New Exhibitions in May April 14 2017
New Smyrna Beach, FL — Arts on Douglas is excited to announce the opening of two new exhibitions for the month of May. In the feature gallery, a solo exhibition by St. Augustine based mixed-media artist Jo Sinclair titled Navigating the Soul’s Journey will be on view from May 6 – 27 with an Artists Talk on Friday, May 19 at 11am. In the alt_space gallery, we will be showcasing Photogravures by Key West photographic artist Carol Munder. This exhibition will be on view from May 6 – June 10.
The opening reception for both exhibitions will take place on Saturday, May 6 from 4-7 pm. During the reception, the gallery will be featuring light refreshments and the smooth jazz stylings of Howard Herman on the piano, John Pellegrino on the bass and Tyler Rosenke on the drums. 
In the feature gallery:
Jo Sinclair
Navigating the Soul's Journey
On View: May 6-27, 2017
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 6, 4-7pm
Artists Talk: Friday, March 24, 11am
Jo Sinclair has ventured into uncharted waters with the graphic and richly layered mixed-media paintings that make up her newest body of work titled Navigating the Soul's Journey. Through this series, Jo explores the essence of life’s voyage, stating that, “the artworks in this exhibit represent where I have been, where I am now, and reveal to me new horizons to creatively experiment, explore, discover and innovate.”
For this personal and introspective body of work, Sinclair decided to take a risk by shifting away from the encaustic paintings for which she is known, to experiment with layered acrylic paint and elements of text, including pages from books and dictionaries, excerpted passages of poetry, and handwritten pages culled from daily journaling, amongst other elements.
While working on this series, Jo was affected by a number of obstacles in her daily life that included the physical, mental and spiritual challenges of close friends, the impact of Hurricane Matthew, and distress over global turmoil. As a way of exploring and sharing these experiences through her artwork, Jo incorporates strong metaphors and symbolism into her work. Examples include “the metaphor of the boat as the soul and the incorporation of nautical symbols to narrate her stories and what she describes as the essence of life’s voyage — “from inspiration, through deep waters, dark nights and perfect storms, and finally ascending into spirit and healing waters.”
About the Artist
Jo Sinclair has been a professional artist, arts educator, designer, and creative consultant for the past 39 years, graduating with a BFA and honors from the Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1978 and a Masters of Art Education in 2013 from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Sinclair has worked in a range of different media throughout her career, including sculptural weaving, sculptural paper, mixed-media jewelry, oil pastel, painting, collage, assemblage and encaustics. Her artwork has been included in numerous exhibitions at venues such as the Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL; and others. Her work is also represented in many private and corporate collections, including International Paper Corporation, Memphis, TN; Indian Wells Country Club, Indian Wells, CA; and Walt Disney Corporation, Orlando, FL. She is a veteran exhibitor and award winner in the national art fair circuit. Sinclair also has extensive experience as an arts educator, having taught at numerous institutions, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL; the Art Institute of Jacksonville, FL, and the Cultural Center of Ponte Vedra Beach, where she continues to teach children’s art camps.
View Exhibition Here>>>
In the alt_space:
Carol Munder
Photogravures
On View: May 6 - June 10, 2017
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 6, 4-7pm
Key West based fine art photographer, Carol Munder, is known for her mysterious and ethereal tableaus created using plastic film cameras and a photomechanical printing process from the late 1800s. Munder explains, “The world we live in is delineated by the hard edges of objects we have become familiar with in everyday life. To strip the object of this familiarity, I began using a camera with a plastic lens that softens this hard edge and allows detail to fall away forcing the imagination to the forefront.” To complete the process, Munder prints these images by means of the photogravure – an intaglio printmaking process that involves coating a copper plate with a light-sensitive tissue that is chemically etched, coated with ink and then pressed onto paper. While photogravure is a laborious and time-consuming process, Carol explains that it is also quite satisfying. She states, “I find there is a magic in the mixing of chemicals that develop an image caught by light and lodged in silver. The sensation of ink on my hands and the texture of the papers which I use while turning the wheel of an old press have become embedded in me.”
The subject matter in Munder’s photographs is made up of objects that she is personally drawn to— from wooden sculptures picked up at French flea markets, to artifacts from past millennia found in museums she visits. As she continues to work with this process, her compositions also evolve, and she describes her most recent images as “setting the stage for a suggestion of a story with unanswered questions”.
About the Artist
Carol Munder studied photography at Columbia College in the 1970’s before moving to Key West to begin her career as an artist. In 1986, she was the recipient of the NEXUS PRESS Book Competition residency, where she put together an artist book titled “Fierce Power Bad Fate.” Munder then went on to produce several bodies of work. From the mid-1990s to early 2000s, she created large format black and white prints of nineteenth-century statuary and Etruscan figurines with a plastic camera. She then acquired a gravure press second-hand and began teaching herself the art of the photogravure and has focused on this technique ever since. Munder has exhibited her work in galleries and museums throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, FL; the San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA and Galerie Univer in Paris, France. She has received numerous grants and awards and has also been featured in publications including American Scholar and Granta Magazine. Munder currently splits her time between her home in Key West and rural France.
View Exhibition Here>>>