ST. PETERSBURG — Lollipops, gumballs and every other sweet treat work up viewers’ appetites at “Sugar High: 2026 Members Show,” opening Saturday, July 11, from 5-8 p.m., at Morean Arts Center, 719 Central Ave., St. Petersburg.
The exhibition will be on view July 11 through Sept. 23. There will be an open studio preview on Friday, July 10, from 5 to 9 p.m., for those who cannot attend during the July 11 Art Walk.
This beloved annual tradition celebrates creativity and talent in the artist community, featuring nearly 150 works of art created by Morean members. “Sugar High” explores excess, nostalgia, and the sugary delights we love to crave, offering a joyful feast of color, chaos, and childlike wonder.
As one of the Morean’s longest-standing exhibition traditions, the annual members show provides artists an opportunity to showcase their work, celebrate artistic achievement, and connect with fellow creatives and art lovers. Guest juror Sara Felice, curator of the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art at St. Petersburg College, will select recipients of several awards recognizing artistic excellence.
Last year’s best of show artist, Neverne Covington, will share her awarded solo show “Into the Mystic” as well. Covington’s work features oils, oil sticks, and wax on canvas, with layers that inform the next as each brushstroke or mark becomes the landscape of a surface. Her drawings, prints, paintings and sculpture explore childhood, language, landscape, memory, and the gothic South.
“Rhythm, pattern, and the repetition of color dictate my process and the direction each work will take,” Covington said. “In my work I strive to reveal nature’s known, unknown and unknowable entities.”
In addition, “It’s Been a Privilege: Ceramics from the Giordano Collection” is set to open the same evening. The exhibition will showcase the substantial ceramic collection of local artist and Morean staff member Rob Giordano (1951-2015). The works adhere to his philosophy that it was a privilege to be able to own work by artists he admired and wished to support. His wife Linda has chosen to share their collection in this meaningful exhibition and sale. Visitors will have the opportunity to see and purchase works by familiar artists including Russ Gustafson-Hilton, Alan Johnson, Matthew Schiemann, and Don and Cristina Williams, among many others, with a few works created by Rob himself.
“Sugar High,” “Into the Mystic,” and “It’s Been a Privilege” all run July 11-Sept. 23.
The Morean Arts Center gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit MoreanArtsCenter.org or call 727-822-7872.