Art Center Sarasota Presents New Exhibitions By Karen Arango, Jeanne Guertin-Potoff And Rebecca Zweibel

Art Center Sarasota's 2022-2023 exhibition season continues with four exhibits, March 23-April 29. In "Adjusting Focus," Jeanne Guertin-Potoff showcases a series of new mixed-media works that highlight her embrace of the formal elements of design. Rebecca Zweibel's exhibit, "Illumination" features ceramic vessels and sculptures adorned with colorful abstract gestural surfaces.

The celebrated area-based photojournalist Karen Arango focuses on healthcare issues in the local Hispanic community in "Rearview Mirror." The juried show, "Large-Scale" features large-scale works and is juried by Mary Davis Wallace, the senior city planner for the Office of Public Art, City of Sarasota. The opening reception for all four exhibits is Thursday, March 23, 6-8 p.m. Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For information, visit www.artsarasota.org or call 941-365-2032.

In "Adjusting Focus," Jeanne Guertin-Potoff presents a series of new mixed-media works that highlight her embrace of the formal elements of design. The works include a unique combination of acrylic and collaged tissue that produces a sense of depth and a range of colors. "This series explores ways to represent the energy sensed from an object, relationship or situation," says Potoff. "As each piece is created, maintaining relaxed attention allows me to design works that move between scattered impressions and clear focus. I find myself working in a mindset much like the state between dreaming and awakening." The artist adds that her primary inspirations "are an enthusiasm for color and a desire to depict energetic realms." Potoff's background includes work as an educator, advertising manager, performer, event organizer and healing arts therapist. Her pursuit of art has been an exploration over several years with a variety of mediums and instructors. Drawing on her experience of the power of healing energy has led her to explore visual interpretations for sensory experiences.

Rebecca Zweibel showcases a variety of sculptural and functional ceramic vessels with gestural, colorful and intimate surface designs in "Illumination." The artist says that the pieces in this series "serve as canvasses for my use of line and color, and their various forms allow me to express different ideas of volume and even sometimes function. The use of dark clay beneath the applied colored layers enables me to use sgrafitto to outline and scratch and scribble which expresses my feelings of freedom and abandon. I work instinctively and thoughtfully, with no preplanned design in mind. Clay provides me with infinite challenges that I look forward to solving every day." Zweibel explains that clay became a focus for her after her first throwing class years ago. She adds that her "surfaces have developed through many years of experimentation, and I hope they continue to change throughout my life as I learn from investigation, trying new techniques, and trial and error."

In "Rearview Mirror," the celebrated visual journalist Karen Arango presents her latest series of community-focused, documentary photographs. The show, which is sponsored by Gulf Coast Community Foundation, showcases images of people who are living with mental health issues and/or a lack of mental healthcare due to their socioeconomic circumstances. Some of the subjects who appear in the exhibit have been interviewed by Arango and their stories are made available through a QR code in the gallery. Through this work, the artist says she hopes to bring a face to those who are struggling, those who are too often forgotten or overlooked, and to raise awareness about this critical issue in our community. "Mental health is highly stigmatized within the Hispanic community due to immigration, religion, and personal relationships," says Arango, who often collaborates with nonprofits to create visual stories that promote awareness of the community's social needs. "These photographs shed light on the struggles endured by the Hispanic community and start important conversations about mental health and mental healthcare both within and outside of the Hispanic community." Through Arango's art, we can meet our resilient neighbors and see through their eyes.

Arango's work has been commissioned by regional and national magazines and organizations, including the San Francisco Chronicle, The Observer Media Group, Sarasota Magazine, The Community Foundation of Sarasota, Manatee Community Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, United Way Suncoast, Goodwill Manasota, Ringling College of Art and Design, and others. She earned a master's degree in digital journalism from the University of South Florida, a bachelor's degree in photography and imaging from Ringling College of Art and Design, and a photography certificate from the International Center of Photography. Arango's recent short documentary, "OKUTEEBA," has won four international film festival awards, her video "Faces of Goodwill" won a Silver Telly Award, and local film festivals have featured her film, "Families Together." The artist and Art Center Sarasota are donating a portion of the proceeds from the exhibit to benefit the Women's Resource Center's mental health programs. The Women's Resource Center offers a variety of programs, including low-cost mental health counseling, employment services, resource advising, support groups, and more.

"Large-Scale" displays the creative talent and bold pursuit of artists who make commanding works that are at least 48" x 48" in size. The exhibit is juried by Mary Davis Wallace, senior city planner for the Office of Public Art, City of Sarasota. Davis specializes in arts program development and fundraising, public engagement, arts education, and exhibition curation. She is a member of the American Planning Association (APA), The Florida Association of Public Art Professionals, and Americans for the Arts. She holds a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from North Carolina A&T State University and received her master's degree in urban planning from the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy.

Art Center Sarasota's exhibitions are paid for, in part, by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax revenues and the State of Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs.

Founded in 1926 and later incorporated as a nonprofit in 1943, Art Center Sarasota serves as the first and oldest visual arts organization in Sarasota. Art Center Sarasota is admission-free and open to the public; our mission is to bring together creatives and the broader public to increase understanding of our human condition, support wellbeing, and build community connection through the universal language of art.