While the custom T-shirts in his one-artist-show, The Many Faces of Richie Brasil, have been getting attention, there's another aspect of Brasil's show that shouldn't be missed, one with a bit of a story.

Visiting friends and family in Boston, Brasil stops in his brother’s vintage shop—a friend asked for postcards and Brasil thought vintage would be funny. The shop is cool and so is his brother and he leaves with booklets of old snapshots ready for a postmark. He gets a good deal. Brasil forgets about them until it comes time to pack for the return trip home. He opens one up then, he says, “and they were the most appalling images you’d ever seen.”

Flip: two black children hoist a watermelon between them and grin. Flip: a young black boy in ragged clothes lays his head on a sack of cotton in beatific repose. Flip: the photographer doubles down and lays three black children in an even bigger pile of the stuff—all smiles. It’s a record of early-20th-century racism more than any traveler’s keepsake. Brasil’s shocked, shaken and hurt, but can’t throw them away. “The more I sat with them,” he says, “it dawned on me that I had this opportunity to, in a sense, repaint history.”

Working in a series of triptychs, Brasil’s ensuing series, Foo’s Gold, reimagines these racist artifacts to capture “how innocent they could have been.” Under Brasil’s brush (or finger), watermelons become bulging treasure chests and cotton bales become river chop and patched clothes become three-piece suits. But the key word is repaint history, not to paint over. Each reimagined image is presented next to the original and a copy with the word VOID red-stamped across. The reality remains and the reimagining is still a lie in its way, says Brasil, and the series is called Foo’s Gold for a reason.

With a handful complete, Brasil says there are many more to come, fueled by many more images—some far worse. It can be painful, he says, but that only furthers the need. “This can be a way of starting dialogue about race in America so people can have an honest conversation about how things are and how things were,” says Brasil. “I don’t necessarily have all the answers, but dialogue is important right now.”

Selections from Foo’s Gold are currently on display as part of Brasil’s one-man-show The Many Faces of Richie Brasil exhibiting at Solid. 

Pictured: "Returned Wealth" by Richie Brasil. Courtesy of the artist.

It's hard not to notice when rockstar restauranteur Mark Caragiulo and his team launch another hotspot and hit a home run. That’s the case with Veronica Fish and Oyster. Even if you can’t score a table on any given night, there’s usually a seat open, or opening up, at the bar. Rather then give you the full story, here is an abbreviated and coveted version of must-order food and beverage menu items.

Inside, the atmosphere lends a lively buzz amidst a timeless classic yet modern feel. The marble-top bar, furnished with both arm and foot rails and high-back barstools, invites you to get comfortable and stay awhile. With a menu centered around fish—just as the name implies—a must-order item is the redfish on a half shell with chili lemon butter, blue lump crab and watercress, finished with fine herbs. Another winner is the wood grilled grouper, served alongside lobster giardiniera and confit fingerling potatoes. To start, a fine selection of crudo (think Italian sashimi) is offered; try the king salmon accompanied with kimchi puree, mango and avocado.

Fall for the Resolution, a perfect aperitif, made with St. Germaine, grapefruit, lemongrass vodka and Americano. While some drinks are sure to remain staples—see the charred jalapeño margarita—look for Veronica's seasonal cocktails on tap. A well-thought-out wine list, heavy on white selections, offers a mix of both Old and New World wines sure to please any oenophile’s palate. A handful of carefully selected local beers rotate on the taps and by-the-bottle selections offer local and nonlocal varietals including IPAs, ales, pilsners and ciders. 

Veronica Fish and Oyster, 1830 South Osprey Ave., Sarasota, 941-366-1342.

As Goodwill Manasota and The Florida Center for Early Childhood join forces for the 2016 Giving Challenge, to be held from noon to noon on September 20–21, Cool Today and Good News Pest Solutions have announced that they will match donations to the nonprofits collectively up to $10,000. Through the online giving profile, those who are interested in supporting Goodwill Manasota can make a donation to change lives through the power of work, or to The Florida Center for Early Children to Build Strong Families. 

The Florida Center for Early Childhood

WaWa, one of Sarasota’s newest gas station and convenience stores, donated $2,500 to Easter Seals Southwest Florida and the funds will provide therapy services for children in the community who are underserved. The WaWa Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded to encompass all of WaWa’s charitable giving to fulfill lives and support communities in more extensive ways than ever. The goal of WaWa and The WaWa Foundation is to commit $50 million to causes in support of "Health, Hunger and Everyday Heroes" by 2018. 

WaWa

Venice Regional Bayfront Health has been recognized as one of the best hospitals for 2016–17 in heart failure, chronic pulmonary disease, hip replacement and knee replacement by US News & World Report, and number 26 across all of Florida. The U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings, now in its 27th year, analyze hospitals across 25 specialties, procedures and conditions. Methodologies include objective measures such as patient survival, the number of times a procedure is performed, infection rates, adequacy of nurse staffing and more. 

Venice Regional Bayfront Health