This Friday, Dec. 4, Tempus Projects is hosting a virtual solo exhibition, "Warm Fronts," at 6 p.m. via its Instagram (@tempus_projects). The show is comprised of work by Tampa-based artist, Carola Miles.
According to the show flyer, the "Warm Fronts" virtual exhibit will consist of exclusively oil on canvas paintings detailing a romantic vision and a personal reaction to the season we are in—confronting feelings of anxiety, fear, depression and displacement.
"This group of paintings was so much fun to make, even though there is a lot of tension in the subjects, I am hoping the strong energy I felt while making them shows through the work," Miles told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. The University of South Florida MFA grad also explained that this body of work is an evolution from her thesis work during her time in the fine arts program.
"I want to trust more on my instincts and make work that comes from my mind and heart and not from one or the other. My MFA thesis was an extremely shy and poor attempt to do so, but I am grateful for that start," she added.
Miles cultivated the exhibit's pieces during the month of November, and was compelled to initiate a shift in her practice.
"I spent time looking at the last few years sketchbooks, writings, and realized how much I suppressed myself from making things that made me feel vulnerable but at the same time fuel a more exciting energy in the work. I found some clear patterns that for some reason I kept suppressing, but now I am anxious to explore," she explained.
While Miles has only had a handful of exhibitions under her belt, transitioning to this OVR exhibition has proved to be a welcomed challenge.
"Preparing for a virtual exhibition has not been so different compared to other ones, but It has been satisfying in terms of knowing how things are going to look on the screen. I can test on myself whether the work shows through differently on screen versus real life and can make the necessary adjustments," she said.
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This article appears in Dec 10-16, 2020.