Artists from across the country flock to Florida for its amazing light, so it’s not like the summer sun is going to shut these galleries down. Take a stroll down Palm and beyond, and see what local curators have in store.

Art Center Manatee

Art Works   On display through July 26, this open, all-media, juried exhibition invites members and non-members alike to submit up to three works of art for consideration.

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Art Center Sarasota

Cycle 6   In Gallery 1, celebrated local watercolorist Judy Saltzman enjoys her first solo exhibition with ACS, while Gallery 2 features sculpture and internet-inspired photo-collages and videos from the Brooklyn-based Kyle Petreycik. In Gallery 3, a summer invitational showcases contemporary printmaking from artists around the world, and Gallery 4 will hold a juried exhibition open to all media and subject. On display from July 18 to August 23.

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Art Ovation Hotel

Honoring A Teacher: A Tribute to Leslie Lerner   Likely the area’s only eight-story-tall exhibition, this collaboration between the hotel and Ringling College of Art and Design sees Lerner’s fantastical worlds take over the main lobby, while work from former students like Julie Kanapaux, Michael Crabb, Nancy Turner and Tim Jaeger exhibit through the floors above. On display through October 2.

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Art Uptown Gallery

Evelyn McCorristin Peters    Introducing the latest artist to join Sarasota’s oldest artist collective, this exhibition features paintings inspired by Peters’ recent travels across the US, by which she encourages the viewer to escape their own bubble. Just opening under the Big Red Awning, the show runs through July 27, with an artist reception on July 5.

Dog Days of Summer  Now in its 11th year, this annual juried show invites the public at large to submit their own works in two or three dimensions for a diverse display of regional art. Top artists receive two weeks display in the gallery’s front windows and prizes donated by local businesses. Opening July 27 and on display through August 30, an opening reception will be held on August 2.

Dabbert Gallery

Summer Showcase    Currently on display and running through September 30, this exhibition highlights the breadth of the artists regularly represented, including 24 painters, four sculptors, one printmaker, one pastel artist and one photographer. Of the exhibiting artists—which count local favorites like Barbara Krupp, Kasia Bruniany, Bill Farnsworth and Jeff Cornwell—nine hail from Sarasota.

Gaze Modern

Annual Summer Invitational Group Exhibition Parts 1 & 2

Sarasota’s newest gallery puts together a summer exhibition so huge it needs to be shown in two parts. In a search for more local artists to feature in coming seasons, this invitational gives regional artists in all media a chance to shine—and a chance for the community to vote for the artists they want to see this coming season. The first part runs through July 20, with the second half hanging from July 26 to August 24. 

In Plain Sight 

This multi-artist, multi-media exhibition emphasizes the moment of realization when it becomes clear to the viewer that there is more to see than meets the eye. Whether a hidden talent in a neighbor or the inner world of a stranger, realities abound beyond the surface, waiting to be appreciated. The exhibition goes up August 31 and comes down September 28.


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Ringling Museum

Fourth Quarter: Senior Athletes, Their Indomitable Spirit 

Featuring new work from photojournalist David Burnett, this project commissioned by his 2017 Greenfield Prize at the Hermitage Artist Retreat sees the artist training his lens on senior athletes across the country over a two-year period. Currently on display, the exhibition comes down on July 21.

Interpolations 

On display through September 8, this exhibition of modern and contemporary art features works from The Ringling’s permanent collection, in addition to new gifts from the Monda collection. Beverly Pepper’s lyrical steel sculpture, Curvae In Curvae came to the grounds in Spring 2018, to be joined by works from Teo Gonzalez, Yayoi Kusama and Richard Serra.

Natasha Mazurka: Order Systems 

The first solo museum exhibition for this burgeoning contemporary artist sees the debut of a new body of work comprising paintings, embossings and even site-specific installations for the Monda Gallery. Focused on the communicative potential of patterns occurring through architecture, biology, data systems and instructional code, Mazurka comments on the perceived order under it all 

The Fabric of India 

This special pre-season exhibition brings to Sarasota more than 140 examples of Indian fabric art from both private collections and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Showcasing the technical skill and artistry of Indian textiles from the 15th to the 21st centuries, admire the aesthetics while learning about its impact on religion, politics and trade. This exhibition opens July 7 and closes October 13.

Sun Xun: Time Spy  

A rare film exhibition highlights the work of Chinese artist Sun Xun. An accomplished fine artist in his own right, Sun Xun melds the traditional with the modern as ink painting, charcoal drawing and woodblock printing all play a role in his filmmaking. Opening August 11, the exhibition closes February 16.

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Selby Garden 

In Dialogue with Nature: Glass in the Gardens  Nearly 20 glass artists from the St. Petersburg Hot Glass Workshop and the Duncan McLellan Gallery lend their work to this fundraising exhibition in the gardens. All items will be available for purchase, with a percentage of the proceeds supporting Selby Gardens. Opening with a reception on July 12, the exhibition runs through August 25.