Jean Cappadonna Nichols' sculptures highlight "A Wealth of Women" at the Florida Craftsmen Gallery in St. Petersburg, just one of 19 stops on the Downtown Art Association Gallery Walk.
By LENNIE BENNETT
Published July 10, 2003
[Image courtesy of Luis De La Lama]
Luis De La Lama, Red Satin2, oil on linen, at Confident Gallery.
[Image courtesy of Florida Craftsmen Gallery]
Jean Cappadonna Nichols, Considering Genetically Altered Foods II, white earthenware, glazes, paint, stains.
[Image courtesy of Red Cloud]
Elvis Luna, Sky Ayahuasca, gouache, at Red Cloud Indian Arts.
ST. PETERSBURG - The second Saturday of the month approaches and you know what that means: the Downtown Art Association Gallery Walk. And though you may think it's too hot to stroll, once the sun sinks beneath the skyline the evenings are decidedly pleasant. You'll find new offerings at several venues, including Florida Craftsmen Gallery, where "A Wealth of Women" features work by 11 artists working mostly in three-dimensional media.
Highlights of the show include Jean Cappadonna Nichols' wry ceramic sculptures of monumentally proportioned women decked out in the accoutrements of motherhood and homemaking, with bizarre twists. In one, a child flies out of a head scarf; in another, fruits that look chemically engineered perch, Carmen Mirandalike, on a blowzy female's head while a doleful fish lies at her feet, covered with a metal sewer cap. Betsy Orbe Lester's installation, My Mother's Wardrobe, is a series of small, embellished dress forms washed in ghostly white.
Florida Craftsmen also is hosting "CERF's Up," a fundraiser for the Craft Emergency Relief Fund that provides support to craft artists in emergency situations.
Also check out the Arts Center's annual members' show about which I'll write more in a few weeks.
Galleries will be open from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. and admission is free. For information, call (727) 821-6767.
Participating galleries
531 Central Fine Arts, 531 Central Ave.
Arts Center, 719 Central Ave.
ArtSpace, 10 Fifth St. N
Central Gallery, 475 Central Ave.
Confident Gallery, 695 Central Ave.
Crystal Mirage Gallery, 800 Second Ave. NE
T.W. Curtis Gallery, 200 Central Ave., Bank of America lobby
Davidson Fine Art, 725 Central Ave.
Florida Craftsmen, 501 Central Ave.
Glass Canvas Gallery, 146 Second St. N
Lynn J. Merhige Gallery, 216 Fourth St. N
Jane Morris Studio & Gallery, 685 Central Ave.
M. Petty Photography Gallery, 538 Central Ave.
Red Cloud Indian Arts, 208 Beach Drive NE
Shapiro's at BayWalk, 185 Second Ave. N
Soho South Arts Complex, 2105 Central Ave.
Studio Encanto, 209 First St. NE
Studio Szabries, 2057 Central Ave.
Vladimir's Collection, 111 Second Ave. NE, No. 102.
