Sarasota’s visual art spaces will boldly go to many strange new worlds this winter and spring. These four voyages are bold indeed. You’ll enter the shadowlands where Victorian mediums and mountebanks talked to the dead; meet a 20th-century artistic giant who helped transform sleepy Sarasota into a thriving artists’ colony; get a gentle reminder not to stomp on our wonderful world; and see modern life through the eyes of a visionary African-American artist.
These close encounters will take you out of this world. But be warned. These missions are not for the faint of heart. Go, or don’t go. The choice is yours.
’William Hartman: An Artist’s Life’ – Ringling College
William Hartman was a game-changing painter and teacher who made his mark on Sarasota’s emerging art scene in the mid-20th century. This show honors his legacy with more than two dozen watercolors, a trove of photos, and tales from the artist’s travels. Thanks to the paintings, you can see where he went.
Hartman’s vivid watercolors reveal his life’s landscapes in bold strokes and bright colors. The atmospheric distances of Michigan’s countryside; the misty, morning light of Florida’s still-unspoiled beaches; and the raw, wild energy of Cortez Village, a Florida fishing community in its infancy. The WPA had launched Hartman’s artistic odyssey. It didn’t stop after he moved to Sarasota in 1945.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Hartman was still a prolific painter. He also taught the secrets of his art at both the Ringling School of Art and the Hartman School of Art, which he had launched with his wife, Martha. The artist’s passion for life drawing, landscapes, and portraiture inspired several generations of art students. Hartman’s art in this exhibition will inspire anyone who sees it. His artistic journey will, too.
Curated by Tim Jaeger and Bill Hartman, the artist’s son. Through March 28 at the Patricia Thompson and Skylight Galleries, 1188 Dr. Martin Luther King Way, Sarasota; 941-359-7563; ringling.edu/galleries
‘Chris Friday: Where We Never Grow Old’ – Sarasota Art Museum
Chris Friday is a versatile, visual storyteller. Friday’s art in her first solo museum exhibition shows how versatile she is. This artist tells her tales in multiple mediums with overlapping viewpoints. Friday looks outside herself to the world of objective reality. Her larger-than-life figure drawings capture inner character, but outward appearance is their starting point.
This African-American artist also keeps a close eye on the media. Seen from this perspective, her art becomes a frontline report on its shifting depictions of Black experience. But Friday also looks inwardly to the life of the human mind. Her “incorruptible environments” offer shelter from the storms of 21st century life. You can’t find them on any map. They’re imaginary sanctuaries though rooted in the realities of personal identity and heritage.
Friday also looks inside her own mind. Seen from this perspective, her work becomes a visual diary of her own experience. Friday looks at life from both sides in her creations and this show brings them together. The whole is clearly greater than the sum of its parts.
Curated by Rangsook Yoon. Through Aug. 10 at Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; 941-309-4300; sarasotaartmuseum.org
‘Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums’ – The Ringling
This otherworldly exhibition takes you back to the Spiritualist shadowlands at the turn of the last century. Phantoms were a global fad back then. This show’s trove of its spooky art and arcana includes spellbinding paintings, stage costumes, illusionist props, and vintage ephemera.
Mediums and magicians used some of these artifacts to talk to the dead. Really? According to true believers, yes. Crystal balls and Ouija boards were communications tools. Mystics like “Margery the Medium” and the Fox Sisters had them in their toolbox. When employed in their seances, chats between humans and specters often ensued. Were these ghost encounters fraudulent illusion or transcendent reality?
This show leaves that up to you. Believe it or not, you’ll be mesmerized by the era’s supernatural allure — and the insatiable human urge to peek behind the final curtain.
Organized by Peabody Essex Museum. March 15-July 13 at The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota; 941-359-5700; ringling.org
‘Epoch of Change: Footprints of Humanity’ – Art Center Sarasota
Has humanity been nice to Mother Earth? This multimedia, juried exhibition takes a long, hard look through the lens of visual art. Our species’ planetary impact snaps into sharp focus. The human footprint is huge – and hugely destructive. These thought-provoking artworks explore our uneasy relationship with other living things, competing cultures, and natural systems.
Their creators speak of transformation, resilience, and collective responsibility. They never scold. As Joni Mitchell once said, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” These artists remind us of the wonderful world we’ve still got before it’s gone. And challenge viewers to keep its wonders intact for future generations.
Curated by Dr. Lydia Wassink. March 13 – April 19 at Art Center Sarasota, 707 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; 941-365-2032; artsarasota.org
Arts Newsletter:Sign up to receive the latest news on the Sarasota area arts scene every Monday
Remembering a theater giant:Director Howard Millman who saved Asolo Rep from brink of closing, dies at 93
‘George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life’ – Selby Gardens
George Harrison’s gently weeping guitar was heard around the world. His passion for the art of gardening was known by few. It began in 1970 after Harrison bought the Friar Park estate – the brainchild of an eccentric Victorian aristocrat. Its sprawling gardens were in ruins by then. Harrison saw them as the work of a kindred spirit, and he spent the rest of his life restoring them.
“George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life,” the latest edition of Selby Gardens’ Jean and Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series, celebrates Harrison’s passion project with 11 vignettes reflecting his music, life, and love of nature. Highlights include “Ye (Gently) Weeping Garden,” a tribute to “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” and “Ye Palm Garden,” inspired by “Living in the Material World.” The show’s living art beautifully mirrors Harrison’s life-affirming creative ethos.
Curated by Dr. David Berry and Nathan Burnaman. Through June 29 at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 811 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota; 366-5731; selby.org.