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Gallery To Show Clearwater Native's Photos

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2007

TAMPA - Clearwater native Benjamin Dimmitt returns to Tampa for an exhibit of his black and white landscape photographs, running Friday through Oct. 27 at Clayton Galleries.

For the gallery, the exhibit kicks off the fall art season and celebrates 20 years in the business of selling art. For Dimmitt, who lives and works in New York City, it's a chance to return to his Florida roots.

'I have a passion for this place, for its shapes and forms,' he said during a recent interview in New York.

'He shoots all sorts of things,' said Mark Feingold, gallery manager and curator. 'But his photographs of Florida seem to have a special strength and elegance that show his love and appreciation for that landscape.'

The more than 25 photos in the show are predominantly Florida scenes; 'Tiger Orchid' is a close-up of fronds and stems.

'I didn't even know it was an orchid. I just thought it was beautiful,' Dimmitt said. 'Its lushness and its foliage were alluring.'
Dimmitt looks at the line and form as much as the subject itself.

'I try to elicit poetry and nuance in my photos,' he said. 'The challenge for me is to find what makes a place resonate with me and get it on film.'
Dimmitt is something of an old-school photographer, using techniques that have been largely replaced by digital photography.

'Art students are graduating now without knowing a thing about black and white film photography,' he said.

That's not true for students at the International Center of Photography in New York, where Dimmitt teaches black and white film photography.

'I'm being told there's a groovy retro thing going on, a swing back to film in photography,' he said.

It was as a child growing up on the Gulf Coast that he developed his eye for finding the pristine beauty in landscapes.

'Clearwater in the '50s and '60s was not so overbuilt, and all I had to do was look around me at the mudflats, sandbars, empty lots and miles and miles of beach,' he said. 'I learned to really see the things around me.

'When I come back to Florida, as much of my time as possible is spent revisiting places I love or tramping in some mangroves or some park I've never seen before.'

Meet Dimmitt and see his works at the opening reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at the gallery, 4105 S. MacDill Ave. For information, call (813) 831-3753.

Painter Emphasizes Light, Space In Works

Steve McClure, another New York-based artist, will bring his recent ink and watercolor on paper works to a solo exhibit at Bleu Acier from Friday though Oct. 27.

McClure combines historical images with contemporary relevance in a representational style. But he paints in an abstract manner.

'I look at it as on that borderline between figurative and abstraction,' gallery owner Erika Schneider said. 'The image doesn't totally guide him in the manner in which he makes his painting. His marking system is very inventive.'

Schneider, a printer, is captivated by the way McClure uses the white space.

'He emphasizes light and space as much as imagery,' she said. 'Some artists paint in a positive way, whereas Steve works a lot with what's going on in the space around.'

McClure calls what he does 'camera-less photography' because his works have a formal and precise feel similar to a photo. From a distance, you can't be sure if they are paintings or photographs.

He works from memory, translating into images his reaction to things he has seen or researched.

'He's piling up knowledge and then going into his memory to use it,' Schneider said.

McClure's works usually are quite small, imitating the size of the first photographs produced in the 19th century. The exhibit features several narrative series of eight to 10 small paintings, as well as some of his first larger paintings.

'It's work that makes you think, but at the same time it's real painting,' Schneider said. 'They're really luscious to look at.'

Meet McClure and see his work at the opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the gallery, 109 W. Columbus Drive. For information, call Schneider at (813) 272-9746.

Artists' Meeting Includes Silk Painting

The Tampa Realistic Artists group will hold its monthly general meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Old Hyde Park Arts Center, 705 Swann Ave., near Bayshore Boulevard.

After the meeting, Ethel Friedman will demonstrate painting on silk. The meeting and demonstration are free.

Call the center at (813) 251-3780 for information.

Gasparilla Festival Seeks Artists

The 2008 Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is scheduled for March 1-2 at Lykes Gaslight Square Park and Franklin Street in downtown.

More than 1,000 international artists typically apply for the 300 or so slots. To apply, go to www.gasparilla-arts .com. The deadline is Sept. 30.

For information, e-mail gasparillaarts@yahoo.com.

Correspondent Esther Hammer can be reached at (813) 835-2108 or ehammer@tampatrib.com.

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