Donald Friary is often seen on a bicycle, making his rounds of the Village of Deerfield. Photo circa 1990.
LARGO, FLA. – The Gulf Coast Museum of Art (GCMA) will present two new exhibitions, “Florida Fellowships: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Survey” and “Gott, Larned, McClellan: Major Glass,” from February 15 to April 13.
For the past 25 years, the State of Florida, through the Florida Arts Council, has been awarding fellowships in the visual arts. Over the years, approximately 400 of these prestigious fellowship awards have been granted to some of Florida’s most preeminent artists. The Florida Art Museum Directors’ Association engaged Robert Sindelir, former director of the Galleries at Miami-Dade Community College, to curate this exhibition. Sindelir organized an exhibition recognizing the important contribution the Florida Fellowship program has made to the careers of Florida artists, some achieving national and international success. The exhibition will include 25 artists whose works will provide unique historical insight into the evolution of contemporary art in the state of Florida during the past 25 years.
Among the artists included are Richard Beckman of Temple Terrace, Todd Bertolaet of Tallahassee, María Brito of Miami, Robert Huff of South Miami, Eunice Kambara of St Petersburg, Leslie Lerner of Sarasota, Jim Roche of Tallahassee and Theo Wujcik of Tampa. Many of the featured artists have works in the collection of the Gulf Coast Museum of Art.
“Florida Fellowships: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Survey” will tour across the state, having opened in December 2002 at the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables. It will travel to the Gulf Coast Museum of Art; Pensacola Museum of Art, in Pensacola; Terrace Gallery, City of Orlando Public Art Program; Vero Beach Museum of Art; The von Liebig Art Center in Naples; and The Art Gallery at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. The tour finishes at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville in January 2004.
“Gott, Larned, McClellan: Major Glass” features three preeminent Florida glassblowers — Susan Gott, Paul Larned, and Duncan McClellan — in a collaborative exterior glass exhibition for the Courtyard Sculpture Garden. By using a variety of hot glass techniques, as well as metal, stone and other materials, the artists have developed large-scale mixed media sculpture works, which break new ground.
Related programs include a slide lecture with Robert Sindelir, which will complement the Florida Fellowship exhibition on Friday, February 14, from 6:30 to 7 pm. Sindelir will discuss the exhibition and his selection process.
An opening reception for the exhibitions will be conducted on February 14, from 7 to 9 pm. Museum members are admitted free; $10 for nonmembers. A panel discussion, “Florida Artists Roundtable,” will take place on Saturday, February 15, from 11 am to 1 pm. The panel will include Robert Sindelir and several artists included in the current exhibitions. Ken Rollins, the GCMA’s executive director, will moderate the discussion.
Pinewood Cultural Park is home to the Gulf Coast Museum of Art, Heritage Village, Florida Botanical Gardens and the Pinellas County Extension. Pinewood Cultural Park is designed to educate, inspire, and showcase the arts, history and the natural environment. For information and directions, visit the Pinewood Cultural Park website at pinewoodculturalpark.org.
