Museums and art spaces devoted to permanent collections have a tough job to do. Visual venues showcasing new creations have it tougher. Contemporary art is a moving target. Living artists are unpredictable; their art is always in flux. Will it stand the test of time? Nobody knows, not even art critics. Brand new art is always a risky bet, but cutting-edge art spaces support its creation. That includes recent works, works in progress, and works unborn. This nationwide commitment to new work is alive and well in Sarasota.
Here’s how two area museums help keep contemporary art alive.
Sarasota Art Museum
This museum has the shock of the new in its DNA. What are 21st century artists doing right now? Answering that question is its reason for being. Contemporary art is a sideshow at most museums. At Sarasota Art Museum, it’s the whole show. And always has been.
The museum’s dedication to the art of today is Executive Director Virginia Shearer’s favorite topic.
Shearer says the museum’s curators keep a laser-beam focus on contemporary art. (There’s no permanent collection to distract them.) Traveling exhibitions give local eyes a glimpse of new global creations. But this museum also empowers the creation of new work.
“We do that in a many ways,” Shearer says. But our “Inside Out” series has the most impact. It’s been a huge boost to the careers of contemporary artists.”
How did this series make that happen?
“By creating more space for new art,” Shearer says. “It’s just that simple.”
Space, the final frontier
When Shearer talks about “creating space,” it’s not woo-woo mysticism. She’s talking about finding new places where new art can be seen at the museum.
“We don’t just put art on the walls,” Shearer says. “’Inside Out’ makes the most of every inch of space we’ve got – both interior and exterior. We display art throughout our buildings, in hallways, nooks, and crannies – and also turned our gardens into outdoor galleries. Thanks to ‘Inside Out,’ we’re transformed our entire facility into potential exhibition space.”
“Inside Out” has exhibited a lot of art so far. It all shows great potential.
The series’ site-specific projects include Molly Hatch’s “Amalgam,” a meditation on the cultural feedback loops in the global ceramics trade; Steven and William Ladd’s artistic collaborations with the community; and Jose Alvarez’ digital mural – a joyful dreamscape created in the time of Covid. It’s all great work. Marginalized artists of different cultures, origins, genders and identities created much of it. The Inside-Out initiative brought these outsider artists in.
“This series has done a lot of good,” Shearer says. “And it all comes back to creating space.”
Shearer adds that the Inside-Out series has expanded the museum’s available exhibition space to cosmic proportions, and it showcases commissioned artwork that become a career boost for emerging artists.
But not all of the museum’s commissions are by the book.
Judy Pfaff’s “Picking Up the Pieces” took a beautifully brutal look at the devastation of Hurricane Ian. “She assembled it from the wreckage Ian that left behind,” Shearer says. “Her installation was site-specific and utterly original. We gave Judy the support and the resources she needed to create it. It wasn’t an Inside-Out commission. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a commission at all. We didn’t know where she’d go with it. But we made her installation possible. When we saw what she ultimately created, it was a breathtaking surprise.”
Surprise is the secret sauce in this museum.
Shearer notes that collecting institutions typically hate surprises. Yes, they’ll exhibit contemporary artwork, but usually only when the work is done. “We do more,” she says. “We support the whole creative process, not just the end result.”
Bottom line? Sarasota Art Museum is all about contemporary art. Some of its shows are curated from completed works, like the recent “Impact: Contemporary Artists at the Hermitage Artist Retreat.” The creations in other exhibits and installations mutate and evolve on site. “Some artists don’t know where they’re going until they get there,” Shearer says. “It’s their journey. We trust them to find their way.”
The Ringling
This Sarasota museum began as a blast from the past – a home for John Ringling’s private art collection. Like a real-life Citizen Kane, the incredibly wealthy circus magnate obsessively collected the art treasures of old Europe. He bequeathed it all to the State of Florida before his death in 1936. After a decade of legal wrangling, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art finally opened in 1946. Under the direction of its first director, Everett “Chick” Austin, the museum brought its neglected old masterpieces back to life. Austin was equally committed to the work of modernist masters.
Following Austin’s tenure, The Ringling’s contemporary commitment fluctuated in the second half of the 20th century. It came back strong in the early 21st century, and it’s still alive and well. What’s the story?
We posed that question to Ringling Director Steven High and Christopher Jones, its curator of photography and new media. Based on their answers, here’s the story.
Commission and acquisitions
High points to James Turrell’s “Joseph’s Coat” from 2010. “That piece was truly a game-changer,” he says. “This commission got a lot of attention, and it reaffirmed The Ringling’s support for contemporary art.”
The piece he’s talking about is one of Turrell’s site-specific “Skyspaces.” Simply put, the artist created it by cutting a hole in The Ringling’s ceiling. But that slice of nothing isn’t nothing. It’s an opening to nature’s light show in the sky above and also equipped with its own laser light show. According to High, this high-profile commission was an instant hit with the public , but costly to the museum. How costly?
High pauses to think about it. His estimate is high.
“Well … counting the artist’s fees, construction costs, and materials, it adds up to about $5 million,” he says. “But it was definitely worth it, and a long list of contemporary commissions have followed.”
High said The Ringling adds such commissioned artworks to its permanent collection. But they’re just a fraction of its contemporary acquisitions. The museum buys most new pieces from its groundbreaking exhibitions.
“Thanks to this practice, we’ve acquired thousands of contemporary pieces by artists of all cultures, genders, and origins,” High says. “We’ve expanded our collection and expanded our viewer’s minds in the process.”
The Ringling’s contemporary exhibition space is another expanding universe. The Searing Wing was its first quantum leap. After it opened in 2007, it added 30,000 square-feet of modern gallery space to the Ringling. Its ambitious exhibitions (both traveling and homegrown) have showcased fierce new art ever since. In 2016, the museum launched the Monda Gallery for Contemporary Art, which added 2,400 square-feet of exhibition space, a relatively small addition. with a huge impact.
Jones puts every square inch to work in the media-bending exhibitions he curates here. As he describes this gallery, it’s the road less traveled. That’s the road he wants to take.
“For a curator’s perspective, the Monda is an intimate space for solo shows and focus shows drawn from our collection,” Jones says. “Anne Patterson was our inaugural exhibition. We’ve followed it up with exhibitions like “Metadata,” and the “Luke DuBois—Now” retrospective. It’s bold, new work across a range of mediums. That’s what you’ll see at the Monda. You’ll rarely see it anywhere else.”
That applies to the current Monda show: “Jess T. Dugan: I want you to know my story,” which opened in August. Jones curated the exhibit that showcases the transgender artist’s photographic portrait series of transgender and gender non-conforming subjects. (The ones I’ve seen remind me of Edward Steichen’s “The Family of Man.”) Their videos and writings are also on view.
Jones agrees that exhibiting the art of today is a lifeline to today’s artists. “The Ringling’s support for contemporary artists goes beyond exhibitions and acquisitions,” he adds. “We also offer artist’s fees for presenting their work. That’s a recent development in the visual art world, and we’re taking the lead on that.”
Collaborations and partnerships
The Ringling’s support for contemporary creation is often a team effort. The Skyway exhibition is its most powerful collaboration. This show puts the spotlight on regional artists. Every three years, the Ringling forms common cause with four other museums in the greater Tampa Bay region to put it on. The moveable feast of visual art unfolds in all five venues. Art lovers get a glimpse of the best homegrown art. Homegrown artists form connections and share ideas.
The museum also partners with the Hermitage Artist Retreat to showcase the new creations of its Greenfield Prize recipients. Hurricane Milton forced the cancellation of its collaboration with UnidosNow on UnidosNoches, an art party showcasing the cool side of LatinX culture.
Commissions, acquisitions, contemporary exhibition space, collaborations, and fellowships can all be rocket fuel for new artistic creation. The passionate talents behind the scenes at The Ringling and Sarasota Art Museum are happy to provide that fuel to the artists of today. Their support comes in many forms. But there’s only one goal.
Unlike Rembrandt, Caravaggio and Picasso, contemporary creators are still breathing. They’re living artists who need to make a living. As long as they can, they’ll keep creating.
That’s always the goal.
“Molly Hatch: Amalgam” runs through April 26, 2026, at Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; 941-309-4300; sarasotaartmuseum.org
“Jess T. Dugan: I want you to know my story” runs through Feb 25, 2025, at The Ringling’s Monda Gallery, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota; 941-359-5700; www.ringling.org
