"Hearts on Fire," a post-V-day art show inspired by love and Valentine's Day is now on display at The Sake Bomb, a downtown St. Petersburg bar hangout. Vinyl records are spun by DJ's, bands play, and sake, plum wines and beer flow courtesy of Sake Bomb. The current art show opened on February 15th, 2013, and will be on display until March 1st.
The art show, reflecting on the good and the bitter aspects of love, was organized by Zulu Painter, Derek Donnelly, Saori Murphy, Laura Spencer, Jason Bromley, and Tai Swank. All original 2-D and 3-D work is shown, created in a variety of media that is painted, splattered and welded.
At the event opening, Matthew Finkelstein was the Love Doctor, doing comedy and passing the bucket for the raffle. Live music was performed by St. Petersburg native Emily Turnage.
Participating artists include:
Cheryl Murphy
Aurailieus Artist
Renee Marie Little
Frank Strunk III
Jennifer Kosharek
Derek Donnelly
Laura Spencer
Sebastian Coolidge
ZOMG
Jason Bromley
Lexi West
Bato Ijacic
Cassandra Kammerer
Alexander Dropcloth
Jenipher Chandley
Lorinda Fore
Tony Lima
CyberCraft Robots
Reid Jenkins
Bella Dark Studios
Brandon Pearce DKC
Lea Umberger
John Taormina
Meredith Goerlich
Zos
ZuluPainter
Check out the slide show with this article to see many of the pieces that are available for sale at the downtown venue.
Sarah Thee Campagna, Primary Robot Creator of CyberCraft Robots, worked around the clock for 48 hours, with no sleep, to create "Love Hertz", a sculpture that rotated on its base. "The male robot's heart hole glows," said Campagna. "The heart in the woman's hand pulses red too. The lights of the piece are very important to me, because it's a big part of the design. From this angle you can see the male robot's facial expression. The female robot has ripped the male robot's heart out."
"Men who were there when I dropped it off were like, 'Oh man! She has ripped his heart out!' Must have resonated with something they had experienced," she said. "Also, 'Hertz' is a measure of frequency. It happens that the heart (in her hand) blinks at the frequency of 1 Hertz."
Campagna says her work is not welded, but, "all done with fasteners. This is part of the basic essence/identifying nature of my work."
An arresting kinetic metal piece, "Eternal Flame," was shown by Frank Strunk III. He said his sculpture is the second in a series he was making of mechanical hearts. "It's about navigating love relationships," he said.
Jason Bromley showed, "She Drives Me Nuts", a sculpture actually made of welded steel nuts. "It's kind of like a form and figurative sculpture," said Bromley. "I started out my art career doing bronze. I love the female figure. This piece is rigid and industrial, but it still flows at the same time. It's still organic."
Jenipher Chandley shared her inspiration for a softer, romantic piece she made, called, "Morning Walk." "I thought about how men always like a woman with her man's shirt on, just falling off the shoulders. I thought of a simple morning's walk, the morning light coming in through the window," said Chandley. "I thought about how a woman could be sexy and yet not completely exposed."
To become involved in the downtown art scene, Chandley wrote, "Art Meet Up/Every Wednesday at 8 p.m. in front of Sake Bomb. This is an open group to all artists from every facet to meet one another. You realize that when people come together for a greater cause it starts something wonderful. Live painting group discussions, drinking, dancing, event planning, with everything else creative people do. Let loose and be you."
In "Black, White and Red," a mixed media piece by Meredith Goerlich, a much darker vision was expressed. "It's about women as objects," Goerlich said. "I conceived this right around the time that woman Senator was shot. (Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona) Anybody can snap. It's about society as a whole. Events are going to happen no matter what, and they all seem to blend together."
Aurailieus Artist commented that he has been on the receiving end of his piece, "God Loves Ugly," an acrylic painting on canvas. The multi-talented artist has starting a kickstarter project to try and fund a short film or series of films documenting the growing downtown St. Petersburg art scene called, "No Art Here: City of St. Petersburg."
After the opening, Jason Bromley wrote on Facebook, "Hearts on Fire! was ON FIRE!! Thanks to All of the Artists (Musicians, Photographers, painters, comedian) for making events like this possible! Thank you Sake Bomb for giving us a beautiful place to share our Art. Thank you to All of the Art lovers out there who support our passion and dreams just by showing up! More to come!!"
the Sake Bomb
548 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
(727) 542-8893
Web site, Facebook
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