On the Walls:

Exhibiting May, 2024: Jessica Basi

Exhibit Title – Pelagic Plastic Portraits

Statement

Time is running out. The unfettered, unprecedented urbanization of South Florida has given way to massive amounts of trash and debris, sewage spills, and harmful fuel and fertilizer runoff into our already fragile waterways and marine ecosystems. My artwork serves as a stark reminder that we share this world with other species who we cannot afford to continue to ignore.

Bio

I am a South Florida native, growing up in and around the water. My two-dimensional artwork is sculptural in nature and uses plastic debris and lumber that I personally harvest from our local canals and rivers. The challenge is using what I find to create stunning images depicting the beautiful, diverse and imperiled marine and bird species that are essential to our area. I serve as President of MangroLife, an environmental organization that removes ocean-bound trash from local waterways and plants mangroves in vulnerable areas. I am also a high school teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

In the Showcase:

Exhibiting May, 2024: Allen Finkel

Exhibit Title – From Sorrow to Inspiration

Statement

Allen uses his work to better connect to his emotions, and he hopes that it will have the same effect on others.

Bio

From the time that Allen Finkel created his first clay head for a Cub Scout puppet project, he has been in love with working with clay. This passion led him to study painting and sculpture in college, where he earned his BFA. After graduating, he quickly learned that making a living as an artist was a viable plan for him, so he followed his other passion – being psychotherapist. Being a therapist for more than thirty years informed Allen’s work as an artist, as he learned about the way that life can weather all of us. In his figurative work he strives to portray that way that life’s joyful and painful experiences affect facial features and expressions.