Noticed all the great public art sprouting up around Tampa Bay lately? Wonder who’s responsible for these awesome art projects and how you can get involved? A new exhibition and artist lecture series at Florida CraftArt answers these questions and more.
“Inside the World of Public Art” features work from eight artists who’ve either initiated or completed a public art project in the Tampa Bay area — Heidi Lippman, Janet Echelman, Nathan Mabry, Xenobia Bailey, Michelle Weinberg, James Simon, Catherine Wood and Mark Aeling.
Inside the World of Public Art
Through March 7
Florida CraftArt, 501 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. 727-821-7391.
floridacraftart.org.
New York City-based artist Xenobia Bailey started crocheting colorful hats and mandalas before incorporating her beloved patterns into large-scale glass mosaic panels in her first public art project—a series of mosaics on the ceiling of NYC’s Hudson Yards subway station. “Inside the World of Public Art” displays her hats, mandalas and glass mosaic work. Bailey’s currently working on a tile mosaic for the St. Pete Pier’s new Spa Beach Pavilion.
Pittsburg-based artist James Simon went from small clay wall hangings to much larger clay sculptures, like the “Gateway Musicians” he completed in Tampa’s Perry Harvey Sr. Park in 2018. A few of his smaller ceramic fish are on display at Florida CraftArt alongside photographs of his public art projects.
Through these examples and more, Florida CraftArt’s new show demonstrates that smaller fine craft studio work can evolve into larger public art projects in Tampa Bay and beyond.
In addition to the exhibition, Florida CraftArt’s scheduled a series of lectures, studio tours and workshops for those interested in making the move from studio work to public art themselves.
The fun begins with St. Pete artist Mark Aeling of MGA Sculpture Studio, who’s one of the most recognizable names in St. Pete’s public art scene. You know the life-sized bronze dolphins swimming in Rene Lagler’s Sundial St. Pete fountain and mosaic lagoon? Aeling completed those in 2015. Find out how and why he journeyed into public art in 2003 at his Florida CraftArt lecture on Feb. 4 at 6 p.m.
You can find Catherine Woods’ sculptures all over Tampa Bay—at the entrance to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Pete, in front of the St. Petersburg Police Department, at the Seminole City Center, and at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Memorial Highway near Westshore Plaza in Tampa. Find out how she makes her towering glass and steel sculptures at her Florida CraftArt lecture on Tues. Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.
If you make big art, you need a big studio to make it in. See how St. Petersburg-based artists Mark Aeling, Don Gialanella and more found spaces that work for them at this trolley tour of local artist studios. Sat. Feb. 22 from 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
For the grand finale, artist Elayna Toby Singer conducts a full-day workshop on taking the leap from studio artist to public artist. Singer began her career as a jeweler working with beads in San Francisco. Over the years, she started stringing fallen branches together with her beads to create larger sculptures. In 2010, Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm Beach, FL commissioned her to create her first site-specific installation—a mobile-like creation of bedazzled hanging tools. Now the Palm Springs, FL-based artist is erecting her temporary nature sculptures all over south Florida. Sat. Mar. 7, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Between the exhibition and the educational programming, Florida CraftArt’s “Inside the World of Public Art” has a lot to offer. The public can finally see how all these gigantic sculptures are made; collectors have the opportunity to purchase smaller studio items from the same artists who are heating up Tampa Bay’s public art scene; and professional artists interested in launching a career in public art may learn from artists who’ve already found success with public art.
I have no plans of taking on the enormous challenge of making art this size, but even so, I really enjoyed this exhibition. I’ve always wondered who was making all the monumental sculptures around town and how they were doing it. Florida CraftArt’s Inside the World of Public Art does a beautiful job of answering these questions both for myself and for all of Tampa Bay. This is seriously the most exciting exhibition I’ve ever seen at Florida CraftArt. Don’t miss your chance to dig into Tampa Bay’s monumental public art at this exciting exhibition and lecture series.
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This article appears in Feb 6-13, 2020.