Art Center Sarasota's New Exhibitions Feature The Work Of Three Artists, A Juried Show, and Artists Talks

 Art Center Sarasota’s 2022-2023 exhibition season concludes with four exhibits, August 24-September 30. In “The Ephemerality of Being,” Lauren Mann reflects on the beauty and magic of everyday life in colored pencil drawings that are full of patterns and idiosyncrasies. Iren Tete’s “systems of (entanglement)” is an installation of ceramic sculptures inspired by forms, materials, and thoughts that exist somewhere between reality, dream, and possibility. In “SUPERPOSITIONS,” Ry McCullough’s colorful works of collage, sculpture, and wall-bound hybrids are inspired by the traditions of still life and modernist abstraction. “An Abstract View” re-examines abstraction and its relevance in contemporary art and is juried by Tre Michel, co-owner of State of the Arts Gallery. The opening reception for all four exhibits is Thursday, August 24, 6-8 p.m. Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For information, visit www.artsarasota.org or call 941-365-2032.

Lauren Mann finds the innate beauty in ordinary, everyday life with her new series of colored pencil drawings in “The Ephemerality of Being.” These highly detailed works are bright and full of patterns and idiosyncrasies that illustrate a comfort in the familiar. Mann says the series “combines delicate portraiture with the rich symbolism of inanimate objects to create new, contemporary still lifes.” Despite her young age, Mann reflects upon mortality and the finite amount of time we each have on this earth, compelling “the viewer to reflect on their own lived experiences.” She adds: “In a time full of chaos and disappointment, it feels comforting to be able to stop and appreciate the innate beauty of the human figure going about simple and familiar tasks. By inserting small idiosyncrasies that require a careful examination of the image, it  challenges the viewer to look deeper and find even more similarities between the feelings and moments conveyed through the works and the viewer’s own lived experiences.” Mann is based in Clearwater and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing from the University of Florida in 2021. She has exhibited her works in several art spaces, including at the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, the Gainesville Fine Arts Association Gallery, and the 4Most Gallery in Gainesville.

In “systems of (entanglement),” Iren Tete presents an installation of ceramic sculptures that are inspired by “forms, materials, and thoughts that are suggestive and exist somewhere between reality, dream, and possibility.” Tete’s work is informed by the interconnected systems that surround and define us. Her engaging sculptures are playful yet demand respect with their stature and confidence. Embracing a “lyrical atmosphere governed by magic and surprise,” Tete creates “logical tangles that address the mystery that gaps in logic offer.” The artist says, “We make deliberate and accidental choices which result in further deliberate and accidental choices. This evolves into a network of choices, a system leading from present to future, defined by scientific reasoning yet clouded by emotional irrationality. Systems surround us, and perhaps even define us. ‘Systems of (entanglement)’ navigates, questions, and tenderly accepts these systems.” Originally from Sofia, Bulgaria, Tete has recently accepted an associate professor of art position at San Diego State University.  She earned an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2019. Tete has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including in Nebraska, Texas, New York, and Florida. In 2020, she was selected as an Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly Magazine and as a finalist for the Hopper Prize. In 2021 Tete’s work was featured in two  biennale exhibitions – Latvia Ceramics Biennale (Daugavpils, Latvia) and Fondazione Officine Saffi (Milan, Italy).

Ry McCullough’s “SUPERPOSITIONS,” includes colorful works of collage, sculpture, and wall-bound hybrids that are inspired by the traditions of still life, modernist abstraction, and humor. McCullough views collage as “a bundle of behaviors, a toolbox, and a signifier of fragmentation that forms an ethos of revision and reorganization.” His practice engages the fields of printmaking, creative writing, drawing, sound, and sculpture to create unique systems that probe the margins and boundaries of how art crafts language and communicates meaning. McCullough is attracted to humble materials such as plywood and paper, concrete and plaster, foam and found things. He says that his work is “engaged with diverse approaches in creative practice. Traditional and experimental processes allow me to investigate how art can express states of being and the ethics that encircle abstraction. The ambiguity and mystery of abstract languages generate a tension between the known and unknown, fabricated and found. These systems of making are aligned with a set of conventions that I can work with or against to produce experiences for a viewer that are suggestive, poetic, and humbly philosophical.” McCullough is an artist and educator in Tampa. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where he concentrated in the areas of printmaking and sculpture. McCullough received his MFA in Printmaking and Book Arts from the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia. He has participated in artist’s residencies and exhibitions nationally and internationally and is the founder of the Standard Action Press Collaborative Zine Project and a founding member of the 24-Hands Printmaking Collective. He is currently an associate professor of art and design at the University of Tampa.

“An Abstract View” highlights a diverse group of regional artists working with a range of styles, interpretations, mediums and concepts.  This exhibition re-examines abstraction and its relevance in contemporary art.  “An Abstract View” is juried by Tre Michel, co-owner, State of the Arts Gallery.

Art Center Sarasota’s exhibitions are paid for, in part, by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax revenues and the State of Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs.

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