Kellusion Art Gallery hosts a special sneak preview featuring several oil-on-glass paintings by Croatian Naïve Artists drawn from the Croatian Naïve Gallery and Museum in St. Petersburg, which opens its doors to the public in July. Croatian Naïve Art — also called naive art, the art of the naives, primitive art, the art of the modern primitives and so on — is not a rigidly defined artistic movement, or set of works with corresponding forms. Rather, it's composed of a diverse assortment of styles and techniques produced by self-taught artists with no former artistic training or schooling. Bay area collectors Jim and Donna Nannen paid numerous visits to Croatia and established relationships with more than 50 Croatian artists so that they could present a collection of Croatian Naïve works to the public. Drop in and glimpse a few of them during this weekend's Downtown Arts Association Art Walk. Sat., May 13, 5-9 p.m., 538 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, free admission, 727-820-9598.
This article appears in May 10-16, 2006.