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Novel Exhibit Idea Emerges At Gallery

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 28, 2009

Tampa Artist Emporium, the South Tampa gallery where local artists rent gallery space on three-month leases, is introducing a new concept: the one-month rental.

Called "Emerge," the idea is to attract new talent.

"It's a way to get other artists involved even if they can't afford the three-month rent," said Robin Winsor, gallery director. Three-month rentals start at $100 and go up depending on the size of the space; "Emerge" participants pay a one-month rental of $25 and are limited to two pieces.

Each month the gallery will host an opening reception and a month-long show with a different theme; the participating artists will follow that theme in their work.

The first exhibit employing this new approach is called "Changes," a theme reflecting recent economic and political developments. The 14 artists in this first show include emerging and established names in the local art scene. They are Zach Carodad, Angelo Gines, Jedd Lancaster, David Pritchard, Danielle Rogers, Chad Ruis, Michelle Sawyer, Brianne Small, Bean Spence, Steve Sperry, Melisa Taylor, Kiernan Walsh, Amy Wells and Daniel Williams.

Many of the artists will be at the gallery to meet visitors at a free opening reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday.

A special highlight of the evening will be a photo shoot called "Money Changes Everything," where Dave Pritchard will walk around and take pictures of guests and then "change" them in some way. They then will be available for purchase.

A "Change for Change" collection bowl will benefit Metropolitan Ministries.

Tampa Artist Emporium is at 3415 Bay to Bay Blvd., in the Starbucks Plaza. Call (813) 835-0212 for hours and information.

Tampa Takes Part In Sculpture Show

If you wander downtown, you might notice the huge red steel beams perched near the bank of the Hillsborough River in the vicinity of Ashley and Whiting Streets.

It's a sculpture called "Big Max," by internationally-known artist John Henry. Measuring 33 feet high, 75 feet long and 38 feet deep, it is representative of the large-scale sculptures for which Henry is famous.

It was installed in November and will remain through May 31 as part of a statewide exhibition of Henry's sculptures called "Drawing in Space: The Peninsula Project." In this project, nine of Henry's large sculptures have been installed for overlapping periods in Tampa and six other Florida cities. The project started in October in Tallahassee and will be over statewide when Tampa's sculpture comes down.

"I think it's quite a feat for an artist to do this in the entire state in about the same time in seven cities," said Elaine Gustafson, director of exhibitions and collections and curator of contemporary art at the Tampa Museum of Art.

In each city there also is a companion exhibition of Henry's works or works in progress.

In Tampa that exhibit is "Florida Collects," a show of sculptures by Henry selected from private collections throughout the state.

"Most of this work is small-scale, so it's either models that were built for monumental pieces, or they were small tabletop pieces," said Gustafson. "We do have a couple of larger scale pieces, meant for the exterior, but not to the level of the larger piece downtown."

The Tennessee-based Henry has sculptures in collections at museums, corporations and municipalities all over the world.

"He is one of the well-known sculptors of the 20th Century," Gustafson said. "His work illustrates trends in contemporary sculpture - the emphasis on material, the large scale, the interesting color. It's quite a privilege to be able to show his work in Tampa.

Florida Collects is on display through April 4. Call the museum at (813) 274-8130 for hours and information or visit www.tampamuseumofart .com.

2 Artists Share Gallery Show

Two artists with a bent toward science and mathematics will team up for an exhibit opening Friday that takes art into the realm of logic, balance and process.

Called "Inside-Outside," it features oil paintings by John Gurbacs and photographs by Paul Glass.

A prolific painter, Gurbacs uses organic themes of nature and combines them with an understanding of science to create new relationships and interactions.

He likes to balance the natural with the man-made. Much of his subject matter comes from everyday elements that may not normally be examined up-close. These constitute the "outside" part of the exhibit.

On the "inside" are Glass' exploratory photographs, which have been described as "landscapes from another planet." After a long creative procedure that may include a variety of processes, painting, staining, extreme heat and cold, acid etching and ink application, Glass uses a sheet film camera to go "inside" the final product and record details.

Meet the artists and ask them about their work at a free opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at gallery 501. It runs through Feb. 13. To see the exhibit after the opening, contact the school at (813) 272-3422.

Correspondent Esther Hammer can be reached at (813) 259-7662 or ehammer@tampatrib.com.

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