Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg

Today, this blonde woman (now a brunette), had the privilege of spending the majority of the afternoon at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg. And the building was so unexpectedly expansive, I almost missed an entire wing. I would normally attribute this to a lack of caffeine, but I actually walked in with a mostly finished iced almond milk latte. So no, the almost-missing-wing was not my fault. And upon further investigation, it became clear it was the museum’s fault. You see… the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg is so surprisingly large, their collection of artwork so immense, that it becomes easy to think you’ve seen it all.

Let’s go back to the beginning, shall we?

I woke up this morning and knew I wanted to explore something new. Something that would delight my senses. Something air conditioned. We are now in August and I had spent most of July doing just that. I was running out of options. I had basically sojourned to every cold space within a hundred mile radius of my house. The Dali Museum, The Tampa Museum of Art, The Ringling Museum, The Clearwater Aquarium, The Mote Aquarium, The Florida Aquarium. Had I seen everything there was to see?

No. I hadn’t. Not even close.

Florida is the gift that keeps on giving. The more I do, the more I discover. I’m basically a blonde (now brunette) Christopher Columbus, voyaging up and down the Gulf Coast. But instead of the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria, I have a 2010 White SUV.

So there I was, driving around in my 2010 White SUV, when the urge suddenly came over me to go north. Tampa was north. Clearwater was north. St. Petersburg was north. I settled on St. Petersburg. I had been to The Dali Museum on Wednesday. I had yet to see the Museum of Fine Arts. I plugged it in my GPS and off I went.

Parking was interesting.

The Museum of Fine Arts is located in the middle of downtown St. Pete, right on the water. It’s actually walking distance to the newly built St. Pete Pier. Needless to say, on a beautiful sunny Saturday, the area was crowded and every metered parking spot was full. After circling around the museum three or four times, a spot finally opened up. If you plan on driving to this area during the weekend, make sure you leave yourself extra time.

The museum itself is impossible to miss. Designed by Palm Beach architect John Volk in the 1960s, the classic Palladian Facade stands out amongst the modern restaurants and newly built St. Pete Pier that surround it. It’s interesting, because the contents inside are just as diverse. From Japan to Greece. Monet to O’Keeffe. And spanning 5,000 years. The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg truly has something for everyone.

Below are an assortment of pieces that I found to be the most captivating… I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

To begin, I really loved this 1926 oil on panel by Guy Pene du Bois, entitled Cafe Madrid. Pene du Bois’ use of vibrant colors and distinctive, sparse style really drew me in. I had never heard of this American artist before today. And experiencing his work in person was refreshing. I could picture myself and my husband casually sitting in this cafe, an indigo sky swirling behind us, as we sip champagne.

Moving on to Ludwig Sander’s 1973 oil on canvas, Seneca VII. Another American artist I had never heard of before today. The saturated yellowish greens in this abstract piece were striking. Even more striking was how even though Sanders studied color theory, he didn’t use it to inform his work. Rather, he was guided by a more mystical, intuitive process. Standing in front this piece allowed me to feel completely immersed in the colors and feel their impact. And I have a particular affinity for bright yellows, so it goes without saying I’m borderline obsessed with this piece.

The Art and Faith in West and South Asia exhibit was filled with an impressive collection of items. This Standing Horse from the Han Dynasty was just one among many. There were a variety of provocative tapestries, shrines, screens, and statues… You really need to walk through and see for yourself.

But my absolute favorite areas of the Museum were the temporary installations.

Tucked in the back left corner on the first floor, behind the long row of counter where the employees sell you your ticket, lies a space that holds two very different exhibits: Skyway 20/21 and Antioch Reclaimed. The former is an exhibition celebrating contemporary artistic talent in the Tampa Bay Area. The later is a collection of mosaic pavement and relics gathered from the fallen ancient suburb of Antioch. They couldn’t be more different. Together they created what I felt was the most powerful wing of the museum, what I referred to as the almost-missed-wing in the beginning of this post.

Let’s dive in…

This was not the first time I had come across Skyway 20/21. In fact, Skyway 20/21 is an exhibition that spans across five different museums in the Tampa Bay Area. I had already been to three of the five; this was the fourth. So I was familiar with the format of what I was about to experience - a curated selection of pieces in different mediums created by contemporary local artists. When you walk through Skyway 20/21, it feels personal. These artists are my neighbors. We shop at the same grocery stores. We walk down the same roads. We see the same skyline, albeit differently.

After visiting the studios of 49 artists from across Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties, the curators of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg chose to highlight 15. All 15 artists address the natural environment through their chosen mediums.

And as I walked through the rooms showcasing their art, I couldn’t help but be moved.

Behind me is a piece entitled In Big Pharma We “Trust”. Painted by Savannah Magnolia in 2019, this acrylic on canvas is everything you want good art to be. It makes you feel something. Magnolia attended Boston University and studied neuroscience, where she took up painting classes to relax. Before long, she realized her passion for painting was actually the direction she wanted to pursue. And her background in medicine shines through her work, not only in subject matter, but in her use of precise lines. Magnolia paints her canvas like a skilled surgeon. She is deliberate, detail-oriented, and everything is done free-hand.

to be continued