Executive Director Kathryn Ceaser is looking forward to the opening of Art Center Sarasota’s 100th season in October. But she cautions patrons not to miss the final shows of the current season. Ceaser predicts that two of those shows will create quite the buzz.
“We've had a really exciting partnership this summer with ALSO Youth, some engaged teens who've been creating a body of work, working with local teaching artists,” Ceaser reported. “It's all very hush hush, but it will be unveiled on our opening reception.”
ALSO Youth offers programs and services for LGBTQ+ youth and allies, ages 10 through 24, in Sarasota and Manatee counties. This partnership offers children and young adults an opportunity to develop their artistic skills and showcase their unique and creative perspectives.
The pieces in the ALSO Youth show will be complemented by a new body of work by Jacob Z. Wan. His work expresses the intimacy of relationships in the LGBTQ+ community. Wan creates a dream-like environment for viewers with a collection of textiles, images, mixed media, artist books and installation titled “Me, Myself and I.”
“We have some incredible ceramic work,” Ceaser added.
Ceaser is referencing Dorothea Calvert’s exhibition, “Praxis” — a new body of sculptural and functional ceramic work that highlights a range of diverse themes such as anthropomorphism, displacement, global trade and the power of play.
“We have a juried show with the theme of self-portrait,” Ceaser also noted. “So we're going to lean heavily into expression and how people see themselves and see the world.”
Self-portraits provide viewers a window into the soul of the artist, highlighting their cultural reference points and their place in that moment of time. They also act as a portal into the shared human existence of each generation.
All four shows open on Thursday, August 21 with a 5 to 7 p.m. reception at the art center.
MORE INFORMATION:
The ALSO Youth show is titled “INK: Quilt of Identity.”
From weekly programs at their two youth centers to free mental health counseling, support groups and annual scholarships, ALSO Youth’s services support the organization's mission of empowering LGBTQ+ youth and allies to create inclusive communities.
Jacob Z. Wan is a Jacksonville-based artist and contemporary bookbinder who creates mixed media conceptual books that celebrate the importance of self. His books have been collected internationally and exhibited in Germany, China, the Florida Biennial and the International Book Art Exhibition in New York.
Wan received his BFA and MFA from the University of Central Florida.
The objects included in “Dorothea (D’) Calvert: Praxis” are defined by sensuous surfaces and forms that, while classic, hold a contemporary message for the careful observer.
Calvert’s interest in art began early, directing her focus throughout high school. Following her acceptance to art school, she was college bound until life took an unexpected turn. After earning her MBA, succeeding in three different careers and celebrating her child’s college graduation, she finally gave herself permission to renew her focus on art and enrolled in Ringling College of Art and Design’s continuing education Program, where she rediscovered clay. It is a medium that affords the dual satisfaction of two and three dimensions, the body as form, the surface as palette.
The “Self Portrait Juried Show” asked artists to consider what they wanted to reveal about their inner narratives, their roles as artists, their hopes and fears.
Odeta Xheka juried the portrait show.
Xheka makes art to claim her voice as a female artist because art is the opposite of speechlessness. Her work has been juried into prestigious national and international competitions and has been featured in art magazines and literary journals.
Born in the UNESCO heritage site of Berat, Albania, Xheka currently lives in Tampa, where she is the founder/director of OXH Gallery. OXH is focused on a cross-generational, multi-medium approach to exhibiting that goes beyond the conventional white cube paradigm with the goal to evolve into a lasting hub for culture and community.
All four exhibitions run through Sept. 27.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.