days per week. Creative Clay teaching artists provide students with education and experience in artistic techniques, as well as vocational skills related to the display, promotion, and sale or their expressive work.”
Katie Deits, “Haunted by the Past”, Ceramic, cotton, pencil, acrylic paint (left) and Nick Reale, “Out of the Wood” wood sculpture
Francine Michel “Mysteries of Urraca Mesa”, Water mixable oil, collage
Ed Derkevics, “Burnt Offerings”- “3 Potions” and “Jagged”- Mixed Media, recycled found objects
Janna Kennedy, “Souls and Pharmaseuticles”, 1800s Cabinet Cards, 1902 Pharmacy Ledger & Medical Ads, 19th Century Medicine Bottles
Kristina Gintautiene, “Slava”, Birch cradle board, Tissue paper, wax, oil pigments
LA Finfinger, Ghost Ceramic work (bottom left); Alegrobot, “(For the Record) he ordered the special”, Vinyl record, paper clay; Traci Kegerreis, “The Lost Lenore”, Mixed media (center top); Demeree Barth, “Remembering Sedlec Ossuary”, Clay, bullet casings, wood display stand, found objects (bottom right)
Christina Bothwell, “Spirit Animal”, 2014, Cast glass, ceramic, oil paint
Christina Bothwell and Robert Bender “Cloud Pillow”, 2016, Cast glass, ceramic, oil paint
Karen LaMonte, “Etude 11”, Cast glass
Leah Wingfield and Steve Clements, “Low Winter Sun, Shadow III”, 2016, Cast glass
K. William LeQuier, “Synergy 2”, 2017, Cut and sandblasted glass
Above are some of the amazing glass works from a 2021 visit to Imagine Museum in St. Pete, Florida. For more work by artists Christina Bothwell, Robert Bender, Karen LaMonte, Leah Wingfield, Steve Clements, and K. William LeQuier, head to the links in this post.
This weekend (9/30 and 10/1) you can visit the museum for $5 (normally $15).
“System of (architecture)” 2023, (black) and “System of (emotion)”, 2023, (pink), Stoneware and glazes
“Line, Dot, Squiggle (a search for something more)”, 2022, Micron, colored pencil, silver leaf, vellum and colored porcelain on paper
“Line, Dot, Squiggle (a search for something more)”, 2022, (detail)
Pictured above are some of the works from Iren Tete’s exhibition systems of (entanglement) at Art Center Sarasota. These engaging sculptures (and one mixed media work) explore the various systems that surround and influence our daily lives.
The artist’s statement about the exhibition-
things fold and unfold
meander, bend, and twist
until they become other things
We make deliberate and accidental choices which result in further deliberate and accidental choices. This evolves into a network of choices, a system leading from present to future, defined by scientific reasoning yet clouded by emotional irrationality.
Systems surround us, and perhaps even define us. Systems of (entanglement) navigates, questions, and tenderly accepts these systems –
systems of thought
systems of architecture
systems of gravity
systems of language
systems of emotion
systems of logic
systems of history
systems of memory
systems of time
systems of
I engage with these numerous systems while making. My thoughts oscillate between those of simple actions – pinch, coil, squeeze- to those of things that are infinitely complex and a part of something else – such as time. These separate systems interconnect and grow into something bigger that is a part of the entangled network of systems where one thing becomes another.
This exhibition will close on 9/30/23
“Paolo and the Bomb”, 2023, Assemblage of diverse materials
“Lions Escape from the Zoo or Portrait of Andy Kaufman”, 2023, Assemblage of diverse materials
Center work- “Hive, Helmet, and Butter Brick”, 2023, Assemblage of Diverse Materials
“Colossus in Repose”, 2023, Assemblage of diverse materials
“All Their Friends Are Rabbits”, 2023, Assemblage of diverse materials
After visiting Ry McCullough in his studio back in May to see what he was working on, I was very excited to finally see his exhibition SUPERPOSITIONS at Art Center Sarasota. His mixed media sculptures capture the imagination as the viewer imagines the connections between the objects in the work. The titles provide often humorous clues, but make sure to check out his Instagram for more background on his inspirations.
About the work from the center-
McCullough’s practice engages the fields of printmaking, creative writing, drawing, sound, and sculpture to create unique systems that probe the margins and boundaries of how art crafts language and communicates meaning. Using these systems of making as a guide for a range of media processes, they articulate parameters that can expand or collapse, generating opportunities for discovery in thematic investigations of the philosophical, abstract, and fluid state of being across time and space. SUPERPOSITIONS is inspired by an affection for the traditions of still life, modernist abstraction, and humor.
Artist Statement-
The SUPERPOSITIONS project comprises works of collage, sculpture, and wall-bound hybrids that exist between two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. The tension between these two spatial expressions is celebrated within this project through the playful application of collage. More than a tradition of material operations, McCullough views collage as a bundle of behaviors, a toolbox, and a signifier of fragmentation that forms an ethos of revision and reorganization.
McCullough is attracted to humble materials such as plywood and paper, concrete and plaster, foam and found things, essential stuff that requires intervention to establish meaningful presence through the relations it forms to other components in each work. The formal language is idiosyncratic; combinations of hard and soft edges, geometric and organic form, and a buffet of color with a penchant for balance. These works are propelled by the forces of potential change, by the energies of process, and by developing a poetic and clumsy status of unfinishedness.
This exhibition closes on Saturday, 9/30/23.
Angel Rivera Morales, “Dystopian Paradise I, II, and III”, 2023, Acrylic and oil on canvas
Gilbert Salinas, “As We Speak”, 2022, Mixed media on canvas
Juan Nieves Burgos, “Germinar de patria” and “Mundo sin tiranos”, 2019; Carmen Rojas Gines, “She Warrior-SW3 “Guerrera”-G3″, Steel metal
Valentin Tirado Barreto, “Salcedos Death- La Muerte de Salcedo” and “Rebellion of the slaves- Rebelión”, Acrylic on canvas
Currently at Creative Pinellas is the group exhibition Keepers of Heritage: Hidden Tales / Custodios de la Herencia: Cuentos Ocultos, on view until 10/15/23.
From the Creative Pinellas website-
Keepers of Heritage is an extended collaborative effort whose purpose is to document, present and promote the contributions of artists of Puerto Rican artists in the Caribbean archipelago and abroad.
Its roots go back to 2015 with the presentation of the “La Diaspora” exhibition at the Terrace Gallery in Orlando City Hall. Since then, the collective has expanded and traveled to institutions such as the National Museum for Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in Chicago, the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, and the Albin Polasek Museum in Winter Park, Florida.
Over eight years, the collective has documented and presented the work of nearly 30 artists whose artistic practices include a diversity of mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpture, engraving, multimedia, and photography.
Artists included in this exhibition-
For more work by the artists head to the next page.