Through May 19
Free
Dunedin Fine Art Center
Details here
#SMF Faculty at the Dunedin Fine Art Center showcases the work of the artists who teach there. On display are paintings, ceramics, fiber art, drawings and photography. With so much to see, potential students can get a preview of the skills their teachers can impart during class.
Girasoli Blu by Anna Sandoval mixes paint and thread to depict a bouquet of sunflowers. Sandoval’s style for this piece reflects Van Gogh-like impressionism with vibrant yellows, lively renderings and tactile textures.
The multi-directional linearity of the threaded elements cluster to make the surface of the piece appear to dance with frenetic energy. The perfect size for any household corridor, this piece shows how dexterity and nuance can comingle with thick lines and brightly saturated colors.
Stephen Littlefield’s linoleum print Lord of the Swamp is a monochromatic scene where an alligator is sunbathing in the tall marsh grass. In the background is a glistening lake with flopping fish, a stoic heron, and a silhouetted horizon of mangroves and palm trees. It’s a scene we’re very familiar with here in Florida.
Despite being a mostly static scene, the piece’s action comes from the pseudo-pointilistic gouges made by the carving tool to create the alligator’s scaly skin and the ribbed contours of the densely depicted cords of grass.
Lance Rothstein’s black-and-white contact print is a small photograph showing an extensive collection of maneki-neko at the Gotokuji Temple in Tokyo, Japan. The Gotokuji Temple is where the maneki-neko, or ‘beckoning cats,’ are said to have originated, which gives the site the nickname ‘the cat temple.’
Rothstein composes the 4×5 image with the icon of Nyoirin Kannon Bosatsu, the personification of infinite compassion, in the center with a sea of maneki-neko surrounding it as offerings for good luck and fortune.
The image documents the remnants of pilgrimages to the temple while serving as an allegory for religious faith and servitude.
Concepción Poou Coy Tharin’s White-on-White Pikb’il Hand Woven on Maya Backstrap Loom is a beautifully delicate textile made of sheer cotton. Its vertically successive rows of tree-like and leaf-like forms are perched with small birds.
The small bird, depicted in profile, symbolizes the near-threatened bird – the Replesdent Quetzal – which is the national animal of Guatemala, where Tharin is from. As a symbol of freedom, the quetzal serves to foster unity and equality for all.
Freedom Thinker by Robert Sutherland is a de Kooning-esque abstract painting with subtle hints of figuration. With synchronized brushstrokes, the yellow and black oil paint creates a rhythm indicative of a cubist figure in motion.
Its face, which is painted in an Art Déco style, is both serene and menacing in that angelic Maria-from-Metropolis kind of way. It’s a beautiful painting that seems to signal – CAUTION!
Serenity by Zoe Papas is a small oil painting of a bust of a woman whose forehead wears a crown of leaves. Painted realistically, the bust looks like an ancient statue bleached white after millenia of sun.
The expression is serene, with the woman’s eyes closed and her lips tightly sealed, almost pursed. The bust hovers in empty space, as if existing in a vacuum, and the light shines downward at an angle in a dramatic way that recalls Rembrandt. Its magic comes from the anticipation of thinking that once you look away, she’ll open her eyes.
Jacqueline LaDrig’s ceramic vessel is emerald green and has shimmering surficial elements dotting its glassy surface. With a wide base and a long skinny neck, it looks like it could hold fermented spirits.
Its appearance is one of feigned translucence because its opaque foundation appears to be receding behind leaf-like fans that seem to be weightlessly floating.
The Dunedin Fine Art Center has experts in many media who teach classes there for aspiring artists. Whether you paint, draw, sculpt, weave, photograph or work in metal, mixed media, printmaking or pastels, there’s something at the DFAC for you.
With so much great work on view in #SMF Faculty, you’ll be sure to find a teacher that fits your style.
Dunedin Fine Art Center
1143 Michigan Blvd.
Dunedin, FL 34698 A
Exhibition Hours
Monday-Friday 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday 10 am – 2 pm
Sunday 1 – 4 pm
