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There are a number of organizations throughout Florida that feature women’s art, and we are pleased to announce two exhibits in Pinellas County this summer.
I am honored to be in both shows. At Dunedin Fine Art Center we have 100 Women Artists: Now & Then, an exhibit conceived by teaching artist Alicia Campos Massó in 2022 and running through September 1.
At Lewis House on the southwest corner of the Eckerd College campus in St. Pete, Women’s Caucus for Art-Florida offers Black & White, on view through July 31.
100 Women Artists: Now & Then
This cultural art project elevates 100 women artists in art history while simultaneously showcasing contemporary artists who have reinterpreted their works.
According to Campos Massó, “This cultural art project aims to bring back women artists in Art History and their stories but at the same time to announce ‘ourselves’ as contemporary women artists, and also contemporary men artists and LGBTQ+ artistic groups supporting women artists from the past!”
I was excited to hear about this project back in 2022 and contacted Alicia to be on the waiting list. When a spot became available, all the women artists I had ever heard of were already taken.
She assigned me Rosalba Carriera, a Venetian Rococo portrait artist who worked in miniatures and pastels. Her work was widely collected, and she was very successful.
I could not have been happier to draw a fellow artist who also appreciated the figure and heads. I enjoyed showing her as a lively, confident successful woman who broke boundaries.
The experience also confirms how overlooked women artists were in the art history books. Here was a woman artist who became enormously successful in the 1700s. Her miniatures and portraits helped to popularize the medium of pastels, yet I had never even heard of her. Granted, I studied art history in the 1970s, and much may have changed since then.
When I viewed this show in Dunedin, I was impressed by the quality, variety, scope and quantity of the art produced by these largely unrecognized women. The commentary offered by our own interpretations is a further invitation to reflect on their work.
Alicia Campos Massó is curating a follow-up with miniature interpretations of 100 women in art history at the ArtsXchange in St. Pete, with an exhibition scheduled for August 12-September 4. (Visual artists can find the call to artists here.)
100 Women Artists: Now & Then is a free exhibition on view through September 1 in the second floor gallery at Dunedin Fine Art Center, 1143 Michigan Blvd. in Dunedin FL 34698. Gallery Hours – Monday-Friday 10 am-5 pm, Saturday 10 am-2 pm and Sunday 1-4 pm.
Black & White
At Lewis House at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Womens’ Caucus for Art-Florida presents a show which is both unified and varied. The premise of this show is summed up in the prospectus – explore the theme of Black and White, which examines the metaphoric and physical nature of opposites attracting, repelling and completing one another in a mind-body connect.
The meaning of Black and White’s layers are complex and vary with cultural viewpoints, including shades of gray. We invite viewers to determine the dynamic between the meaning infused by the WCA artists, their own cultural filters, and the interface between works in the show.
Every piece has to be on a 18” x 18” cradled wood panel. The only colors permitted are various shades or tones of black and white.
Each artist came up with personal interpretations of the theme and pushed the limits on the parameters.
For my own piece, the “concept first” approach is not my usual way of working, but having a set goal made me question my process and analyze my aspirations.
The title of my painting is Karmic Legacy. It is an oil painting of a small figure walking towards a “glowing” black hole, casting a white shadow. It is my symbolic advice for how best to live. Blend into the background as you leave a “shadow” of light on the path into permanent darkness.
I’m not saying I am living up to that, but it is my goal.
Other artists used collage, wire, calligraphy and printmaking as well as more traditional materials. Seeing all the different interpretations of the same structure, each satisfying the requirements and embracing the strict color limitations, has been inspiring.
This show has traveled to different venues in Florida and is a new show every time. Some works get sold, new artists join in, and previous artists add a new interpretation or rework their existing one. The size and color scheme used as a unifying characteristic gives the display a harmonious presentation each time it hangs, even when the art changes.
The show continues through July 31, available for private viewing only on the Eckerd campus at Lewis House, Forrer Sheen Dr., St. Petersburg FL 33711. You can contact ASPEC for more information.
Womens’ Caucus for Art-Florida Chapter supports the National WCA’s mission of empowerment, social justice and art in the service of societal transformation. The potential for networking, artistic growth, and expansion of vision draws members to the WCA.
We are freelance careerists, retired and self-employed artists, arts teachers, professors, students and craftswomen working in art-related fields who regularly exhibit and perform our art. We recognize that art brings us together. This group aims to remind us of feminine initiative and persistence, often overlooked in society.
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Lewis house is the headquarters for the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (ASPEC). For more than 40 years, ASPEC has offered a waterfront learning spot for high achievers in many fields who are still sharp and want to stay that way.
Part of a liberal arts college, this unique nonprofit attracts retired professors and teachers, scientists, health-care professionals, attorneys and business executives. Members learn from multiple daily presentations and discussions, assist faculty and students in the classroom and work on group projects that benefit the community, mixing social events with lifelong learning.
