PLEASE NOTE: All exhibition descriptions are excerpts from Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art's quarterly newsletter. 2009
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Past Exhibition Highlights |
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2005 2004 |
2003 2002 |
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January 18 - March 12 It’s a Dog’s Life: Photographs by William Wegman Members Opening Reception: 7 - 9 p.m., Saturday, Jan 17, 2009 The paintings, drawings and videos of artist William Wegman are well known, but the photographs of his beloved Weimaraner dogs have gained him international recognition. After receiving a BFA from Massachusetts College of Arts in Boston in 1965 and MFA from the University of Illinois in Urbana in 1967, Wegman moved to California in 1970 where he adopted his first Weimaraner, affectionately known as Man-Ray. Over the years Man-Ray and Fay-Ray, who entered Wegman’s life in 1986, became the central figures in a series of photographs that conveyed the very “human” characteristics of the Weimaraner breed combined with the humor and creativity of the photographer. This exhibition includes 29 large-format Polaroid photographs created by William Wegman from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. The exhibition, circulated by the Museum of Florida Art, Deland, comes from the collection of the Polaroid Corporation. Barbara Hitchcock, Cultural Affairs Director for Polaroid, has served as the curator for the exhibition. |
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Anna Tomczak (American, b. 1948) |
Sanctuary: Anna Tomczak Photography Florida-based artist Anna Tomczak earned a BA degree in Theater Arts-Film Studies from Pennsylvania State University and a MFA in Fine Art Photography from the University of Florida. In the solitude of her studio - her “sanctuary” – she combines these backgrounds to craft thought-provoking photographic images. Tomczak actively collects objects for her subjects – skeletons, feathers, pottery, memorabilia, family history – and organizes them into studied still life assemblages, memento mori, that she photographs using a labor intensive technique that creates images with the pictorial quality of watercolors. This retrospective exhibition, organized by the Museum of Florida Art in Deland, spans forty years of work from early hand-painted gelatin silver prints to large-format Polaroid Image Transfers dating from 1993. Barbara Hitchcock also curated this exhibition and edited its accompanying monograph book on the artist. |
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Lindsay Rapp |
An Artistic Discovery: The 28th Annual Congressional Art
Competition and Exhibition for High School Students (Auditorium) Awards Ceremony and Reception: 7 - 9 p.m., Thursday, April 23, 2009 The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art and the office of Congressman Gus M. Bilirakis are pleased to present the 28th Annual Congressional Art Competition and Exhibition for High School Students in the 9th Congressional District. The museum will host an awards ceremony and reception on Thursday, April 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the auditorium and the exhibition will remain on view through May 9. To view the exhibition, please call to ensure the auditorium is unoccupied. Congress created this high school art initiative in 1982. Every summer, the Best of Show artworks from each participating congressional district are displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol’s Cannon Tunnel. In addition to Best of Show, LRMA sponsors three Awards of Merit and five Honorable Mention prizes. Southwest Airlines, an annual sponsor, provides airfare for the Best of Show winner and a parent to travel to Washington for the national ribbon-cutting ceremony in June. Other sponsors include Sonja and Gus Stefanadis of Tarpon Springs and Tropical Breeze. |
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Florida Artist Group: 58th Annual Exhibition
The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art is pleased to host the Florida Artist Group (FLAG) 58th Annual Exhibition. Founded in 1949, FLAG is the oldest organization in Florida for practicing artists. Its mission, “to stimulate attainment of the highest standards of creative art within the State of Florida,” is shown in this exciting exhibition representing 90 artists in a variety of media. The group’s annual statewide exhibition and symposium is held each year in a different Florida city and cultural institution. The juror of this year’s show was the internationally acclaimed artist Sam Gilliam from Washington, D.C. Gilliam currently has works on display at Leepa and lectured at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art in 2003 when his work was featured along with six other artists in the exhibition Expanding Expressions: Contemporary Prints from the Dorothy Mitchell Collection. Associated with the Washington Color Field Movement in the 1960s, Gilliam is known for his unique style of draped and suspended paintings. A national traveling exhibition entitled Sam Gilliam: a retrospective, was organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art and has toured in recent years. After a day of studying the art in the exhibition and attending the FLAG symposium, Gilliam selected the artists for awards that reflect both merit and the enduring history of the FLAG organization:
Learn more about Florida Artist Group. Sam Gilliam:Works in the Permanent Collection from the Dorothy Mitchell Collection On view through Sunday, June 28 In recognition of artist Sam Gilliam (American, b. 1933) as Juror of Awards for the Florida Artist Group’s 58th Annual Exhibition, the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art is pleased to showcase three works from our permanent collection as a related exhibition. The works are from the Dorothy Mitchell collection of contemporary prints gifted to the Leepa- Rattner Museum of Art in 2006 and created by Gilliam in 1994 at Berghoff-Cowden Editions, Tampa, as part of a collaborative print atelier in experimental screenprinting. |
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July 5 - Sept. 27 Triptychs by the Plein Air Cottage Artists of Indian Rocks Beach The three Plein Air Cottage Artists of Indian Rocks Beach share their creative talents to document the rapidly disappearing historic cottages along the Gulf Coast. Their interest in history was acknowledged in 2007 when they received the Florida State Preservation Award, the only one ever awarded to an artists’ group. The four triptychs in the exhibition include a panel done by each of the artists: Violetta, Mary Rose Holmes and Helen Tilston. |
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Aug. 2 - Aug. 30 ALLEN LEEPA (1919-2009) A Life in Paint The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art will present an exhibition, ALLEN LEEPA (1919-2009) A Life in Paint, a seventy year retrospective of the artworks of Allen Leepa. The exhibition will open on Aug. 2, with a special tribute beginning at 3 p.m. in the Fine Arts Lobby. Light refreshments will be served and all are welcome. This exhibition is part of the LRMA permanent collection and will remain on view through Aug. 30 in the North Gallery, Museum Lobby Gallery and the Leepa: Abstract Dialogues Gallery. Donations in Dr. Leepa’s honor can be made to the Allen Leepa Memorial Fund at LRMA. The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art is located just west of U.S. Highway 19 at 600 Klosterman Road, on the Tarpon Springs Campus of St. Petersburg College. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, with extended hours until 9 p.m. on Thursday. Sunday hours are from 1-5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and free to children and students with ID. Sunday admission is free and docent tours are offered at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Aug. 2 - 30 The Visual Arts Faculty of St. Petersburg College The museum welcomes an exhibition of artwork created by the visual arts faculty of St. Petersburg College. This exhibition focuses on the commitment of the art faculty to nurture arts education while establishing high standards of professional artistic development. A closing reception for the artists is Sunday, Aug. 30 at 3 p.m. |
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Angelo Mantas, (American, b. 1955) |
Sept. 13 - Nov. 8 Arnold Newman One World / One People Arnold Newman: One World, One People is an exhibition of 53 photographs by Arnold Newman (1918-2006). Considered one of the most important portrait photographers of the 20th century, Newman has been called the “father of environment portraiture” for his unique style of placing subjects in carefully composed settings to capture the essence of their work and personalities. |
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Sept. 13 - Nov. 8 Angelo Mantas Epitaph / Roadside Memorials in America Angelo Mantas is a Chicago-area photographer who also teaches at Columbia College. Inspired by the photography of Robert Frank and his landmark book The Americans, currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first publication, Mantas documents the American landscape, from the proliferation of urban signage to the phenomenon of makeshift memorials alongside roadways. |
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Through Nov. 8 Artists of the Hamptons: Selections from the Benjamin and Jean Gollay Collection
Hedda Sterne (Romanian/
American, b. 1910) This exhibition includes 11 works by artists who lived in the Hamptons on the eastern tip of Long Island. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Benjamin Gollay, a New York City attorney who had a home in East Hampton, was introduced to many artists of the Hamptons through his friend, famed art critic Harold Rosenberg. Benjamin Gollay and his wife Jean befriended these artists and he often provided legal advice in exchange for artwork. Over time, the Gollays amassed a collection that represents many of the important stylistic directions of American abstract expressionism and the New York School. Works by artists Ilya Bolotowsky, Dorothy Dehner, Elaine de Kooning, Robert DeNiro Sr., Ibram Lassaw, Robert Motherwell, Milton Resnik, Syd Solomon, and Hedda Sterne, as well as two works by Abraham Rattner from the museum’s collection, complete the exhibition. The museum extends a special thank you to Jean Gollay for sharing these wonderful works with our audiences. |
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Nov. 22, 2009 – Jan 10, 2010 Rocky Bridges (American, b. 1965) Tribute, 2009. Mixed Media, 20 1/8 x 17 1/2 in.
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Rocky and Friends:
An exhibition honoring the
35th Anniversary 
In celebration of the 
