No, not like that — it's Female Persuasion 2, the second installation of a show created by women and curated… well, curated by Gascot. Why would a male artist — albeit a talented one, but still, he's a guy — curate a show by and about women? Well, Gascot knew you were going to ask that, and he has this answer:
“Having been raised solely by women (a single mother, a grandmother-figure and an aunt) I have the highest respect and admiration for their struggles, triumphs and tenacity," he says. "Women nurture and protect. Women create change. What is there not to celebrate?”
Gascot isn't shy about saying he embraces his own femininity, and his work reflects his respect and honor for women. This exhibit, though, has none of Gascot's art in it (hence, the idea of an all-female exhibit), but you won't miss it (sorry, John!) because the work he's showcasing is going to fill your eyes (and your brain) with diversity of art, opinion and women.
We'll let a few of the ladies explain it:
“Being a female artist is about expression, energy, transformation, owning your own identity, finding yourself beyond the perimeters that are expected from you,” painter M’ria Mezzaninne says. In her paintings you'll find she suggests the female form more than paint it representationally.
“We are on the precipice of change, tipping the balance from CIS-white-male-dominated-art to more female and artists of color," mixed-media painter Brooklyn say. “It’s a great time for women to create.”
Indeed.
Female Persuasion 2, Cider Press Café, 601 Central Ave., St. Petersburg | July 14, 6 p.m. — opening reception | Through Aug. 31 | gascot.com
This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 5, 2018.