Brush to Canvas: Visual arts news and events

Local collector Sondra Thorson has donated 14 Hopi katsina tithu (small hand-carved dolls) to the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art. They’re now on exhibit in the Native Life Gallery, and Associate Curator Caitlin Pendola will join Thorson Thursday for a members-only “Coffee With the Curator” discussion.

Hopi katsina tithu from the collection of Sandra Thorson, now at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art.

New shows for Saturday’s ArtWalk

Which brings us to Saturday (Sept. 14) and the monthly Second Saturday ArtWalk, courtesy of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance. Art aficionados new to the city will find this a Whitman’s Sampler of many of the city’s best artists and galleries. It’s a self-guided tour (September map and info here) of more than 40 studios and galleries in seven of St. Pete’s downtown (and slightly beyond) districts. They’ll all be expecting you; hours are 5 to 9 p.m. There’s no admission fee for anything, and many places will have snacks and other delights to tempt you.

The resident artist at Tampa’s Museum of Science and Industry, Michael Knapp, is one of six artists whose works will adorn the walls of Soft Water Gallery – in the Warehouse Arts District – in the exhibit Melangerie, opening Saturday during ArtWalk. The others are Carol Carter, Casey Haugh, John Hosford,  Steph Gimson and David Williams. Gallery director Lisa Lippincott calls the exhibit “a little bit like a vaudeville show in paint.”

Making its debut Saturday is POP, a six-artist show at the FloridaRAMA Gallery, inside The Factory St. Pete. Focusing on American consumerism and the commercialization of nostalgia, this one opens with a 4-9 p.m. “celebration,” and a panel discussion with curator Ashley Goodwyn and the artists at 5.

The artists, all Florida-based, are Rook Bishop, Ashley Cantero, Jon Green, Gwak, Selina Roman and Craig Wood.

Also at The Factory is the environmentally-themed Wild Space Gallery, with Open Air premiering Saturday. Tampa Bay-based artists Scott Fisher, Babs Reingold and David Waterman explore various aspects of our changing urban environment through painting, drawing, sculpture and photography. Wild Space is open from 2 to 9 p.m. on ArtWalk Saturdays.

At the Morean Center for Clay, Saturday is opening day for the members’ exhibit Hot Air.

“Your Call is Very Important to Us” by Michael Knapp, Soft Water Gallery.

Art Yard Sale at the Morean

Saturday (9 a.m.-1 p.m.), it’s the Morean Arts Center’s annual Art Yard Sale in the galleries. At this site, find all of the participating arts who are ready, willing and able to give you a good deal on something beautifully creative.

New York’s Gang Gang Dance, with Lizzi Bougatsos, second from left. Publicity photo.

Hello goodbye at the MFA

The extraordinary Lizzi Bougatsos & Lonnie Holley: Never the Same Song winds down Sept. 15 at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg. At 1 p.m. on that day, curator (and photographer, and textile artist) Viva Vadim will give a Gallery Talk alongside Bougatsos herself. The lead singer for the band Gang Gang Dance, Bougatsos is an iconic figure in New York’s underground art and fashion universe. Never the Same Song consists of art created from found objects. Registration is required.

What about Bob?

Coming Sept. 16 to the University of South Florida St. Pete’s Nelson Poynter Memorial Library: The debut of the digital archive of The Studio@620 co-founder Bob Devin Jones, who retired in June. It consists of print publicity materials including programs, postcards, posters, and flyers; public media including newspaper stories, interviews and magazine features; Jones’ work as a playwright, director, and actor, including scripts both produced and not produced; collaborative materials.

Jones himself will be part of a panel discussion from 6-8 p.m. on the 16th. Also on the panel: Actress Bonnie Agan; USF John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History Emeritus Dr. Raymond Arsenault; and Erica Sutherlin, Jones’ hand-picked successor. 

Designer David Meek curated the public exhibition of 620 archive material.

Free Museum Day

A reminder that Arts Alliance’s Free Museum Day happens Saturday, Sept. 21, with Pinellas County residents enjoying free admission to the Dali Museum, the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, Imagine Museum, Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg, the Woodson African American Museum, the St. Petersburg Museum of History and the Museum of Motherhood.

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