Exploring the Tampa Museum of Art

"Untitled (Mischievous Couple)" by Daisy Patton (2018)

The Tampa Museum of Art has commenced work on its serious expansion project. Once the renovation has been completed, the Museum will have tripled in size and include a suspended glass event space with expansive views of the river, a sculpture terrace, an auditorium and a restaurant. But of course what I'm excited about is the expansion in space dedicated to art, with five additional galleries plus a flexible multimedia space in the plans. If all goes as scheduled, the new and improved Museum will welcome visitors in 2024. In the meantime, a scaled down version of the Museum is open, and there is plenty of great art on display from the permanent collection. 

Daisy Patton's "Untitled (Mischievous Couple)" immediately drew me in with its vibrant botanicals. But why are they partially masking the couple? This work is from Patton's "Forgetting is so long" series in which she took discarded photos found at garage sales and flea markets, enlarged them to life-sized images and embellished them. The series' title comes from a Pablo Neruda poem that includes the line "Love is so short, forgetting is so long." The combination of that line with abandoned photographs kind of breaks my heart. Who were these forgotten people and how did their picture turn up for sale to a stranger? I've set those concerns aside, though, to appreciate what the photo says to me about the couple's relationship. He's looking at her intently while she gazes at the camera with an expression that says, "Yeah, I've got this guy wrapped around my little finger." I like it. To learn more about Patton and this series of works, click here and here. I'll definitely be on the lookout for her in the future. 

"Alter Ego" by Suchitra Mattai (2020) 

I was particularly interested in seeing Suchitra Mattai's mixed media work "Alter Ego." I'm familiar with Mattai because her "Exodus" is on display in the State of the Art exhibit at Sarasota Art Museum. Made from more than 200 saris, the work is a real showstopper. But I digress.

Like many artists, Mattai draws on her personal history when creating her works. She is of Indo-Guyanese heritage; thus the use of saris. In "Alter Ego," one of the tiny women in each pair is wearing a purple sari. The other figure -- intended to represent her alter ego -- is somewhat spectral. But what jumps out at the viewer of course is the scrub brush in the middle of the work. 

Mattai often works with fiber, a medium traditionally viewed as "female" and associated with the domestic work engaged in by women. Mattai's use of fiber references her grandmothers' skill as seamstresses. But "Alter Ego" calls to mind other household chores. What could be more domestic than scrubbing a floor?  I can imagine the woman at work at this unpleasant task asking herself if there's more to life than this drudgery. Hopefully her alter ego has a more fulfilling existence. To see more of Mattai's work, click here. Scroll down to see "Exodus" (labelled State of the Art 2020/Crystal Bridges). And take a peek at Mattai's "Herself as Another," a work that would make an interesting pairing with Daisy Patton's "Untitled (Mischievous Couple)."

Partial view of Purvis Young Redux exhibit

One gallery was filled -- and I mean filled -- with works by Purvis Young. Young was a self-taught artist who used objects found in his Miami neighborhood of Overtown as his canvases. And so the exhibit contains paintings (done with ordinary house paint) on windows and doors and random pieces of plywood. Young's work is outsider art at its finest. 

Young got into some trouble in his youth and spent three years in Raiford State Penitentiary. While there he filled his time sketching, something his uncle had taught him in his childhood. The pastime turned into his passion, and when he was released he returned to home and began painting his community. His works reveal the adversity the people of Overtown faced -- racism, poverty, addiction -- but are also imbued with a sense of hope. 

Works by Purvis Young

Every artist wants his work to be seen, and Young was no different. Taking inspiration from Chicago's Wall of Respect and Detroit's Wall of Dignity, Young installed his paintings salon style from the ground to the rooftops of abandoned storefronts in Overtown. The works became collectively known as the Goodbread Alley Mural and were on display from 1971-1974. The buildings on which the works were hung were razed in 1975 to make way for public housing along with most of Purvis' paintings. 

For more on Purvis and his Goodbread Alley Mural, click here and here. And to read about the Chicago and Detroit Freedom Murals, click here. 

"Pappasilenos Comic Actor Figure" (3rd century B.C.)
"Miniature Xenon-Ware Chous with Comic Actor (400-375 B.C.)

I'll leave you with something pretty wonderful -- two jugs created no later than the third century BC. Just think about that for a second. While I would have admired the pieces for their condition alone, the figures made me smile. The little guys are depictions of comic actors. The running man is labelled Pappasilenos, a tutor and companion to the wine god Dionysus. Perhaps he was rushing off on a beverage run. The other figure is not identified more specifically.

Also on display was a terrific exhibit of photographs by Dawoud Bey and Carrie Mae Weems. Sadly, photographs don't, well, photograph well, so you'll have to go to the exhibit yourself to check them out. I particularly enjoyed seeing Weems' "The Kitchen Table" series with its accompanying text. 

For information on all the exhibits now on display at the Museum, click here. And for more on the Museum's expansion plans, click here. That's one grand opening I don't want to miss. Perhaps I'll see you there.