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Spotlight on the Center for Visual Arts of Bonita Springs

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This page contains announcements, releases, reviews and news pertaining to the Center for Visual Arts of Bonita Springs.

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Sandy Scott retrospective enters second month at Center for Visual Arts Bonita Springs (11-01-15)

sandy 02Sandy Scott: A Retrospective is a major traveling museum exhibition comprised of a diverse retrospective range of 45 or more sculptures and 35 etchings and drawings that demonstrates the breadth and depth of Scott’s subject matter and treatment. The show begins its second month at the Center for Visual Arts Bonita Springs and will remain on display through December 31. The retrospective has been produced by Curator/Tour Director David J. Wagner, L.L.C. and is sponsored by The Sansom Foundation & SWFL Arts & Attractions Grant & the State of sandy 03Florida, Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

Sandy Scott received her formal art training at the Kansas City Art Institute and later worked as an animation artist for the motion picture industry. She turned her attention to etchings and printmaking in the 1970’s and to sculpture in the sandy 041980’s. 

On select Saturdays during the exhibition (vis; November 7 & 21 and December 5 & 19), the Centers for the Arts offers free Family Activity Days for children and adults. Families enjoy a quick guided tour of this fun and educational exhibition and complete art projects from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on these dates. For more information, please visit http://www.artcenterbonita.org.

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Focus on ‘Hot, Cold, COLOR’ 1st place winner and skyscape artist Celeste Borah (08-14-15)

US 41 Sky 01On view now through August 27 at the Center for Visual Arts Bonita Springs is It’s Hot, It’s Cold, It’s COLOR. Among the 122 two and three-dimensional artworks on display in the exhibition is US 41 Sky by local artist Celeste Borah which took 1st place honors from juror Anica Sturdivant, who is the Coordinator for the Art Galleries of Florida Gulf Coast University and has been with the Art and Gallery Program at FGCU since 2002.

Borah grew up on Long Island. After receiving a BFA (Fine Arts) from Pratt Institute in New York, she worked as an art director at several advertising agencies and retail chains in New York City for 35 years. Celeste relocated from New York to Southwest Florida ten US 41 Sky 02years ago. Always nurturing her talent for art, she pursued her interest in drawing and painting at Florida Gulf Coast University, where she met her husband, Carl Schwartz, who was a professor of art at FGCU at the time.

Some of Celeste’s most notable works include large graphic drawings of the sky with clouds on canvas. These large, dramatic drawings are rendered with borah 01such amazing detail and clarity, they stop viewers in their tracks. She also devotes the same vision and energy to her Sky Paintings, one of which, Lee Road Sky, garnered Best of Show in the National Art Encounter 2012-2013 exhibit at The von Liebig in Naples.

“I am awestruck by the fantastic, extraordinary Southwest Florida skies. I can watch them for hours, or steal a glimpse when stopped at a traffic US 41 Sky 04light for a just few seconds,” confides Celeste. “I am amazed by sunsets, exhilarated by lightning and mesmerized by cloud formations. My objective in my artwork is to convey the drama, excitement and impressiveness of the tropical sky by creating compositions that make the viewer sense the enormity and feel the thrill I get when I see this spectacular sight.”

Borah has exhibited and won awards at many art organizations including the Naples Art Association at The von Liebig, the Center for the Arts Bonita Springs, the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda, the Alliance for the Arts, the Art League of Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach Art Association. Celeste’s work has also been shown at several galleries from Naples to Fort Myers, as well as at Florida Gulf Coast University, Physicians Regional Hospital and the Broadway Palm Theatre Gallery.

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Surprising choice of color of water garners ‘Three Muscovies’ Best of Show award (08-13-15)

Three Muscovies 02It’s Hot, It’s Cold, It’s COLOR opened at the Center for Visual Arts Bonita Springs last Friday. From the 122 works submitted by 61 artists, juror Anica Sturdivant selected The Three Muscovies by Donna Venditto as Best of Show.

Sturdivant is the Coordinator for the Art Galleries of Florida Gulf Coast University and has been with the Art and Gallery Program at FGCU since 2002. Three Muscovies 04During that span, she has seen and evaluated a lot of art. Sturdivant has curated more than 30 exhibitions and has served as juror for the Alliance for the Arts, BIG Arts, Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, Sanibel-Captiva Arts and Crafts Festival and the Center for the Arts Bonita Springs. So it speaks volumes about Venditto and The Three Muscovies to be chosen Best of Show by Anica.

“As with any jurying process, there are many possible choices for each category of award,” states Sturdivant, sharing insight into her selection process. In this regard, Anica was swayed in the jurying and award process by the parameters expressed in the call to Viewer 07artists, which stated that “uses of intensity, saturation, vibrancy and hue convey a message or emotion …” Thus, the works that appealed to her most were those that used color in an unexpected, intense or dynamic way, and what she was particularly impressed by when it came to The Three Muscovies was Venditto’s “surprising choice of color for water.”

“I encourage everyone to walk amongst the art, take it all in and enjoy this wonderful collective statement of the creative spirit in our community,” Anica encourages. The show runs through August 27.

Center of the Arts of Bonita Springs 01The Center for Visual Arts is located at 26100 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs, Florida 34135. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, please telephone 239-495-8989 or visit http:///www.artcenterbonita.org.

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‘It’s Hot, It’s Cold, It’s COLOR’ exhibition opens at Center for Visual Arts of Bonita Springs (08-09-15)

Viewer 04It’s Hot, It’s Cold, It’s COLOR opened at the Center for Visual Arts of Bonita Springs last Friday. It contains 122 works by 61 artists in a wide variety of media and genres. The show runs through August 27.

Anica Sturdivant judged the show. Sturdivant is the Coordinator for the Art Galleries of Florida Gulf Coast University and has been with the Art and Gallery Program at FGCU since 2002. During Three Muscovies 04that span, she has curated more than 30 exhibitions. Anica has served as juror for the Alliance for the Arts, BIG Arts, the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, Sanibel-Captiva Arts and Crafts Festival and the Center for the Arts Bonita Springs. Her degree is in Studio Art and Art History, with a minor in Anthropology. She has been a freelance graphic artist over 20 years.

Anica chose:

  • Best of Show:  The Three Muscovies by Donna Venditto
  • 1st Place:  US 41 Sky by Celeste Borah
  • 2nd Place: Sunflowers and Lotus by Nuch Owen
  • 3rd Place:  Noodle Bash by Joan Stobart
  • US 41 Sky 034th Place:  The Pianist by Ed Ryman
  • 5th Place:  Temple at Lake Tamblingan by Jessica Todd
  • 6th Place:  Earl Grey with Cream by Ara Lou Panutsos

Three Muscovies, Sunflowers and Lotus, Temple at Lake Tamblingan, and Earl Grey with Cream are the only works that Venditto, Owen, Todd and Panutsos submitted for inclusion in the exhibition. Sunflowers and Lotus 05In addition to US 41 Sky, Celeste Borah also has on display a painting titled Rosy Sunrise. Stobart and Ryman each have three works in the exhibit.

The Center for Visual Arts is located at 26100 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs, Florida 34135. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, please telephone 239-495-8989 or visit http:///www.artcenterbonita.org.

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