Art Center Sarasota Announces 2023-2024 Exhibition Season

Art Center Sarasota's 2023-2024 exhibition season features an array of “captivating solo artists and thought-provoking juried shows that shed light on our unique cultural climate,” says Christina Baril, ACS's exhibition director. “At the heart of this season is a celebration of diversity, not only in the personal histories of our artists, but also in their materials, techniques, and concepts.”

According to Baril, the season explores a spectrum of artistic prowess by 14 solo artists whose distinct voices capture an array of visual expressions. “Inspired by topics from Brutalism to feminism, these solo artists are sure to inspire creativity and lively debate.” She adds that, in addition, to the solo shows, the unique open call shows, juried by esteemed professionals in the arts community, “are carefully curated to spark intrigue and contemplation. We invite artists from all walks of life to submit their artwork, resulting in an eclectic fusion of styles, concepts, and cultures. Our mission is not only to showcase outstanding artworks but also to foster a sense of community and appreciation for art. I hope that you will join us for the many Artist Talks, lectures, and special events planned for the season and immerse yourself in the creative process, connecting with fellow artists in an atmosphere that embraces camaraderie and discovery.”

“The opening of a new season is a highlight for our artistic community as well as the many visitors who travel to Sarasota to enjoy and engage with the multitude of arts and cultural programs offered,” says Kinsey Robb, ACS's executive director. “We live in a world where we see, read, and hear about events that impact us all the time—these are things that cannot be captured by words alone. I would like to thank all the incredibly talented artists who will be showing with us this season for sharing their perspectives, vulnerabilities, and creative processes with us.”

The 2023-2024 exhibition season is paid for in part by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax revenues and Florida Division of Arts and Culture.

Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For information, visit www.artsarasota.org or call 941-365-2032.

Art Center Sarasota's 2023-2024 Season

 

Cycle 1: Through November 11, 2023

Opening Reception: Thursday, October 12, 6-8 p.m.

Artist Talk with Zach Gilliland: Thursday, October 26, 5:30 p.m.

Artist Talk with Randy Globus: Friday, October 27, 5:30 p.m.

Artist Talk with Clifford McDonald: Thursday, November 2, 5:30 p.m.

• Randy Globus: Randy Globus presents an interdisciplinary body of work that spans large scale watercolor painting and mixed media sculpture. Both media are a depiction of avatars that represent people in her life or aspects of her visual memory.  

• Clifford McDonald: Inspired by music, each piece is a visual representation of a song that addresses social issues, celebrates culture, or encourages love for self and others.

• Zach Gilliland: Zach Gilliland presents a new body of work in multimedia sculpture, inspired by his most radical ideas formulated in his sketchbooks and journals from the last three years. 

• Juried Show: “Storytelling: A Visual Narrative.” Artists are invited to submit their most important stories told through artistic style and interpretation. The art may be personal or objective, representational or abstract, or derived from a novel or poem. The juror for this exhibition is Amanda Poss, gallery director for Hillsborough Community College. 

Cycle 2: November 27, 2023 - January 13, 2024

Opening Reception: Thursday, December 7, 6-8 p.m.

• Aimee Jones: Aimee Jones' paintings use Florida's landscape of desire and lust to portray the body, interwoven with the American idea of paradise. She plays with the dichotomy of the female form as a political landscape and the power of a woman's bodily agency. 

• Ethan Fielder: Ethan Fielder will exhibit a body of sculptural ceramics, which examines personal and collective growth inspired by formative moments of transformation that he experienced through his turbulent countrywide travels in 2020. 

• Tom Casmer: In his upcoming exhibition, “ges•talt,” Tom Casmer brings to life the infrastructure that lies beneath the skin, the fabric of the world around him. Drawing inspiration from the organic and inorganic alike, Casmer's sources include the human figure, nature, and machine-made elements. His work recognizes the mechanism of organic and addresses the connection between the mechanical form and the human system. 

• Juried Show: “Still Life.” Artists are invited to present their formal and conceptual notions of modern day still life. Still life work often holds suggestive and symbolic imagery that informs the viewer on the artist's message, biography, or cultural climate. The juror for this exhibition is Mara Torres, owner and curator of MARA Art Studio + Gallery in Sarasota. 

Cycle 3: January 25 - March 2, 2024

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 25, 6-8 p.m.

• Brian V. Jones: Brian Jones' upcoming exhibition is a visual conversation with light and color, traditions and growth, fear and joy, technology, and romance. An ongoing project of over three years, these photographs serve as a visual narrative representing the artist's relationship with the complexities of the city of Sarasota. 

• Carole Lyles Shaw: Carole Lyles Shaw exhibits a series of textile collages, or art quilts, that represent the essence of an individual and their personal and historical context. These “Spirit Portraits” celebrate Black women musicians who played significant roles in the history of music, from opera to country to rock and roll. 

• Christopher Skura: Emphasizing improvisation and freehand drawing for phenomenological effect, Christopher Skura captures the speed of living in Lower Manhattan. His new body of work took root during the 2020 pandemic. 

• Juried Show: “Annual Members Juried Show.” Juror: Paul Toliver is a passionate advocate in promoting all forms of art and is particularly motivated to uplift artists of the African Diaspora.

Cycle 4: March 14 - April 20, 2024

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 14, 6-8 p.m.

• Natasha Dikareva: Natasha Dikareva reflects on the current state of her homeland, Ukraine in her upcoming exhibition featuring a variety of narrative, figurative ceramic sculptures. 

• Angela Pilgrim: Drawing on a skillful fusion of printmaking, painting, and mixed media, Angela Pilgrim imbues each work with a sense of depth and dimensionality, presenting each subject as an essential living, breathing entity. Her upcoming exhibition celebrates the complex inner worlds of Black women and invites viewers to contemplate the spiritual dimensions of our existence, exploring themes of identity, faith, and resilience. 

• Michael Kinsey: Michael Kinsey's exhibition, “Listening to Black Voices,” showcases stunning black and white portraits, highlighting the richness and diversity of Sarasota's Black community. 

• Juried Show: “Great Artists Steal.”  “Great Artists Steal” encourages artists to create works inspired by their favorite artists and artworks from contemporary art and art history. This inspiration may come from the technique, content, or style of the artist(s) or artwork(s) in reference, and uniquely recontextualizing these elements. Juror for this exhibition is Alecia Harper, professor, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. 

Cycle 5: April 30 - May 11, 2024

• North County Sarasota Public Schools, Spring Art Show: Organized by school coordinators Angela Hartvigsen and Debra Markley, the Spring Art Show is one of the art center's most cherished exhibition traditions. The North County Sarasota Schools Spring Art Show highlights over 1500 pieces of artwork from the county's youngest artists in grades K-12, representing the best of their creations from the past school year.  

Cycle 6: May 23 - July 27, 2024

Opening Reception: Thursday, July 27, 6-8 p.m.

• Annual Juried Regional Show: “Beyond Comfort.” The Annual Juried Regional Show is Art Center Sarasota's largest juried show of the year and encompasses all four gallery spaces. The show is open to all artists in the southeast region of the United States. The juror for this season's show is Virginia Shearer, executive director, Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design. This year's show, “Beyond Comfort,” invites artists to express their perception of beauty and/or the grotesque in contemporary art and society. This show allows artists to define and explore aesthetics while joining the long debated concept of beauty and its function in art. 

Cycle 7: August 15 - September 28, 2024

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 28, 6-8 p.m.

• Precious Darling will present an exhibition that explores the complexity of femininities and its relation to objectification through photography and sculpture. 

• Boys & Girls Club: Art Center Sarasota and Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County (BGCMC) have teamed up to present a special exhibition of artwork created by BGCMC members. ACS youth instructors will guide these young artists in the creation of works inspired by the Annual Juried Regional Show on view during the summer of 2024. Showcasing a variety of styles, media, and expression, these unique pieces will reflect the artistic voices of our youngest generation.

• Tanner Simon Will present an installation of his large-scale paintings that explore the intersection of humor, seriousness, and the absurd. This installation invites viewers to engage with the dynamic relationships and visual conversations that emerge between imagery and paintings in space. 

• Juried Show: “Flora & Fauna” invites artists to celebrate characters of the natural world, real and imagined, living and extinct, peaceful and poisonous.  The juror is David Berry, vice president for visitor engagement and chief museum curator at Selby Gardens. 

Art Center Sarasota was the first arts and cultural institution in Sarasota. Founded in 1926 as the “Sarasota Art Association” by Marcia Rader, the art supervisor for the Sarasota County schools district, the Association was later 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 a member-supported 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 is admission-free and open to all public; its mission is to inspire individual creative expression, nurture artistic talent and provide the community with accessible and diverse visual art opportunities.

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