The Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach has officially dedicated its Fine Arts Wing to artist and philanthropist Ellen Liman. A longtime board member and supporter, Liman recently opened a new gallery and studio in Palm Beach Towers, pledging all proceeds from her artwork sales to the school's foundation.
The second annual "Artists in the Garden" showcase recently launched as part of the month-long Arts in April festivities on Longboat Key. Held outside the Longboat Island Chapel, the two-day exhibition featured thirteen local artists, including Marie Therese Lacroix, Collin Rowland, and Reid Ryan Gerletti, who presented works ranging from oil paintings to furniture crafted from reclaimed wood. The event reported strong sales, with 30% of proceeds donated to the Longboat Key Foundation to support community improvement projects.
Rangsook Yoon, the senior curator at the Sarasota Art Museum (SAM), is departing her role to join the Frye Art Museum in Seattle as the senior director of curatorial affairs. Yoon will conclude her tenure at SAM on May 1, following the opening of the major loan exhibition "Something Borrowed, Something New," which features works by blue-chip artists like Louise Bourgeois and Ai Weiwei. Her move to Seattle follows a successful two-year period in Sarasota where she curated high-profile shows and participated in regional collaborations like Skyway 2024.
The Alliance for the Arts has launched its 40th Annual All Florida Exhibition, featuring 43 artworks selected from over 450 submissions across the state. Juried by Tim Jaeger, the director and chief curator of galleries at Ringling College, the exhibition showcases a diverse range of media including hyper-realist paintings, abstract works, and free-standing sculptures. The selected pieces by 39 different artists explore cohesive themes of identity, history, and place.
Two exhibitions in Sarasota trace the origins of the Sarasota Artist Colony, which flourished between 1945 and 1965. One is at Ringling College of Art and Design, titled “Origins: Sarasota Artist Colony, 1945-1965,” co-curated by Tim Jaeger and Bill Hartman. The other is at the downtown offices of Michael Saunders & Co. The Ringling College show features 36 works by colony artists, including Jon Corbino, Ben Stahl, Syd Solomon, and Craig Rubadoux, and places them in the context of post-World War II America, when the GI Bill and cheap rents attracted hundreds of artists to the small beach community.