DON’T MISS…
Romare Bearden: Southern Recollections Organized by the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C., for the centennial of Bearden’s birth, this touring exhibition at the Tampa Museum of Art focuses specifically on paintings and collages made by Bearden in response to life in the American South. Widely regarded as one of the most important American artists of the 20th century, Bearden (1911-1988) earned his reputation by fusing modernist practices of collage and abstraction with themes inspired by African-American culture and his own upbringing in New York and rural North Carolina. Jan. 28-May 6, 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, 813-274-8130, tampamuseum.org.
Bloom If a contemporary art exhibit inspired by flowers sounds insufferably saccharine, suspend judgment until you’ve seen the Morean Arts Center’s Bloom. Ten Florida artists and one North Carolinian find not only prettiness and vitality in the subject but its unsettling inverse. Lauren Garber Lake crafts a starkly beautiful memento mori from graphite-coated silk flowers. Marie Yoho Dorsey describes her wall-mounted cascade of stitched silk blooms as a human soul in flux after the body’s physical death. Jan. 27- March 11, 719 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-822-7872, moreanartscenter.org.
Explicit Content The last time Mindy Solomon Gallery pushed the envelope this far — for 2010’s genderfuck showcase, Undressing the Feminine — MSG staff covered the gallery’s plate glass windows with bubble wrap. They may have to break out the black visqueen for Explicit Content, a show about sex that gallery owner and curator Solomon promises “will plumb the depths of the most innate physical yearnings.” Expect mature content in Scot Sothern’s photographs of L.A. prostitutes, Bart Johnson’s erotic drawings, Christina West’s figurative ceramic sculptures, Barbara DeGenevieve’s video diaries, and Becky Flanders' narrative photographs. April 14-May 19, 124 Second Ave. NE, St. Petersburg, 727-502-0852, mindysolomon.com.
ALSO ON THE RADAR…
William Pachner: Selected Work, 1960-70. Ninety-seven-year-old Pachner, a Czech-born abstract painter and former Tampa Bay resident, is the focus of this solo exhibition at Brad Cooper Gallery as well as one at TMA. Jan. 27-March 17, 1714 E. Seventh Ave., Tampa, 813-248-6098, bradcoopergallery.com.
Let’s Draw Underwater The Studio@620 showcases the results of artist Hunter Payne’s Kickstarter-funded underwater drawing project in the Florida Keys. Jan. 27-Feb. 17, 620 First Ave. S, St. Petersburg, 727-895-6620, studio620.org.
Contain It! The Dunedin Fine Art Center’s yearly installation-fest invites participating artists to transform PODs storage units into immersive art experiences. Feb. 10-11, 1143 Michigan Blvd., Dunedin, 727-298-3322, dfac.org.
Purple Nurple Neil Bender’s fleshy oil paintings — collisions on canvas of boobs, butts, assholes and fabric patterns — take over Tempus Projects. Feb. 11-March 2, 5132 N. Florida Ave., Tampa, tempus-projects.com.
Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts With generous awards and free booths for emerging talent, the annual outdoor art-and-craft fair continues to attract top-notch artists. March 3-4, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, downtown Tampa, 813-876-1747, gasparilla-arts.com.
Andy Warhol and Friends The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts celebrates its relocation to Rivergate Tower with an exhibit of photographic work by the king of Pop Art. March 10-May 27, 400 N. Ashley Drive, Cube 200, Tampa, 813-221-2222, fmopa.org.
Marianne Chapel: Perceptions and Memories Chapel uses natural materials (wood, tea-dyed paper, jute) and images to evoke the past at C. Emerson Fine Arts. April 14-May 5, 909 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-898-6068, c-emersonfinearts.com.
This article appears in Jan 26 – Feb 1, 2012.