Create
Brush to canvas: News from the art community
A reminder that Sunday (Jan. 4) is not only the final day to visit the Arts Annual exhibit at The Gallery at Creative Pinellas, it’s the last day of business for the gallery itself. Along with their $1 million in funding cut, County Commissioners are taking back the building, leaving Creative Pinellas homeless.
Openings and receptions
Image Daddy Kool Records.
Tonight brings the opening reception-slash-party for Live Since ’85, a celebration of local independent concert promoter No Clubs and its founders Tony Rifugiato and Dave Hundley. On exhibit through Feb. 28 at The Factory St. Pete, it’s a “music and memories” collection of concert posters, fliers and photos from 40 years of service to St. Petersburg and the bay area.
No Clubs, which is still in operation, booked dozens of “underground” and punk, rock, worldbeat and reggae shows at Jannus Live (under its earlier name, Jannus Landing) and many more at the old State Theatre (present site of the Floridian Social).
Tonight’s Here’s to Tony and Dave bash runs from 7 to 9 p.m.
Coming to the Dali Museum Jan. 10 is Student Surrealist Art Exhibit: 2026 Pinellas, consisting of work from Florida middle and high school students exploring ideas and visions inspired by the work of Salvador Dalí and the Surrealists. This annual student series was initiated in 1985, when the museum was located in a different downtown location.
The young artists were tasked with creating a self-portrait using personal symbols, stories and portraits, founded in reality or the “otherwise fluid methods” of Dalí himself. The great Surrealist frequently inserted his own image into his work.
The theme for 2026 is “The Surreal Self: Personal Symbols, Stories and Portraits.”
Kiln or be killed. Photo: Morean Center for Clay.
Opening receptions Jan. 10 at the Morean Center for Clay:
Wood Fire Again: 2025 Winter Wood Symposium Exhibition; new works from 40 artists celebrating the ancient art of wood firing. Last month, according to the Center newsletter, “potters from all over Florida and beyond congregated at the Morean Center for Clay to sacrifice their sanity at the altar of the kiln to offer their efforts to the ancient art of wood firing. Through the collective struggle and triumph, marvelous ceramic artworks have been produced for your viewing pleasure. Witness not only the variety of artistic styles, but methods of firing. Indulge your senses in the decadent ashy drips of the Anagama; the fiery coal crust of the Train; the slick sheen of the Oil/Salt; the juicy rind of the Groundhog.”
The Morean will also hold an opening reception for Berit Hines: Wondrous Vessels. The German-born ceramicist creates asymmetrical – and functional – vessels.
New Voices in Craft: Emerging Artists 2026 launches Florida CraftArt’s 75th anniversary year, Jan. 10-24.
The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance’s monthly Second Saturday ArtWalk happens Jan. 10; the updated tour map (with gallery happenings) will be at this link.
Soft Water Gallery opens Contour, a show from German-American ceramicist Anja Palombo and Cuban-American painter and sculptor Juan Alonso-Rodriguez, with a 4-6 p.m. reception Jan. 10.
Three new exhibitions will arrive Jan. 16 at the Morean Art Center Gallery: A Journey Through My Imagination, Day Dreams and Where Leaves Remember.
A Journey Through My Imagination is a juried exhibition of artwork, in all media, by members of The National Association of Women Artists.
Day Dreams is a collaborative effort between the Morean and the SARTQ Artist Collective. It’s an exploration of dreams in various media, from painting and sculpture to mixed media, photography, and installation
Where Leaves Remember by Rebecca Sexton Larson displays an ongoing body of work presented as a sketchbook, exploring the relationship between nature, memory, and transformation.
“Coming off the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we’re excited to host these exhibitions that encourage calmness, contemplation and meditation,” Amanda Cooper, Chief Curator, said in a prepared statement. “Sexton-Larson’s work asks that we slow down and think about the connection between memory and nature, between loss and the passage of time.
At the Museum of Fine Art: Norman Bluhm, American, 1921–1999, Untitled (detail), 1974, oil and pastel on canvas.
Jan. 17 brings The Question of Abstraction to the Museum of Fine Art St. Petersburg’s Miriam Acheson Gallery. Largely drawn from the MFA’s collection, the exhibit includes key examples that define various artistic movements championing abstraction, from the beginnings of Modernism in the early twentieth century to the present day.
An exhibition of works by watercolorist Puma Love opened Friday at Gulfport’s DRV Gallery. The annual Art For a Cause juried show arrives Jan. 17; the 20 statewide artists create works inspired by causes of their choice, with a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their artwork going to charities of their choosing.
Opening Jan. 18 at Tarpon Springs’ Leepa-Ratner Museum of Art: The Miniature Art Society of Florida’s 51st anniversary exhibition of more than 600 miniature works from around the globe.
Artists, museums and galleries: Please add the Catalyst to your email lists: bill@stpetecatalyst.com. Thanks!
