<figure class="c-media c-media–image c-align–full" data-entity-class="image" data-entity-id="96603" data-entity-method="embed" data-image-align="center" data-image-caption="Orange You Happy 1, a painting by Gigi Ortwein that will be displayed as part of Shopliftable Pt. 2 at 502 Gallery” data-image-selection=”{“x1″:0,”y1″:0,”x2″:2409,”y2″:2409,”width”:2409,”height”:2409}” readability=”-20.940298507463″>
Orange You Happy 1, a painting by Gigi Ortwein that will be displayed as part of Shopliftable Pt. 2 at 502 Gallery
502 Gallery, Sarasota’s newest destination for visual art, opened in August with a show titled Shopliftable and featuring artwork “small enough to steal.” As with all successful franchises, there’s a sequel in the works: Shopliftable Pt. 2 opens at 5 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 16, and will be on display through Sunday, Dec. 22.
Both the original show and the sequel feature pieces from dozens of local artists, like Joseph Arnegger, Gale Fulton Ross and Jesse Clark. Among the creators included in Shopliftable Pt. 2 is Sarasota Magazine creative director Gigi Ortwein, who will show two of her gouache paintings as part of the exhibition. She’s been with the magazine since 1990, and while we know she has a rich life outside of work (which includes fostering baby raccoons), we don’t know where she finds the time to create her mini-masterpieces.
“Sometimes, it’s hard to find time,” Ortwein says. “When my daughter was in high school, I was downtown a lot and I started carrying a sketchbook with me. While I was waiting for her, I would pull it out just to draw. During Covid, I got a little more into doing plein air painting since it requires you to be outside and solo. It was a good way to get out of the house. I’ve sort of stuck with it, but I don’t do it nearly as often as I would like to.”
<figure class="c-media c-media–image c-align–center" data-entity-class="image" data-entity-id="96604" data-entity-method="embed" data-image-align="center" data-image-caption="Orange You Happy 2 by Gigi Ortwein” data-image-selection=”{“x1″:0,”y1″:0,”x2″:2819,”y2″:2819,”width”:2819,”height”:2819}” readability=”-18.666666666667″>
Orange You Happy 2 by Gigi Ortwein
502 Gallery is co-owned by Tim Jaeger, Cassia Kite Jaeger and Richard Mones. Ortwein met Tim Jaeger when taking one of his classes at Ringling College of Art and Design.
“I’d bring these teeny tiny canvases to the class,” she says. “He wanted me to go bigger, but I kept working small because that’s what I liked. It was easier to fix my mistakes. I guess he thought about me and my small canvases when coming up with the show, and invited me to participate. It’s my first gallery show I’ve ever done.”
Shopliftable Pt. 2 opens at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 502 Gallery, 502 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. The show will be on display until Sunday, Dec. 22, and the gallery is open noon-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. For more information, click here.