Gardens of the Imagination

Winter Members’ Exhibit

Opens Thu Dec 5, 6-8pm

On view December 5-22, 2024

Sanger, XOJ, Zabar Project and Zabar Lobby Galleries

The gardens we live with are an expression of who we are as much as the clothes we wear: wild or restrained; moody or ebullient; carefully nurtured or joyfully haphazard. Each is a product of the soil from which it arises, touched by inspiration. Of course, our gardens in the Keys are stocked with shapes and colors you won’t find anywhere else – especially in December! Our annual winter exhibition is a cornucopia of ideas and images that grew in the minds of our members, or blossomed before their eyes.

image: Lori Larusso, PEAR alum

sponsored by We*cycle Bicycles

Beach Blues

Lucy Paige

Opens Thu Apr 3, 6-8pm

On view April 3-24, 2025

Zabar Project Gallery

Paige’s distinctive artistic styles, united by shades of blue. Her paint and pen series depicts semi-abstract beachgoers, complemented by her light abstract works inspired by ocean landscapes, blending figurative and abstract art to celebrate coastal life.

sponsored by Key West Local Luxe

Daydreams

Leigh Hooten

Opens Thu May 1, 6-8pm

On view May 1-29, 2025

Zabar Project Gallery

After nearly 50 years in textile, graphic design, and costuming, Hooten steps into the spotlight with personal pieces including self-portraits, animals, and fantastical beings rendered in a fresh, illustrative style.

sponsored by The Green Pineapple

Mango Madness

Annual Summer Members’ Show

Opens Thu Jun 5, 6-8pm

On view June 5 – July 31, 2025

All Galleries

Every member of The Studios is invited to participate in our annual members’ exhibit, and the result is a bounty of creativity in every form and style imaginable. We don’t ask artists to make work about mangoes exactly, but we do hope that the work brings them – and you – similar joy.

image: Debra Hill

sponsored by Gallery on Greene

 

On the Reef

Jeffrey Cardenas

Opens Thu Jan 2, 6-8pm

On view January 2-30, 2025

Zabar Project Gallery

Cardenas travels from Polynesia to the Mediterranean and Caribbean Sea, photographing vibrant coral reef ecosystems. Cardenas reveals the beauty and essential role of coral reefs in supporting diverse marine life, prompting reflection on their significance and the urgent need for their conservation.

Jeffrey Cardenas is a long-time Key West resident and South Florida native. He has sailed worldwide researching and photographing marine environments, focusing on coral reefs and their inhabitants. In 1993, the State of Florida awarded him a fine arts grant to photograph underwater landscapes of the Florida Keys, culminating in “Marquesa: A Time & Place with Fish.” A collection of essays, “Sea Level,” was published in 2002, with an introduction by Jimmy Buffett. National Book Award author and naturalist Peter Matthiessen described the work of Jeffrey Cardenas as “…very fine, lyrical and translucent.” His work has been exhibited in Cuba’s Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and at the Sala de la Diversidad in La Habana. “Naturalezas Gemelas / Twins of Nature” was published in 2016.

sponsored by The Angling Company

Gallus gallus Insidious

Sally Binard

Opens Thu Feb 6, 6-8pm

On view February 6-27, 2025

Zabar Project Gallery

Drawing on feminist literature and shared conversations among a group of women, Binard uses the beloved Key West rooster as a metaphor for patriarchal systems and behaviors. Portraiture and abstract mixed media works combine to capture both the absurdity of patriarchy and how it is navigated.

sponsored by Café Marquesa

Summer Art Contest

Hosted by Books & Books @ The Studios

Opens Thu Oct 3, 6-8pm

On view October 3-31, 2024

Zabar Project Gallery

Now in its eighth year, the Books & Books summer art contest brings together creative bookmark designs by local artists. Works in any style and medium, so long as they fit on a 4 x 12” canvas. The results are a joyful meeting of the literary and visual arts.

Three winning canvases are selected to appear on special edition Books & Books @ The Studios bookmarks, which are given out with store purchases. One grand prize winner will appear on a special edition bookmark, have their canvas shown in the bookstore through the end of the year and receive a $25 Art Supply gift card from Books & Books.

Vote online or in-person!

Summer Solstice Student Show

Susan Sugar + her students

Opens Thu Nov 7, 6-8pm

On view November 7-28, 2024

Zabar Project Gallery

This past June, watercolor enthusiasts met at the beach, just before sunset, with paints, brushes and open imaginations. Led by beloved Key West-New York artist Susan Sugar, the students learned new ways of observing the ephemeral shapes and transitory moods of the evening sky. A selection of student watercolors, and their sketchbooks, will be shown alongside one of Susan’s own in the Zabar Project Gallery.

image: Lee Larkin