C. Paul Jennewein: An Usher for a New American Style, Works from the Tampa Museum of Art

April 27, 2013 – July 20, 2013

Dorothy Jenkins Gallery and Gallery II

C. Paul Jennewein (1890-1978) was a highly regarded American architectural sculptor of the mid-20th century. He immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1907 and within four years of his arrival began receiving important national and international art commissions that drew upon his skills as an ornamental sculptor and as a painter. He is widely recognized for introducing the Art Deco style into American architecture.

Jennewein studied sculpture at the Art Students League in New York and won a three-year scholarship to study at the American Academy in Rome in 1916. The artist drew heavily from the art he studied during his four years in Italy, particularly mythological subject matter and the classical Greco-Roman tradition.

Following Jennewein’s death, more than 2,000 works from his studio were donated to the Tampa Bay Art Center (now Tampa Museum of Art) by his family. This exhibition features some of the pieces from Tampa Museum of Art’s permanent collection.

Exhibition sponsor:  Visit Central Florida

Reception sponsor: SunTrust

Reception: 6-8:30 p.m. Friday, April 26

The reception is FREE to members and $10 for guests.

Oil as Paint

March 23 – June 22, 2013

Perkins Gallery

While the genesis of oil painting is most commonly associated with the Renaissance, the earliest examples of oil paintings are Buddhist murals, dating to around 650 AD, found in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan caves. The paintings are most likely to be the works of artists traveling on the Silk Road, which was the largest trade and cultural route connecting the East and the West.

Oil painting did not become very popular, though, until the Renaissance when it began to replace tempera painting. During the Renaissance, artists mixed their own paints, combining oils with raw pigments from substances that they often ground themselves. Because of the difficulty of making the paint, artists were largely confined to their studios. All this changed, however, in 1841 when oil paint began to be mass produced in small, portable tubes. This new convenience allowed the artists to leave their studios and allowed for the spontaneity of the plein air painting of French Impressionism.

Since that time, oil painting has remained a very popular medium because of its affordability and accessibility. This exhibition features a selection of oil paintings from the Museum’s Permanent Collection.

Florida Artists

February 16, 2013 – June 9, 2013

Murray and Ledger Galleries

Florida’s vast cultural diversity nurtures a healthy contemporary arts scene. Each year, the Sunshine State hosts an array of arts festivals, including the internationally renowned Art Basel in Miami, which draw a number of artists from around the country.In addition to home-grown talents like James Michaels and William Kidd, many other artists, such as Ummarid “Tony” Eitharong and Humberto Calzada, have come to call Florida home. 

Because of its central location, the Polk Museum of Art has unique access to Florida’s diverse arts offerings. In fact, it was that accessibility that sparked the creation of the Museum’s Permanent Collection in 1970. Now containing nearly 3,000 objects from around the world, the Permanent Collection was originally based on works by Florida artists. These early additions were aided by the Mayfaire-by-the-Lake festival organized by the Museum each year on the banks of Lake Morton. With nearly 200 artists participating, many of whom are Floridians, the Museum always has a renewed resource to continue expanding its holdings of works by Florida artists.

This exhibition recognizes and celebrates several of those Florida artists whose works are included in the Polk Museum of Art’s Permanent Collection.

Coincidence: Works by Louviere+Vanessa

January 19 – April 20, 2013

Gallery II

Vanessa Brown and Jeff Louviere (known collectively as Louviere+Vanessa) are creative partners working to expand the experimental properties of photography.  From their home and studio in New Orleans, they constantly strive to push the bounds of image making and reinterpret traditional ideas of photography; using such alternative materials as gold leaf and Super 8mm film, Louviere+Vanessa succeed in breaking with convention. Their surreal subjects emerge from a sense of literary romanticism and tragedy and often include satirical undertones. This exhibition will be a survey of their work and will include pieces from nine different series of works.

Members’ Reception: 6pm-8:30pm, Friday, January 18, 2013
Exhibition Reception Sponsored by SunTrust

Exhibition Sponsors: Jonn & Elizabeth Hoppe, Webb Tanner & Deanna Rhodes-Tanner, and Kerry & Buffy Wilson

Catalog Sponsors: Fleetwing Corporation, Robert & Malena Puterbaugh, Webb Tanner & Deanna Rhodes-Tanner, Kerry & Buffy Wilson

With special thanks to Joshua Mann Pailet and A Gallery for Fine Photography

No Ordinary Days: Works by Maggie Taylor

January 19, 2013 – April 20, 2013

Dorothy Jenkins Gallery

Artist Maggie Taylor combines history and imagination.  The worlds she lays out in her digital creations include familiar imagery taken from found objects and 19th century daguerreotypes, which she scans and manipulates in her Gainesville, FL studio.  Although she retains aspects of their original content, she converts their historical and mysterious significances into something of sophisticated fantasy.  This exhibition will be a survey of Taylor’s work and will coincide with the release of her new book, No Ordinary Days.

Members’ Reception: 6 pm-8:30pm, Friday, January 18, 2013
Exhibition Reception Sponsored by SunTrust

Exhibition Sponsored by

The Muses

Sue Bentley
Carol Boyington
Sylvia Blackmon-Roberts
Lynda Buck
Kristen Carlson
Michelle Chandler-Raley
Beverly Hollis
Elizabeth Hoppe
Dorothy Jenkins
Karen Kovach
Karen Marker
Dixie Myers
Claire Orologas
Cheryl Philpot
Malena Puterbaugh
E. Beatty Raymond
Deanna Rhodes-Tanner
Linda Rich
Ann Rogers
Maria Saterbo
Sandy Sheets
Peggy Spirakis
Barbara Stampfl
Sheryll Strang
Anne Tucker
Diane Van Dusen
Buffy Wilson

PMoA Collects: Highlights

December 8, 2012 – March 16, 2013

Perkins Gallery

Following PMoA Collects, this new exhibition, PMoA Collects: Highlights, will give another teaser of some of the pieces that will be featured in the museum’s first Collections Catalog, including works by Robert Rauschenberg, Picasso, and Donald Sultan. The catalog will make the very best of our collections even more accessible to you, and will feature a stunning high-resolution photograph of each artwork, along with artist biographies, quotes, and discussion about technique and artistic styles.

Presently, we are still raising funds to make this catalog a reality. If you would like to help us reach our goal, please contact Palemeschia “Pal” Rivers Powell, ext. 240 or Powell@PolkMuseumofArt.org

1989

November 17, 2012 – February 10, 2013

Murray & Ledger Galleries

On June 21, 2012, Polk Museum of Art celebrated its 46th anniversary, and as we edge closer to the big 5-0, we think it is important to look back to our start.

The Museum was officially incorporated as the Youth Museum of Imperial Polk County on June 21, 1966, and opened for business in a small church building at 115 Walnut Street on December 11, 1967.  At first, volunteers from the Junior Welfare League (now Junior League), Junior Woman’s Club of Lakeland, Junior Sorosis Club and Keyettes at Lakeland High “staffed” the Museum.

The name was changed to Polk Public Museum at Lakeland: Science, History and Art, Inc. in 1968 and then shortened to Polk Public Museum. In 1970, the Museum moved into a former Publix Super Markets building on Palmetto Street. Eventually, the Board settled on a fine arts focus and on June 13, 1985, renamed the Museum for the last time:  Polk Museum of Art.

The current building – a work of art in itself with soaring 16-foot ceilings and marble-tiled floors — opened to the public in 1988. It was constructed for $5 million and opened debt-free.

1989 was the first full year that the Museum was open and to celebrate, the 1989 exhibition will showcase some of the pieces that were collected during that year.

In Vibrant Color: Vintage Celebrity Portraits from the Harry Warnecke Studio

October 27 — January 12

Dorothy Jenkins Gallery

Polk Museum of Art will show the National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibition, In Vibrant Color: Vintage Celebrity Portraits from the Harry Warnecke Studio, a collection of color photographs of celebrities who rose to fame at a time when color photography was in its infancy. The exhibition opens October 20 and will be on view through January 12, 2013.

This exhibition has been organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition is the first Smithsonian show being brought to the Polk Museum of Art, which became a Smithsonian affiliate in fall 2010. The Smithsonian Affiliations program  offers museums, non-profit cultural institutions and educational organizations across the country the opportunity to have access to Smithsonian collections, programs and expertise.

Warnecke (1900-1984), a pioneering photographer at the New York Daily News, designed a one-shot camera in the 1930s that yielded color images for the Daily News’ Sunday magazine. Over the next 30 years, he photographed hundreds of newsmakers in a specially designed studio ― Hollywood icons, sports heroes and military and government leaders.

This exhibition of 24 color photographs from the 1930s and 1940s includes actors Lucille Ball and Roy Rogers, trumpeter Louis Armstrong, baseball star Ted Williams, Olympian Babe Didrikson Zaharias and General George S. Patton. Most of the photos were donated by Warnecke’s widow to the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

For more information on this exhibition, please visit the National Portrait Gallery website at http://npg.si.edu/exhibit/exhwarnecke.html.

Local support has been provided by:

Visit Central Florida
BB&T

Anonymous
AT&T
McKay Enterprises
The Ruthvens

About Face

October 20, 2012 – January 12, 2013

Gallery I

What is it about faces that is so intriguing? Faces are often how we recognize and distinguish a person; they are used to confirm identity and oftentimes contribute to first impressions. It is a commonly-held idea that you can’t truly know someone without seeing their face; why else would so many comic book characters insist on unmasking superheroes? A curious people, we are mesmerized even by the faces of those we may never meet. The authors’ depictions on the back cover of our books. Mugshots of unfamiliar criminals in the newspaper. Countless celebrity portraits and paparazzi snapshots in every magazine.  There are literally tens of thousands of images of beloved icons Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana.

The About Face exhibition will feature portraits of all mediums from PMoA’s permanent collection.

Members’ Reception: 6pm-8:30pm, Friday, October 26, 2012

PMoA Collects

October 20, 2012 – January 12, 2013

Gallery II

In celebration of the museum’s thriving permanent collection, we will be releasing our first Collections Catalog, a compilation of ninety-two of our greatest pieces, including work by Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Herman Leonard, and Jerry Uelsmann. The catalog will help make our artwork even more accessible to you; the catalog presents each featured artwork in a stunning high-resolution photograph, and includes background information such as interpretations, artist biographies and quotes, and discussion about techniques and artistic styles.

While raising funds for the production of the Catalog, we would like to share a special sneak peek of what you can expect. The PMoA Collects exhibition will showcase some of the finest selections from the upcoming Collections Catalog.

If you would like to help us reach our goal, please contact Palemeschia “Pal” Rivers Powell, ext. 240.

PPowell@PolkMuseumofArt.org

Members’ Reception: 6pm-8:30pm, Friday, October 26, 2012

Annual Exhibition Sponsors

The Muses

Dorothy Chao Jenkins

Peterson & Myers, P.A.

National Endowment for the Arts

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Puterbaugh

The Reitzel Foundation

SunTrust Foundation

Mrs. George W. Truitt

Fleetwing Corp.

Heacock Insurance

Men of Iron

MISCELLANEOUS: New Works by Trent Manning

September 8 – November 11, 2012

Murray & Ledger Galleries

Trent Manning’s sculptures cleverly balance the often mismatching qualities of childlike whimsy and dark humor. As if on a sort of artistic seesaw, Manning pairs lighthearted elements such as alphabet blocks, rocking horses, and wagons with grimacing characters, boasting large bald heads, empty eyes, and prominent beaklike noses. The artist’s cynical wit and playfulness shine through his pieces. Assembling his sculptures from discarded metal, old tools, and wire, he transforms junk into eclectic masterpieces.

David Maxim

August 25 – December 1, 2012

Perkins Gallery

The elements of power and drama in David Maxim’s works are undeniable – tornadoes, masculine welders and warriors; even Maxim’s abstract pieces seem to evoke aggression. And yet, despite all of their strength, each subject reveals an equal measure of vulnerability. Maxim captures his warriors, not in the climax of battle, but in moments of weakness, facing grief, injury, and death. Trapped in Maxim’s images, the characters remain suspended in their pain; the absence of relief stretches the tension further. Some characters are even literally suspended, hanging by wires like marionettes and helpless to fight the greater power. His tornadoes, too, although invincible themselves, are reminders of imminent devastation and helplessness.

Invisible Elephant: New Works by Theo Wujcik and Kirk Ke Wang

July 7 – October 13

Galleries I & II

The central concept for this exhibition of contemporary artworks will be an ancient parable telling of six blind men who encounter a large elephant.  According to the parable, each man feels a different part on the elephant and defines what they are encountering based on their individual perspectives.  One blind man feels the elephant’s trunk and concludes it is bamboo.  Another man touches the elephant’s ear and believes it to be a fan.  A third man feels the elephant’s leg and decides it is a pillar.  The remaining three men feel other distinct parts of the elephant and develop alternative ideas as to what it is they are encountering.  The underlying message of this parable is the diversity of interpretation and how respective interpretations are often false because they are based on synecdochial information.  The story itself has several different iterations traversing various cultures and religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism and Jainism.

The idea for this exhibition began last year after Wujcik and Wang partnered to produce new paintings for an unrelated group project at Polk Museum of Art titled Visual Unity 2, which paired artists to co-produce new art works for exhibition. While collaborating on this project, their individual interests in the other’s national identity became apparent. Their two collaborative paintings and each of their individual pieces were fluent and woven into their cross cultural grounding.  For Invisible Elephant, Wujcik and Wang will work individually to produce new works based on their different perspectives in relation to the other’s cultural background.

Members’ Reception: 6pm-8:30pm, Friday, September 21, 2012

Annual Exhibition Sponsors

The Muses

Dorothy Chao Jenkins

Peterson & Myers, P.A.

National Endowment for the Arts

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Puterbaugh

The Reitzel Foundation

SunTrust Foundation

Mrs. George W. Truitt

Fleetwing Corp.

Heacock Insurance

Men of Iron

Outsider vs Folk

Murray & Ledger Galleries

June 2, 2012 – September 2, 2012

The term art brut was first coined by twentieth-century French artist Jean Dubuffet.  Art brut (or ‘raw art’) labeled the growing interest in art produced by patients in asylums and called attention to the viability of artworks produced by artists living beyond the realm of popular culture.  According to Dubuffet, “Those works created from solitude and from pure and authentic creative impulses – where the worries of competition, acclaim and social promotion do not interfere – are, because of these very facts, more precious than the productions of professionals.”  In 1972, the term outsider art became the official English translation of art brut and remains the most widely accepted description of such artworks.  However, in recent decades, the American renditions of these unique artworks have spurred renewed interests and sharper criticisms.  As a consequence, the term folk art, with its more negative connotations, has become the common nomenclature.  This exhibition uses such pieces from Polk Museum of Art’s permanent collection to initiate a conversation about the contemporary state of art brut.

Surface Effects

January 28 – April 21, 2012

Perkins Gallery

Prickly. Gritty. Rough. Smooth. Fuzzy. Texture in artwork creates additional interest because it appeals to two of our senses, touch and sight, instead of just one. It incites curiosity and provokes imagination. Texture can be used to give a two-dimensional object the illusion of being three-dimensional. It can be deceptive, giving cold, solid marble the appearance of being light and soft. Surface Effects explores the various applications of texture in artwork.

3-D

April 28 – August 18

Perkins Gallery

Sculpture has become a common part of modern-day life, coming in all shapes and sizes, from lawn gnomes to mannequins to public art. Sculpture was originally used for religious or political purposes, like the Sphinxes of ancient Egypt or the idols of Mayans or Incas. Sculpture gained popularity in ancient Roman and Greek societies and was explored again during the Renaissance. Since then, sculpture has been increasingly used as an artistic medium. 3-D will showcase sculptures from the museum’s permanent collection.

Albert Paley: Sketches & Steel

March 31-June 23, 2012
Gallery I & II

Albert Paley’s use of steel can be described as industrial poetry. His large sculptures combine an apparent heaviness with an almost lost sense of gravity as unfurled and animate forms construct massive works of art. Upon seeing his work, it is surprising to learn that Paley completes for each piece a planning process that includes an abundance of preliminary sketches and cardboard models. This exhibition will focus on both sides of Paley’s creative process: the plan and the end product. His steel sculptures will be on view alongside the initial sketches Paley produced to create the sculptures. By understanding Paley’s process, viewers will gain a new perspective on his constructed steel creations.

Sponsored by:

Heacock

and The Men of Iron

Hunt Slonem: An Expressive Nature

December 17-March 24, 2012
Dorothy Jenkins Gallery

Contemporary works by New York- and Louisiana-based artist Hunt Slonem are sought after by collectors from around the world.  His vibrantly colored works can be found in nearly 100 international museum collections and countless other corporate and private collections. Slonem’s expressive paintings pivot between the fantastic and the natural. As a youth in Hawaii, he developed an early affinity for nature, especially the various species of tropical birds living on the island. These natural forms ultimately became the subjects for his artworks, appearing in large lavishly colored paintings and constructed sculptures. As an artist, Slonem is fascinated by the many expressive faculties of color. His paintings are layered with thick brushstrokes of vivid color, often cut into in a cross-hatched pattern that adds texture to the overall surface of the painting. This surface patterning combines with the rich colors and recognizable subject matter to create paintings that are as physically exciting as they are aesthetically rich.

Günter Wirth

November 19-February 26, 2012

Murray & Ledger Galleries

Günter Wirth is a German artist who has dedicated his artistic career to the exploration of geometric forms, primarily rectangles and circles. He studied at the Academy of the Fine Arts in Berlin and later received a degree in civil engineering. As his work developed, he became increasingly interested in exploring the potential within two-dimensional space. He flattened and minimized his use of color and began using a rectangle, which he viewed as an “O” with squared corners, as a means of extending the space of the picture beyond the frame. The rectangle also serves as a counterpoint to the more organic or more fluid imagery within, behind or beyond the rectangle.

From the Flat Files

March 3 – May 26

Murray & Ledger Galleries

Most museum-goers only ever get to see a fraction of a museum’s collection. Due to the cost, time, and space required to frame and house artwork, a large portion of museums’ pieces go unframed and are stored in flat files, cabinets where artwork is laid flat in drawers. These pieces are unfortunately hidden away from the rest of the world, only seen by a select few of the museum staff. In From the Flat Files, the museum will reveal some of its never-before-seen treasures.