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The scope and variety of the shows 2001 offered art lovers were less bounteous than usual, but when they were good, they were very, very good.
By MARY ANN MARGER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 23, 2001
This was the year of the weak.
So few shows were distinguished enough to qualify for the annual "Ten Best" list that we left it at eight.
Sept. 11 had nothing to do with it. Art exhibits are planned many months and often years in advance, and they all went off as scheduled.
Actually, those of us who went out on the road even a short distance found some fine viewing: Impressionists and "Homage to Van Gogh" at the Appleton in Ocala, a Picasso show at the new Boca Raton Museum of Art, "The Triumph of French Painting" at the Norton in West Palm Beach and Grandma Moses at the Orlando Museum of Art. Any of those would have been high up on this list.
A couple of positive notes: If you didn't see them yet, three of the following shows are still around: "Wheels," "One Nation" and "Craft Is a Verb." The annual Art Festival Beth-El can be expected to repeat its formula for success at the end of January.
And we have this for the future: a new Tampa Museum of Art to anchor the downtown cultural district, designed by internationally prominent architect Rafael Vinoly.
The Tampa Bay area's best art shows, 2001:
1 Abraham Bloemaert and His Time, Museum of Fine Arts, January-April. The museum took a risk in presenting a show examining an Old Master little known in the United States. Normally such a small show (18 paintings) wouldn't make first place, but it earned extra credit for local curatorial energy and its contribution to the body of art scholarship.
2 A Disarming Beauty: the Venus de Milo in Twentieth Century Art, Salvador Dali Museum, April-September. The armless icon made for a show of clever good fun, but the artworks themselves hold their own in critical circles. The theme provided an entry point to developing an understanding of the artists' concepts.
3 Contemporary Art From Cuba, University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, May-July. The complexities of life in Cuba were explored by 16 artists in a significant body of thought-provoking work that gave insights on the current climate there.
4 Wheels: Artists and Automobiles, Dunedin Fine Art Center, November-March 3, 2002. Long in the planning, a show about basic concepts of vehicle design has us ooh-ing and ahh-ing over sleek models even as it examines high-art aesthetics. The exhibit is a work of art in itself.
5 One Nation: Patriots and Pirates Portrayed by N.C. Wyeth and James Wyeth, Ringling Museum of Art, October-Jan. 6, 2002. Reminders of American patriotism by two members of the nation's best-known family of artists arrived with perfect timing, bringing not only works by two famous artists but also insights on the idealism and reality of wartimes past.
6 Crafts Is a Verb, Tampa Museum of Art, September-Dec. 30. A survey of the studio craft movement from the 1950s to the present leads us to a greater appreciation of works made individually by the hands of masters. Note: This show would have ranked higher if it had offered viewers more information about works on view.
7 Art Festival Beth-El, Temple Beth-El, St. Petersburg, January. Once again, a synagogue fundraiser remains the best place for serious buyers who may choose from new faces and old favorites, all tightly screened for quality and value. While the area's "Big Three" outdoor shows -- Gasparilla, Mainsail and Art Harvest -- each offer an overwhelming array of choices, Beth-El is the most selective.
8 UnderCURRENT/overVIEW5, Tampa Museum of Art, July-September. The museum's annual commitment to the area's artists expanded its geographic limitation, introducing us to some less familiar but no less worthy work. "UnderCURRENT/overVIEW" has become a welcome staple in the arts community.