Arts on Douglas Celebrates 30 Years! February 21 2026
Opening Celebration: Friday, March 7, 4 - 7 PM
SPECIAL EXHIBITION SERIES
Featuring:
Doris “Doc" Leeper
Ummarid “Tony" Eitharong
Akiko Sugiyama
Doris 'Doc' Leeper, Open Triangles, catalyst cured polyurethane on aluminum, 53.5 x 16 x 15 inches
DORIS "Doc" LEEPER
Modern Marvel
March 7 - 28, 2026
In the Foyer Gallery
About the Exhibition:
This tribute exhibition honors Doris “Doc” Leeper, founder of Arts on Douglas, artist, environmental advocate and cultural visionary whose impact on Florida’s arts landscape is immeasurable.
Before founding Arts on Douglas, Leeper was already a prominent figure in the arts and environmental preservation. She played a key role in the grassroots effort that led to the national park designation of Canaveral National Seashore, preserving miles of undeveloped coastline for future generations. She also founded the Atlantic Center for the Arts, now an internationally respected artist residency that attracts creatives worldwide to New Smyrna Beach.
Recognizing the need for a professional exhibition space for Florida artists, Leeper purchased a historic building at the corner of Magnolia and Douglas in early 1995. She partnered with her friend and fellow artist Ed Harris, who served as benefactor and business partner on this new venture. Leeper then selected the original 24 artists who would exhibit in solo and group exhibitions for the first 2 years.
Shortly after graduating college, Meghan Martin was hired to manage the gallery and worked closely with Leeper, Harris, and the founding artists to launch and grow the organization. Arts on Douglas officially opened in February 1996. Thirty years later, Martin continues to advance Leeper’s vision.
When asked about this tribute exhibition, Martin explains, “Leeper managed to balance an extraordinary civic legacy with a rigorous studio practice. She was a nationally recognized artist, and I felt that the best way to honor our founder was to showcase selections of work from her various points in her career.”
This display features rarely seen works from the mid-1950s through the late 1990s, tracing Leeper’s evolution from textured compositions with rudimentary shapes to her increasingly simplified compositions defined by strong geometry and luminous color as well as the bold geometric and spherical sculptures forms that became her signature style.
Image 2: Ummarid 'Tony' Eitharong, Provence, acrylic on watercolor paper, 35.5 x 35.5 inches
UMMARID "Tony" EITHARONG
Nothing to Lose
March 7 - 28, 2026
In the Feature Gallery
About the Exhibition:
Ummarid “Tony” Eitharong was born in Bangkok, Thailand in 1952 and has lived in Florida since the early 1970s. A nationally recognized artist for over 50 years, Eitharong has exhibited in leading juried art festivals across the country, earning numerous awards and a devoted following. He brings more than five decades of artistic exploration to this dynamic exhibition of new work.
As one of the original 24 artists selected by Doris Leeper, Eitharong has been connected to Arts on Douglas since its inception. When asked how he met Leeper, Eitharong explains, “While exhibiting at an art festival in Kissimmee, a woman in riding boots, jeans, and a white shirt introduced herself as one of the judges—her strong personality left a lasting impression. We continued crossing paths, and later, as she prepared to open a new gallery in New Smyrna Beach, she called and invited me to check it out.” Eitharong held his first exhibition at Arts on Douglas in July 1996.
Eitharong’s willingness to embrace change has led his work to evolve in in many directions over the years. Over time, he transitioned from superrealism to pure abstraction, and from greyscale dry point drawings to vibrant watercolors, acrylics, and mixed-media paintings. Even within abstraction, he continues to experiment. He explains, “I keep changing and I can’t stop; there is just so much I want to do. The more I learn about abstraction, the more I can experiment with it. Expressionism, minimalism, symbolic minimalism and the Bauhaus movement are all influences that meld together in my work.” When asked what’s next, he concludes, “I am just playing. If it’s in my heart, I lean towards it. I have nothing to lose at this point in my life.”
Akiko Sugiyama, Tubes, Tubes, and More No. 2, rice paper , vellum paper , watercolors, twigs, waxed linen, gold leaf , polyester fiber , foam board, 24 x 24 x 9 inches
AKIKO SUGIYAMA
Step Back, Go Forward
March 7 - April 18, 2026
Artist Talk: Friday, March 27, 11 AM
In the alt_space Gallery
About the Exhibition:
Born in Northern Japan and trained in painting at Joshibi University of Art and Design in Tokyo, Akiko Sugiyama has built a distinguished career spanning more than three decades in the United States. Since relocating to Florida in 1974, she has exhibited extensively in galleries, museums, art fairs, and craft shows nationwide, earning recognition for her intricate sculptural works that merge delicacy with structural complexity.
Sugiyama is best known for her meticulously constructed paper sculptures created through folding, rolling, twisting, cutting, stitching, wrapping, and layering paper into dimensional forms. Often incorporating natural materials such as branches and organic elements, her work reflects a deep reverence for nature while balancing organic curves with precise geometric structures. The interplay between fragility and strength is central to her aesthetic, resulting in pieces that feel both ethereal and architecturally grounded.
In Step Back, Go Forward, Sugiyama revisits unfinished experiments and dormant ideas from earlier periods in her career. After years of working under the fast pace of exhibition deadlines, a recent period of slowed production allowed her the opportunity to reflect, reassess, and rediscover pieces that had not yet found their final expression. By returning to these earlier concepts—adding new layers of paint, texture, and structural refinement—she has completed works that bridge past and present.