Xavier Cortada’s 90N: North Pole Installations and Florida Is exhibition heads to Creative Pinellas in Largo

For the first time in a decade, the Gulf Coast Museum of Art will have an art exhibit. Creative Pinellas has arranged for Xavier Cortada's 90N: North Pole Installations and Florida Is to line the walls. Cortada works out of Florida but has exhibited all over the globe — literally: he's had art installations at the North and South Poles. His art focuses on environmental issues. 

“It is very compelling to us to bring an artist of Cortada’s caliber to the gallery,” says Barbara St. Clair, executive director of Creative Pinellas. “His work is visually and experientially powerful, bringing over 400 pieces together in an interactive and immersive collection at the intersection of art and science. We think it’s a great fit with our mission and our location at the Pinewood Cultural Park.”

The exhibit coincides with the 10th anniversary of Cortada’s North Pole expedition. It will include never-seen-before Arctic ice paintings. 

“I want people to see this work and to get a sense of the alarming connection between the Arctic and our peninsula,” says Cortada. “Melting ice will have catastrophic effects across our state, leading to sea level rise, coastal flooding, stalled tropical storms, and more extreme weather in the coming years.”

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Creative Pinellas, 12211 Walsingham Rd., Largo | Meet the artist Fri., June 29, 6-8 p.m. | 727-582-2174 | More info on Facebook

 

This article appears in Jun 14-21, 2018.