New Exhibitions: August 25-September 30
Full Fathom Five
Tasha Lewis explores how a “sea change” takes place on a hand-sewn statue of Venus.
SNAP.
A collaborative photography exhibit featuring works by Jenny Acheson, Karen Arango, Ferenc Beleznay, Shane Donglasan, Audra Locicero, Sophia Schultz and David Wyant.
Rite of Passage
Tampa-based artist Pia Love-Toribio and Miami-based artist Monica Uszerowicz collaborate on an exhibition that explores the constant renewal that occurs even in mundane, daily life through sculpture, photography and installation.
Blurred Lines
An open, all-media, all-subject, juried exhibit.
Opening reception is Thursday, August 25, 5-7 p.m.
(Sarasota, FL) Art Center Sarasota’s 2015-2016 exhibition season, entitled “In the Studio,” continues with its seventh and final exhibition cycle, which runs August 25-September 30. “Full Fathom Five,” in Gallery One, showcases works by Tasha Lewis, an interdisciplinary artist from Indianapolis, who explores how a “sea change” takes place on a hand-sewn statue of Venus. “SNAP.,” in Gallery Two, features a selection of works from seven Sarasota-based photographers. In Gallery Three, “Rite of Passage” features a collaborative exhibition of works by Tampa-based artist Pia Love–Toribio and Miami-based artist Monica Uszerowicz that explores the constant renewal that occurs even in mundane, daily life. “Blurred Lines,” in Gallery Four, is an all-media, all-subject juried exhibition. The opening reception for all four exhibits is Thursday, August 25, 5-7 p.m. Art Center Sarasota is located at 707 N. Tamiami Trail, in Sarasota. For more information, call 941-365-2032 or visit www. artsarasota.org.
In “Full Fathom Five,” Tasha Lewis, an interdisciplinary artist from Indianapolis, IN, who works predominantly in sculpture, explores the “idea of a sea change taking place on Greek marble statues of Venus that had fallen to the ocean floor,” she says. In her version, the marble is hand-sewn cotton muslin, and the various creatures that might colonize the surfaces are represented with pearls, beads, thread, wire and cord. Her works will include a number of small and large soft sculptures—some wall mounted, others free standing. The artist says the work is inspired by lines from Ariel’s song in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Full fathom five thy father lies/Of his bones are coral made/Those are pearls that were his eyes/Nothing of him that doth fade/But doth suffer a sea-change/Into something rich and strange.”
In “SNAP. ” Sarasota-based photographers Jenny Acheson, Karen Arango, Ferenc Beleznay, Shane Donglasan, Audra Locicero, Sophia Schultz, and David Wyant will bring together a selection of their works for this experimental installation. According to Dustin Juengel, Art Center Sarasota’s exhibitions coordinator, each photographer “turns their lens to their surroundings, documenting a subject and their condition and in turn, documenting their own unique point of view and experience.” He further explains that the work will be installed in nonhierarchical arrangements, that will flow across the walls, mixing up the works by the different artists, juxtaposing and grouping works of various scales and print qualities, framed as well as unframed. “Similarities and differences between the photographic works will become noticeable,” he says. “Maybe the physical experience of the photographs as objects, as an alternative to a purely digital ‘Instagram’ experience of immaterial images will become a theme of this exhibition.”
In “Rite of Passage,” Pia Love–Toribio and Monica Uszerowicz have collaborated on an exhibition they say is influenced by the theme of “Stay,” a 1984 song by the Glasgow-based group The Blue Nile. “We’re inspired by the simple way in which it describes the constant personal renewal that occurs even in mundane, daily life,” they write in their artist statement for the exhibit. “Over the years, we’ve realized that this is primarily what our friendship is all about: the relearning of old lessons, over and over, until new states of understanding are achieved, and the recognition that life—both human emotion and the patterns of nature—is a series of transformative initiations, even at its most dull or redundant.” Their work will include sculptural installations, incorporating life plants, fountains, mirrors, Plexiglas, as well as video projections and two large photographs.
“Blurred Lines” is an all-media, all-subject juried exhibition. Hand-carried submissions will be accepted at Art Center Sarasota on August 16, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The juror for this exhibition is James Martin, an artist and Ringling College instructor, with over 27 years of professional teaching experience. Martin is also a renowned background painter, visual development artist, storyboard artist and a freelance illustrator and sketch artist. His work includes toy packaging, prop paintings for film, billboards, and print advertising. Clients included Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, The Grammy Awards, Mattel, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, The Disney Magazine, Lightstorm Entertainment, Marvel Comics and commissions from directors James Cameron and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Martin worked on many award-winning films, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan and Treasure Planet. He is also a frequent guest lecturer and internationally exhibited fine artist.
Art Center Sarasota is located at 707 N. Tamiami Trail, in Sarasota. For more information, call 941-365-2032 or visit www.artsarasota.org.
About Art Center Sarasota
Art Center Sarasota was the first arts and cultural institution in Sarasota. This year, the organization celebrates its 90th anniversary. It was founded in 1926 as the “Sarasota Art Association” by Marcia Rader, the art supervisor for the Sarasota County schools district. In the early years, the group met monthly and sponsored exhibits in rented facilities. The Association was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 1943 and has been in its current location in the Sarasota Bayfront Cultural District since 1949. Art Center Sarasota is now a membership-based organization that offers curated and juried exhibitions, adult and youth education programs, outreach initiatives for underserved youth, and culturally related public programming. Art Center Sarasota’s mission is to inspire individual creative expression, nurture artistic talent and provide the community with accessible and diverse visual art opportunities.
Art Center Sarasota
707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236
Phone: 941-365-2032 § Fax: 941-366-0585
www.artsarasota.org
Gallery Hours:
Free admission
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Closed Sunday
