Open Book & Sarasota Pen Women

We Are All One

We Are All One: Heartbeat of Humanity by Sheri Wright

Heartbeat of Humanity by Sheri Wright

We Are All One
June 27-Aug 4

All Galleries

Opening Reception: Thursday, June 29, 5-7 pm

Pick up: Aug 10, 9-12 pm

Community. We are all part of one, whether that means a community of artists, friends, families, neighborhoods, or nations; the most common factor is that we are all human, we are all one. We all have wants and needs and in today’s divisive culture now more so than ever we need to come back to embracing the sense of community, of seeing each other as human beings. Artists are asked to share their vision for what community means to them, putting all labels aside and showcase the truth that we are all one.

Juror: Joanna Coke

Statement: The artwork chosen for awards showed strong unity of the elements, coming together, connecting and intertwining, such as the honeycomb shaped images and the abstract with large brush strokes twisting like a DNA form. Our humanity of sharing, embracing and helping others are the feelings that were selected to represent the theme of this exhibition.

1st Place Sheri Wright Heartbeat Of Humanity Collage
2nd Place Gary LaParl Sag Harbor Mixed Media
3rd Place Maria Ortiz-Haynes Salsa Stained Glass Mosaic
Best in 3D Gregg Wilkins Collette Cossette Purveyor Of Sea Bottom Trinkets Extraordinaire Mixed Media
Best in Jewelry Judy Beaham Ribbon #2 Steel, Aluminum & Pearl
Merit Bea Dreier Walk As One Acrylic
Honorable Mention Leslie Trettau Homeless – Before And After The Generosity Of Strangers – Melvin & Rusty Photography
Honorable Mention Kris Peterson Shadow Family Mixed Media
Honorable Mention Martin Dunn A Conversation In Cordoba Oil
Honorable Mention Carla Rudolph White Robes Acrylic

 

Click Here for Exhibition Schedule & Requirements

Online entry is no longer available. In-person entry is May 20, 9:00-Noon at ArtCenter Manatee.

Kaleidoscope of Color

A-New-Frequency-by-Corin-Finnie

A New Frequency by Corin Finnie, 1st Place

Kaleidoscope of Color
May 23-June 23
All Galleries

Opening Reception: Thursday May 25, 5:00-7:00

Kaleidoscope of Color is an open, all media, juried exhibit.

There are a multitude of descriptors for the word kaleidoscope: motley, psychedelic, multicolor, particolored, polychromatic, prismatic, rainbow, varicolored, variegated. Artists were encouraged to play up the color in works for this all media open juried show.

Juror: Cecile Moran
Juror Statement:
What a joy to view the visual impact of the beautiful work in this exhibit! It is a powerful show of fine art. I am honored to be asked to judge this extraordinary work.

The work selected for the exhibit displays a knowledge of color and design, whether presented representationally or in abstract form. When selecting the pieces for the exhibit, my choices were based on: consideration of the color theme, completeness of thought, composition, skill and understanding of the materials used, and a uniqueness that speaks to the creative thinking of the artist. Congratulations to all of the participants for the beautiful work submitted and my wish is that you continue creating.

Pick-up: Jun 24, 9:00-Noon

WCA Members Spring Exhibition

WCA Member Spring Exhibition

April 25 – May 19
Kellogg Gallery
Opening Reception April 27, 5:00-7:00

Women Contemporary Artists is a regional organization of more than 100 creative women actively engaged in the visual fine arts. WCA’s mission is to provide visibility, support and inspiration to women artists. Founded in 1984, they are based in Sarasota and Manatee Counties.

Juror: Danny Olda, critic and curator

Award First Last Title Medium
1st Janice Newman Morning Mist Acrylic
2nd Judy Kramer Kaleidoscope Façade Photography
3rd Susan Turconi The Couple Akua Ink
Merit Alice Harrison Garden Of The Sea Acrylic
Merit Judy Lyons Scnheider The Mighty Oak Callograph & Collage
Merit Betty Gerich I’ve Got Your Back Watercolor
Merit Marsha Ouimette She, Her, They, Them Clay
Merit Jana Millstone Weave A Cloth Of Now Mixed Media

Juror’s Statement
It was a privilege and pleasure working with this exhibition. I’m grateful that I was unrushed and allowed to spend as much time with each piece as it demanded – the experience was a delight. However, the sheer density of high-quality artwork submitted for this exhibition made judging italso very challenging. While a cursory glance makes  clear that each artist in the exhibition takes their work very seriously, a deliberate pause with each piece reveals more.

For example, Morning Mist by Janice Newman depicts a colorful forest mist snaking through a clump of bare trees. The scene is set quietly but with a bold color palette. With efficient brushwork Newman adds visual depth to the scene that transmutes into a conceptual depth, a reservoir of the unknown just ahead. The scene vacillates between feeling serene and unsettling. I found the scene and painting moving, as if I had happened serendipitously upon the landscape on a morning run.

Judy Kramer’s photograph Kaleidoscopic Facade is another such example. The photograph rewards a slow look with an abundance of textures that seem to unfurl the longer your eyes travel the piece. These textures are paired with a near perfect compositional structure that is not the product of a painter’s careful hand and intent, but somehow searched out and found existing wild in the real world. The piece is split in half and further into thirds, the patterns of tiles setting a steady visual rhythm that sends each viewer’s gaze up, across, and diagonally back down to begin again.

Finally, The Couple by Susan Turconi depicts two minimally detailed bodies beside each other, seperated by a cloudy bruise-colored negative space. The vertiginous height of the shoulders that figurative painting stands on is exceeded only by the claustrophobic weight of its own history. That Turconi’s treatment of these two bodies feels so timeless – as classical as it is contemporary – underscores how deft her skill is. The understated size and rendering of the figures requires a haiku-like efficiency of expression that Turconi delivers on.

These, of course, are only three pieces in this exhibition. I suppose, then, what I hope to
communicate is this: take your time with this exhibition. Give each work of art a thoughtful look and the exhibition will certainly return the favor.

Pick up is May 20 9:00-Noon

Animals & More! Exhibit


Animals & More Exhibit
An open, all media, juried exhibit
April 25-May 19
Opening Reception: Thursday, April 27, 5:00-7:00pm

Online entry by April 14, 4:00pm
In-person entry April 22, 9:00-Noon

Pick up May 20, 9:00-Noon

And join us for free family fun on April 29 from 10-3 for Art & Animals & You! 

awards

Thank you to ArtCenter Manatee for inviting me to juror “Animals & More”. ArtCenter Manatee never fails to draw artists with a strong mastery of skills and imagination. When choosing awards I chose first those that addressed the theme, my next criteria were skill and mastery of the media chosen as well as an imaginative view of presenting the theme. It was a very challenging process due to the excellence of the pieces. All work showed the beauty of the animals that the artists chose to portray and our relationship to them. If your work was not included please do not be discouraged. This was a competitive show to jury. Continue to create!
Being an animal artist myself, I was moved by the work and excited to see how our animal friends were depicted by the talented artists.

Juror: Evelyn McCorrister-Peters

“As a painter I derive inspiration from the environment. By depicting its value to others we can continue to cherish what is left of our diverse ecosystems. As an artist I have the opportunity to record these remaining places in a manner distinctive to my experience. This process advances the artistic language of my work as well as expands the conversation and consideration for the wild among my viewers.”

Evelyn is originally from New Jersey and Delaware, and has now lived in the Sarasota/Manatee county area of Florida for over 25 years. She received a Bachelors Degree from the University of Delaware and has also attended The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Ringling College of Art and Design.

In 1984 Evelyn began exploring the world, visiting 48 of the 50 states as a scenic artist with Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus. She now focuses on the educational and conservation efforts of the family business Squalus Inc who is partnering with the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature to establish a critical care center for Manatees.  Evelyn’s travels throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico and Canada along with a year residency in Japan have shown a wide diversity of life and given her the opportunity to share experiences through art.

Evelyn’s work is represented by Art Uptown Gallery in Sarasota, Florida and held in private collections throughout the US, Canada, Australia, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Evelyn has received residencies and fellowships from Weir Farm National Historic Site, Zion National Park, Jentel Foundation, Dorland Mountain Arts Colony and The Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts. She is a member of the Petticoat Painters, one of the oldest, continuously exhibiting women’s art groups in the United States. Evelyn serves   on the governing board of Myakka River State Park with a dedication to bring artists and nature together.

Evelyn shares her 12-acre home Barking Dog Ranch, with her husband Philip, their Boxer Hank, visiting horses, sharks, sea lions and now manatees. Her life is a menagerie of the people, places and happenings of a distinctive south Florida experience.

Exhibit Schedule & Requirements

Online entry is no longer available. In-person entry is April 22, 9:00-Noon at ArtCenter Manatee.

Annual Manatee County Schools K-12 Exhibit

Manatee County Schools K-12 Exhibit

Yairiel G-L Grades K-2, Elina O Grades 3-5, Finn D Grades 6-8, Max R Grades 9-12

ArtCenter Manatee Welcomes the Annual Manatee County Schools K-12 Exhibit
April 4-April 21, Opening Reception Wednesday April 5, 5-7pm

ArtCenter Manatee  joins with the School District of Manatee County to showcase the work of K-12 visual arts students.  In Manatee County, we’re fortunate to have a school system committed to teaching the visual arts in its elementary, middle and high schools. By partnering with ArtCenter Manatee, that commitment is furthered by giving these young artists a ‘voice’ – three museum-quality galleries – where their work can be professionally displayed and where the artists can receive positive recognition by a wider audience.

According to the National Arts in Education Association, learning to paint, create a website or design an energy-efficient home requires mastering skills which are often invisible to the naked eye, but are developed through a strong visual arts education.

For many students, it will be their first experience in preparing their work for display. And certainly, for pricing their work with an eye to selling it. For most students it will also the first time they have ever been to an art gallery. The experience will give students real world experience in the process of preparing artwork for exhibit, and the lessons they learn will stay with them throughout their lives.

Awards donated by Carolann Garofola in memory of Ralph Garafola.

Jurors: Carolann Garafola and Tim Cunninghan

 

 

 

International Watercolor Society Florida USA

International Watercolor Society Florida USA

International Watercolor Society Florida USA
February 28-March 31, 2023
$5 Admission

Opening Reception March 2, 5:00-7:00

ArtCenter Manatee invites you to attend the second biennial exhibition of the International Watercolor Society Florida USA. This prestigious exhibit features 25 watercolors from artists in 11 countries. From the colorful abstract work of award-winning German Artist Christine Berlinson Esser to the lively painting of Italy’s Maximo Damico who captures the mood and energy of the city in his plein aire painting, this exhibit is a wonderful guided tour of diverse watercolor from around the world.

The International Watercolor Society (IWS) has chapters in over 110 countries, and gathers together one of the largest and most diverse groups of watercolor artists and art lovers alike. IWS provides a unique platform for the continual development of the art of watercolor. In addition to the exchange of ideas between artists, it advocates and supports the next generation of artists with events and exhibitions This is the second biennial exhibition of the Florida USA Chapter which was formed in 2020 by ArtCenter Manatee.

IWS Images: From the IWS and ACM Logos, In the Middle of Prague by Maximo Damico, Italy, Flower Game by Christine Berlinson Esser, Germany, Mouve by Boonkwang Noncharoen, Bangkok, Flag Girl In Waiting by Donna Morrison, USA, Antique House by Dilesh Hazare, India.

 

About the International Watercolor Society
The International Watercolor Society (IWS) is a non-profit organization which was established in January 2012 with the objective of promoting the world’s oldest and most deeply rooted painting technique; the art of watercolor. IWS was founded by Mr. Atanur Dogan.  Their goal is to promote peace by the use of art; the common language of all the people of the world. Their activities involve bringing watercolor artists and art-lovers together.

ArtCenter Manatee has partnered with the International Watercolor Society (IWS) to create a Florida Chapter, one of only five branches in the United States. We are part of their worldwide network of over 100 branches, galleries, and education centers.

Dan Alexander Nature Morte

Dan Alexander Nature MorteA Vibrant Perspective
Jan 4-27, 2023

This exhibition is a combination of several series of my work. Micromorphism, Primatopia, and Nature Morte. The pieces are inspired by nature, textiles, travel, interior design and architecture. Being an artist and world traveler, I look at the world around me and how it could be translated to glass.

Looking at old photos of my travels is often a starting point in my process. I find it interesting how a photograph acts as a moment frozen in time. Instantly bringing you back to that location, date, and even emotions you were feeling.

Focusing on one micro aspect from that experience, I then begin thinking how a micro detail could be altered on my 3 dimensional canvas. An example would be looking at one single coral in the ocean, then repeating its colors and shape as inspiration for a large glass tile. This tile will later be rolled up at 2000 degrees Fahrenheit around a glass bubble and made into a large vessel. I use the blown glass process to create a 3-dimensional canvas for my glass murrine and patterns to be displayed. Creating an overall pattern from one element or enhancing colors makes the finished piece feel alive or almost dream-like.

Our Location

ArtCenter Manatee
209 9th St West
Bradenton, FL 34205

MFS 9-5, TWTh 9-6. Closed Sunday

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