Art Center Sarasota

In November, there are 35 shows at art centers from Sarasota to Marco Island.

Art Center Sarasota is exhibiting a collection of 75 works in a variety of media that explore worlds where reality bends, logic dissolves and the unexpected becomes possible. Danny Canton chose the works included in “Strange Weather.”

Art Center Sarasota is exhibiting a playful exhibition of drawings, prints and sculpture by Venezuelan American artist Jorge Blanco. The exhibition, “Joy in Motion,” is an ode to his colorful, uplifting minimalist sculptures, which dot public spaces throughout the United States, Venezuela, Europe and Japan – including three installations in Sarasota. Synthesizing geometry, movement and the human figure, Blanco endeavors to inspire optimism in those who encounter his public artworks. “Joy in Motion” is on display in the center gallery through Nov. 14.

From Sarasota to Marco Island and Venice and Sanibel to Arcadia and LaBelle, Southwest Florida is home to more than a dozen art centers. Most host visual art exhibitions showcasing member, regional and nationally renowned artists that change every month. In October, there are 30 shows at these venues.

In September, there are 26 shows at area art centers.

“Icons” opened at Art Center Sarasota on August 20. It’s a visual exploration of figures, symbols, and moments that shape culture, influence society, and transcend time. It required a special curator, John Pirman.

Art Center Sarasota is closing its 100th season with four exhibitions, including “Putting Breath in the Body” by Antoine Williams. It includes a collection of mixed-media paintings, drawings, and collages that weave together Black Southern folklore, working-class sensibilities, personal history and the writings of influential artists and thinkers throughout the African diaspora.

Among the 28 art exhibits on view in August at area art centers is “Shaping Sarasota: A Century of Art” at Art Center Sarasota – which showcases the artists, volunteers and visionaries who have helped establish Sarasota as one of the leading arts communities in Florida. Also on view is “The Art of Healing: Prescriptions for the Soul” – which will turn the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center’s Grand Atrium into an immersive wellness emporium on August 7 – and “Currents” at BIG ARTS – which will convert the Dunham Family Gallery into a 125-foot-long underwater mural over the next eight weeks.

On August 20, Art Center Sarasota opens its final shows of its 100th season. One, in particular, will showcase the artists, volunteers and visionaries who helped establish Sarasota as one of the leading arts communities in Florida. “Shaping Sarasota: A Century of Art” traces Art Center Sarasota’s evolution from its earliest days in 1926 through a century of artistic innovation, community leadership, and creative exchange.

Like the Greek goddess Thetis, artist Cat Tesla found healing and rejuvenation in water. Following surgery for early-stage breast cancer, Tesla told her husband she wanted to go to the water. They ended up in Florida, where she began painting large color field abstractions that became part of her nature-based “Exhale” collection. Examples of that work, along with a second series that originated during the pandemic, are on view through July 31 at Art Center Sarasota in her “Living by the Water” exhibition.