News and Public Media for North Central Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Artwalk Gainesville Gives Downtown an Artistic Feel

Tierra Libre band members Russell Perez (left), Amancio Perez and Silvestre Hernandez play Latin American music outside of Artisans’ Guild Gallery for visitors passing by on Friday, March 27, 2015. Tierra Libre has been a band for 5 years. (Photo by Sydney Dixon)
Tierra Libre band members Russell Perez (left), Amancio Perez and Silvestre Hernandez play Latin American music outside of Artisans’ Guild Gallery for visitors passing by on Friday, March 27, 2015. Tierra Libre has been a band for 5 years. (Photo by Sydney Dixon)

 

Frank Curtis sat on a chair in front of his display of suitcase-arranged art hung on the wall.

“They’re (suitcases) a good metaphor for our baggage, our memories, our travels, our adventures, our lives,” Curtis said. “We put everything in them.”

Along with the suitcases, Curtis displayed hand-colored etchings and large pastel drawings in Lennie Kesl Artist Studios, located on South Main Street in downtown Gainesville.

Right next door was Sweetwater Print Cooperative, a gallery focused on printmaking, that presented a mixed media exhibit by Laura Richards.

Residents, families and students filled downtown galleries and took part in the art experience.

Richards’ exhibit, “Departure,” included works she made this year from acrylic paintings to sculptures. Each piece explored departure and what it means to depart from a place, time or familiar comfort.

Richards also used a series of mixed media encaustics, a wax-based medium, to display the story of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.

Curtis and Richards were two of many artists who displayed artwork around downtown for Artwalk Gainesville’s event on Friday from 7-10 p.m.

Many of the studios gave visitors an opportunity to purchase art and paintings.  Artwalk Gainesville is a free event that provides a variety of art and entertainment held the last Friday of each month with venues spread throughout downtown.

Sydney is a reporter for WUFT News who may be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org