Art Center Sarasota’s New Exhibitions: March 19-April 24: “EX-PATRIA” Elena de la Ville curates this exhibit of works by Venezuelan artists; “Banks + Banks” An exhibit of pigment print photos by renowned local photographer, Barbara Banks, and abstract/surreal ceramic sculpture by her cousin, Miami-based artist Susan Banks; “At the Heart of It”An annual, all-media, members-only exhibition; Opening Reception: Thursday, March 19, 5-7 p.m.

Art Center Sarasota’s

New Exhibitions: March 19-April 24

“EX-PATRIA”

Elena de la Ville curates this exhibit of works by Venezuelan artists.

“Banks + Banks”

An exhibit of pigment print photos by renowned local photographer, Barbara Banks, and abstract/surreal ceramic sculpture by her cousin, Miami-based artist Susan Banks.

“At the Heart of It”

An annual, all-media, members-only exhibition

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 19, 5-7 p.m.

(Sarasota, FL) Art Center Sarasota’s 2014-2015 exhibition season, entitled “Merging Parallels,” continues with three exhibits, which run March 19-April 24. “EX-PATRIA,” in Gallery 1, features works by Venezuelan artists; this exhibit is curated by Elena de la Ville, the Sarasota-based artist and instructor. “Banks + Banks,” in Gallery 2, showcases abstract/surreal ceramic sculpture by Miami-based artist Susan Banks and pigment print photos by her cousin Barbara Banks, the renowned Sarasota photographer. “At the Heart of It,” in Gallery 3 and 4, is an annual, members-only, all-media exhibition. The opening reception for all four exhibits is Thursday, March 19, 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.

“EX-PATRIA,” curated by Sarasota artist and Ringling College educator Elena De La Ville, features work by three contemporary Venezuelan artists. Violette Bule evokes displacement with staged, guerrilla photographs of people in the streets of Caracas. Irene Pressner denounces Venezuela’s diminishing space of self-expression through tattoo imagery on canvas instead of skin. Evelyn Valdirio’s art is layered with arcane symbols and codes. It suggests a forgotten spiritual history—and indicts the secular indifference that erases such systems of memory. The exhibit also includes works by Ringling College graduate Karen Arango.

De La Ville was herself born in Venezuela. She observes that, “Latin American artists have always reacted to shifting international power dynamics and exposed issues that were being ignored on the international stage.” She adds that times change—and Latin American artists change with it. “In the early 1960s, many Latin American artists’ work addressed social causes in climates of great hostility and repression by the military governments that had swept the region. The contemporary artists of this exhibit address the personal and political changes of our century. Their work expresses a commitment to their countries of origin and transcends physical and political boundaries. They invite us to embrace their creative response.”

In “Banks + Banks” two cousins reunite to celebrate the joys of visual expression. This exhibit features abstract/surreal ceramic sculpture by Susan Banks, the Miami-based artist, and pigment print photos by Barbara Banks, the renowned photographer and Susan’s Sarasota cousin. Susan Banks’ surreal ceramic sculpture blends the forms of coral and marine life with images of the human figure. Banks is a native of South Florida, an educator, and a working artist for 30 years. She is the recipient of two Florida Individual Artist Fellowships and an Endowed Teaching Chair from New World School of the Arts, where she teaches. Banks’ sculpture has been exhibited nationally to critical acclaim. For more information about Susan Banks, visit www.susanbanksartist.com.

Sarasota native Barbara Banks has created art since childhood. Her local photography firm specializes in commercial and editorial imagery with an emphasis on people. Her personal photography ranges from reportage to on-the-street vignettes, to vistas of the natural and human worlds. Banks is widely published and represented locally by State of the Arts Gallery. For more information about Barbara Banks, visit www.barbarabanks.com or call 941-955-9077.

“At the Heart of It” is an all-media, all-subject juried exhibition open to Art Center Sarasota members. Hand-carried submissions will be accepted at Art Center Sarasota on March 10, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The juror for this exhibition is Jerome Chesley, an arts educator and Florida Watercolor Society board member and state president.

For more information about Art Center Sarasota, 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. 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