2021 Exhibitions

January

West Coast – East Coast
Metal Sculpture by Walt Mendenhall

January 4-30, 2021

Mendenhall graduated from Oregon State University in 1968. After serving a tour of duty in the Air Force as an instructor pilot, he returned to the family farm in Oregon where he began creating metal sculptures in 1975. He is a self taught sculptor, drawing on his natural surroundings for inspiration. Walt spent many years hiking the mountains and forests of the West. Since moving to Florida in 2012, he has developed new lines of tropical sculptures such as coral fish, palms, sea grapes and others as he explores the beauty of Florida and the ocean. 

Walt works with steel, stainless steel, copper and bronze in a variety of ways to present the natural patterns that surround us in an interpretive expression of form, color and texture. The striking contrast of the worked stainless and the rich tones of bronze produces an ideal combination for his more contemporary designs. He has capitalized on the many colors derived from heating metals, bringing to life all the different types of metals he works with, copper being the most colorful of all. His newer tropical fish designs now use alcohol inks for color as well. 

February

Open for Interpretation
a 3 women exhibit

February 1-27

Lori Pitten Jenkins, Renee Decator and Barbara Desrosiers explore what’s in a word… 9 words to be exact.

3 words, 3 artists, 27 works of art. Open for Interpretation, a 3 women exhibit, opens at Fifth Avenue Art Gallery on February 1, 2021. This exhibit will feature the work of Lori Pitten Jenkins, Renee´ Decator and Barbara Desrosiers. Come to the 1st Friday Opening Reception on February 5, from 5:30-8:30 pm to experience the different visions of these unique artists.

All 3 women are members of Fifth Avenue Art Gallery and each have a distinctly unique style and media. Lori Jenkins, a Florida native, is an internationally known watercolorist with a sharp sense of irony. Her watercolors can best be described as intense. Color and contrast play an integral part in her work. “The WOW factor is my ultimate goal.” (Lori Jenkins) Renee´Decator, also a Florida original, utilizes collage elements in vibrant and striking colors to fire up the viewer’s imagination. She describes herself as a ‘southern expressionist.’ Renee is heavily influenced by her surroundings and the experiences of growing up in the South. Barbara Desrosiers, a Florida transplant for 15 years, approaches her work from a technical point of view. Her work begins on an ipad, frequently from photos that she has taken, and is ultimately transformed into an ink transfer onto watercolor paper. She brings years of world travel and other cultures to her work. This exhibit promises to give you three distinctly different views of the same subjects.

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March

15 th Annual 100% Pure Florida, a juried exhibition

March 1-27

100% Pure Florida highlights the varied and extraordinary talents of local, regional and state-wide artists. Pure Florida refers to the artist’s residence. Subject matter and style are unlimited.

ELIGIBILITY: This call for artists is open to all Florida artists who are 18 years of age and up.

Jury/Judging Process: The show jury process is completed by a panel of five current gallery members. This is a juried show. Submission is no guarantee of acceptance. The Awards will be determined by a judge not associated with the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery. 

AWARDS: All awards will be based on the best single piece of work as determined by the solo judge.
1. First place receives a solo exhibition for Calendar year 2020 and an award of $500.
2. Second place receives an award of $300.
3. William R McCoy Memorial Award of $300
4. Third place receives an award of $200.
5.3 or more Merit awards of $100.

see more

April

Circularity
Art by Judy Edwards

March 29-May 1, 2021

Circularity, paintings by Judy Edwards, opening on March 29. Circularity is a collection of cold wax and encaustic paintings born of an abstract art journey. Edwards, a current member of Fifth Avenue Art Gallery, will be at the opening reception on Friday, April 2, from 5:30-8:30 pm to meet you and share her love of art with you.

Judy feels she was born to be an artist but never took it seriously until she was able to attend the Honolulu Art Academy as a young woman. She began her studies in figure drawing. After a move to New England she pursued her studies with Don Stone on Monhegan Island, in Maine. This venture into plein aire painting eventually gave birth to a 277 day painting trip around the world with her 13 year old daughter. That trip resulted in a solo show in Newport, RI with 70 paintings. She eventually wrote a book about her trip, Journeys: a grand adventure around the globe and within.

After a move to Florida in 2001 she began working in abstract in earnest and mastered encaustic (hot wax) painting at the Ringling Art School. That led to encaustic monotypes and eventually to Cold Wax painting which is her current medium of choice.  

Edwards says of this exhibit “Circularity follows my career in art. Making art for me was never static, it has always been very dynamic and constantly moving, never going in a straight direction. I learn one thing and another follows. Circularity is also pertinent to our year of COVID -19, where we were housebound and socially isolated for so long. This has taken us in a somewhat circular pattern where in the end we will end up where we started only a little bit wiser.”

May

May 3-29

The World As I See It
Photos by Jim Kalupa

‘The World As I See It‘ an exciting show of Jim Kalupa’s world travels. Jim  has pursued two passions throughout his life, travel and photography, covering much of the world always with camera in hand.  As a result, much of his work is travel inspired.  Although Jim studied photography formally in the 1980s, career obligations required his full attention. However, after completing a business career of over forty years he became completely dedicated to his photo art which he views as a constantly evolving challenge.  His work is in galleries, art exhibitions, public and business venues and private collections coast to coast. 

Jim enjoys a great deal of variety in most aspects of life and that is reflected not only in his choice of subject matter but also in his eclectic style.  A style that is supported by today’s digital picture processing which enables artistic expression, limited only by the photographer’s imagination and creativity. It is 21st century art. And this suits Jim ideally as he often undertakes a metamorphosis of photographic imagery with fine art and other effects.  The results run a gamut of images “slightly tweaked” for exposure and clarity to those liberally and artistically enhanced; images that are sharp and vibrant to others that are subdued with watercolor overtones.  He calls his work “photo art” and observers are often reminded that they are viewing enhanced photography and not another art form. 

June

May 31- June 26

RUST, an invitational show

Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture… oh, but there’s so much more to rust. The unique, ever changing characteristics that remind us of the possibility of beauty in decay.

You can portray rust in your artwork: paintings, fiber, sculpture, photography etc. or you might decide to use rust within your chosen medium to express a feeling or mood about your subject matter.

RUST will be an invitational show and will include gallery members and non-members. We’d love to see what you can do with RUST.

July

Works in Progress
a member show

June 28- July 31

This exhibit will highlight the process of art! For many artists the process of making art can be as important as the finished piece. Creativity is good for the body and soul! We’ve asked our member artist to give us insight into their processes, and to show us some of their WORKS IN PROGRESS, alongside a piece of completed artwork. We hope you will enjoy learning about the way artists create.

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August

Lost & Found
an invitational exhibit

August 2 -28

Back by popular demand… This exhibit is all about creativity, and YOU are invited to participate. We had the original Lost & Found show several years ago and along with being an exciting opportunity for creative types, it was a fabulous exhibit of finished work that everyone loved.

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How it works…

You, the creative person (you don’t have to be a “professional artist) purchase one of our pre-assembled kits which contains all the “elements” that you must include, in some manner, to create your mixed media assemblage. You can add to it to go further than what’s in the kit… that’s just part of being your creative-self. We hope you take the challenge. Order you kit! The finished artworks will be displayed and for sale, throughout the month of August and we will have an exciting opening reception for all our participants on Friday, August 6th. LIMITED SPACE! Kit fee $45 (no additional fee to participate)

September

August 30 – September 25, 2021

100% Pure Florida Winner Solo Exhibition

October

September 27 – October 29, 2021

Solo Exhibit by gallery member, Sue Tully

Join us at Fifth Avenue Art Gallery on Friday, Oct. 1, from 5:30 – 8:30 for the opening of Soul Songs, a collection of watercolor and acrylic paintings by Sue Tully.  In Sue’s words, “We are living in a time where there is uncertainty, difficulty and sorrow all around us.  Still, we can choose to look for the love, kindness and beauty that is also present.  I long to focus on the latter and, as an artist, bring the viewer into this world with me.  I find that in His creation, God has provided much that can comfort, sooth and lift our spirit.  I hope to convey that in my paintings and pray that the songs and worship of my heart can lead you to the same peace I have found.
This exhibit runs from September 27 to October 29.  

Tara Warley in the Pop-Up Gallery
September 27 – October 29, 2021

Tara Warley

Artist Bio

After what felt like a lifetime in the corporate world, I called it quits. I jumped into the entrepreneur world during the summer of 2018. I started working with my brother helping him expand his solopreneur training startup, LifeSkillsThatMatter.com. I currently head up operations, finance and the tech side of things. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been painting. It’s a way to express my feelings, thoughts and emotions. I’m not always good at getting my point across through words, so when I get stuck, I paint. The paintings are an expression of how I am feeling, what I am thinking or how I visualize a person, a situation or even a conversation.
Stretched canvas, left frameless is my preference. I love the minimalist, no distraction aesthetic. All pieces are done with acrylics. My work is typically very heavy-handed with the paint to add a strong texture. I mix my own colors for a unique expression and enjoy splashes of metallic’s to bring it all together.
I want everyone who sees these paintings to get in touch with what they see or feel, not what I was feeling when the paint hit the canvas. While the paintings are titled, I don’t want to impose a feeling or interpretation on the viewer. It’s important to me that they form their own connection or create their own moment, giving them something to reflect on each time they see the painting. ~Tara Warley

November & December

39th Annual Holiday Craft Show

November 2- January 2, 2022

We’ll be celebrating the holidays with a “White Christmas “ theme at Fifth Avenue Art Gallery this November and December. Join us for the 39th Annual Holiday Fine Craft Show. We invite artisans from across the country to participate, to bring a wide collection of one-of-a-kind handmade items for every name on our patrons’ gift lists. The exhibition/sale runs from November 2, 2021 to December 31, 2021. Our First Friday Artwalk opening will be on November 5th from 5:30 – 8:30. 

Participating Artists