On the art scene: Second Saturday and new exhibits
To paraphrase Neil Young, art never sleeps. It’s August, it’s hot and humid and sleepy, but St. Petersburg’s artist community has not, will not, set down its collective brush.
First and foremost, Saturday (Aug. 12) brings this month’s edition of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance’s Second Saturday ArtWalk, during which some 40 studios and galleries leave their doors wide for a strolling, chatting and perusing city-wide open house.
It’s a self-guided tour, which can be navigated from the top, bottom or middle of this handy map. Some locations have refreshments and/or live music. All have fine art, with every description (and medium) available. (There are, sadly, no trolleys this month.)
Meet the artists, talk about art, have a cool one, take a few photos. Maybe buy something. Keep searchin’ for that heart of gold. ArtWalk hours are 5-9 p.m.
Robert Simone.
Friday exhibit openings
Work by Terry Brett as part of “Glyph,” at Leslie Curran Gallery.
Jabari Reed-Diop’s Ghetto Gods opens with a reception Friday at thestudio@620. The 23-year-old painter is one of the area’s most consistently watchable artists; this new show, which he discusses in this story, represents a subtle shift into new territory (it’s different from his previous work). Ghetto Gods is one of the stops on the Second Saturday ArtWalk.
New at the Leslie Curran Gallery is Glyph, an exhibition of paintings by Terry Brett and ceramic sculptures by Jan Richardson. At the 5-8 p.m. reception Friday, Brett will talk about his large, tactile monochrome paintings using deep relief, plaster or burlap. Richardson, who teaches at the Morean Center For Clay, produces functional, figurative and abstract work. This is also is one of the stops on the Second Saturday ArtWalk.
There’s a reception from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at Woodfield Gallery for Paradise Found – the Art of Robert Simone. The Petersburg artist is known for his dramatic oil paintings of outdoor scenes.
Other new exhibits
In “HAPPY! Art That Makes You Smile,” “Psst,” photography by Tracy Kennard.
HAPPY! Art That Makes You Smile is the new show at Five Deuces Galleria, with work from more than 100 guest artists. There are seven resident artists at Five Deuces, and they’ll be happy to show you around during the Saturday ArtWalk.
St. Pete Artworks’ August Artist of the Month is Laura Brigman, whose mixed media show Pixel Perfect will be feted during the ArtWalk. This art is inspired by the works of Salvador Dali, who used distance to change the perspective of images. Refreshments and live music are part of the plan for Saturday’s reception.
New stuff on the ArtsXChange campus (Warehouse Arts District): In the Burka Member Lounge, Summer Heat is a members show focusing on, well, themes of summer and heat. In the Tully-Levine Gallery, Made Here is a diverse collection with works by resident ArtsXChange artists.
Saturday’s ArtWalk will see the debut of two new shows at Soft Water Gallery, also part of the Warehouse Arts District’s ArtsXChange campus: Selected Smalls: Graphically Inclined features small-scale works by Lynn Foskett, Anna Rac and Diana Tonnessen – respectively collage and frottage, monochrome ink drawings and linoleum block prints. Then there’s Alternate Realms: Selected Works by Candace Knapp, an exhibition of paintings and sculptural works in acrylic, clay and wood.
Opening Saturday at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg, Explore the Vaults: Water & Color exhibits paintings and drawings made using water-based media, including ink, gouache and watercolor. Because works on paper are sensitive to light, these pieces – from the permanent collection – are rarely displayed. Water & Color runs through Jan. 7.
Art news
The application deadline is Aug. 15 at midnight for artists interested in working on Creative Pinellas’ South Pasadena Florida Mural Project, a city beautification (artification) initiative. Find details here.
In Tampa: University of South Florida Professor Emeritus Bruce Marsh, who taught art for 37 years, will be honored with a solo exhibition Aug. 21-Sept. 7 at The School of Art & Art History in the USF College of The Arts. There will be a reception for Bruce Marsh – A Six Decade Survey Aug. 25. The exhibition will feature more than four dozen oil paintings and watercolors.
In Tampa: At the USF Contemporary Art Museum, Native America: In Translation (Aug. 25-Dec. 1) is an exhibition of fine art photography by nine Indigenous artists “offering new perspectives on Indigenous identity by reimagining what it means to be a citizen in North America today.” It’s curated by Apsáalooke artist Wendy Red Star and organized by Aperture.
From “Native America: In Translation,” Martine Gutierrez, Queer Rage, Dear Diary, No Signal During VH1’s Fiercest Divas, 2018.
The fine print
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