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Art

Local art's grand dowager

After 32 years of building a reputation for selectivity and class, the Art Festival Beth-El, venerable and a bit more conservative, revels in the respect it has earned.

By LENNIE BENNETT
Published January 27, 2005

[Art Festival Beth-El]

Feyerbend, Coral Gables, 117 Faces, oil on canvas

	Randy Strong, Sebastopol, Calif., Redhead, glass.
	Thomas Turner, Kalamazoo, Mich., untitled, jewelry

ST. PETERSBURG - In human chronology, 32 years is pretty young. But by art show standards, three-plus decades earn the title of venerable. That describes Art Festival Beth-El, which opens Saturday and continues through Monday.

It started small, with only about 20 artists, but has grown, developed by a determined group of volunteer women who roam the major art shows in Florida and points beyond to ferret out new talent. With about 150 artists, it has about maxed out its longtime location at Temple Beth-El. Over the years the organizing committee, some involved from the get-go, have built a reputation for editing out lower-end crafts that sometimes inhabit the fringes of other shows. And this one is all under cover, mostly inside the temple building, so inclement weather is never an issue.

For a number of years, Art Festival Beth-El was known not only for fine art but for art that could be described as edgier than that found at most festivals. Over the past several years, Beth-El seems to have moved into more conservative territory, with lots of representational paintings and popular studio glass. That may be more a sign of the times in the art world than a changing predilection among organizers; many young artists are moving away from conceptual art and revisiting traditional media and subject matter.

For art lovers who follow the festival circuit, Festival Beth-El remains among the best, with photography, jewelry, paintings, sculpture and works in wood and ceramics. Syd Entel Galleries of Safety Harbor sets up an outpost with signed limited-edition prints, and student work from the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School will be on display.

Art Festival Beth-El opens with a cocktail reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Tickets, $20, may be purchased at the door. Sunday and Monday, it's free. On Monday, the Avenue of Shops will open, too, a one-day sale of crafts, inexpensive jewelry and gift items. Volunteers will serve a sitdown lunch at 12:30 p.m. that day for $12; advance reservations and payment are necessary. Most festivals discourage bringing pets but tolerate their presence. Because this festival is inside, the organizers really mean it.

Lennie Bennett can be reached at 727 893-8293 or lennie@sptimes.com

The 32nd annual Art Festival Beth-El is at Temple Beth-El, 400 Pasadena Ave. S, St. Petersburg, Saturday, Sunday and Monday with 150 artists from throughout the United States. Cocktail reception 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, $20 at the door. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., are free. For information and to purchase tickets for a sitdown lunch Monday, call (727) 347-6136. No pets.

[Last modified January 26, 2005, 10:43:05]