This year marks Art Center Sarasota’s centennial season. To commemorate that milestone, ACS asked a collective of local artists to make works inspired by a member who was active in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.
“The artists were given the choice of artists who were important to our history here at the Art Center,” Executive Direct Katherine Ceaser explained. “They had free reign to choose what piece they wanted to pay homage to, so it's really a wide range of different representations. Some are more abstract; some are more literal.”
The challenge was to base the new artwork on a specific piece made by the artist they selected. Much of the work of those old member artists is known to the public. Some gained international acclaim.
“John Chamberlain was a sculptor here, and his work is very well-known,” said Ceaser. “That's represented by one of our painters. So, one of our 2D artists is representing work of a 3D artist.”
While many of the collective’s artists did a single work of the artist they chose, others did copious research into their artist’s body of work to produce a composite piece.
“Some of them were meticulous in their research, either visiting pieces that might be in the community, looking at photos, talking to people connected to the artists. So, there is a lot of depth to the work in terms of the preparation,” Ceaser added.
“Legacy x Response: SARTZ Responds to a Century of ACS” showcases the ways in which today’s artists interpret and build upon a century of artistic innovation. The exhibition is on display through Nov. 15.
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The name of the artist collective is SARTQ. The name underscores their connection to the region. Tim Jaeger and Joseph Arnegger founded the collective in 2008. Current members include Diana de Avila, Lori Childers, Ro Daar, Julie Kanapaux, Ellen Kantro, Ali Kurzeja, Justin Mastrangelo, Taylor Robenalt, Izzy Stark, Yajaira Urzua-Reyes, Adrienne Watts, Emmie Wells and Betsy Wild. These artists create in a wide variety of mediums including ceramics, mixed media collage, abstract and representational painting, and augmented reality enhanced digital works.
According to the art center, the exhibition is “both a tribute and a provocation – a look back that pushes forward, illuminating how history continues to inspire and inform the creative spirit of our community.”
In addition to the community, the children and grandchildren of the artists being honored are thrilled with the recognition.
“For example, there is a piece that honors the masks of sculptor Frank Colson,” said Ceaser. “Unrelated to this exhibition, his son was just in here today working on a sculpture in our sculpture garden, and he said, 'That's a piece that honors my father's work.' So that was a sort of connection and community that we were looking to see happen with this exhibition.
John Chamberlain was a contemporary of Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol. He devoted his long and illustrious career to challenging traditional notions of sculpture and to eroding the boundaries between sculpture and painting by placing color on an almost equal footing with form. In contradistinction to the planned, methodical, often monotone or colorless approach employed by most sculptors of his day, Chamberlain brought an Abstract Expressionist gestural quality to his work, which took on a sudden, unexpected randomness that even his most ardent admirers frequently found unsettling, prompting art critic Peter Schjeldahl to write one time, “the mangle is the message.”
He crafted vibrantly colored, dynamic sculptures from crushed, twisted and bent automobile parts. His work was included in the Museum of Modern Art’s 1961 “The Art of Assemblage” exhibition, the 1964 Venice Biennale and several Leo Castelli Gallery shows. Inspired in part by his friend Andy Warhol, Chamberlain began directing films in 1968 that included “Wedding Night,” “The Secret Life of Hernando Cortez” and “Wide Point.” His numerous honors included the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture in 1993, the Lifetime Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture from the International Sculpture Center in Washington, D.C. in 1993, The National Arts Club Award (New York, 1997), the Distinction in Sculpture Honor from the New York Sculpture Center in 1999, and a honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit the year before his death.
He is also one of just seven artists with work on the moon.
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.
