Opening its doors January 22, 2002, the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art (LRMA) is celebrating twenty years of serving the community with a series of exhibitions that highlight the best of the museum’s collection, its history and award-winning architecture. From the giants of Modern Art to renowned Florida artists, these exhibitions explore the unique impact LRMA has made within the greater Tampa Bay arts community and honor those who have helped to build upon its foundation.
To commemorate its twentieth anniversary, LRMA is proud to present more than seventy works by renowned artists including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró (Left), Dale Chihuly and Pierre-Auguste Renoir in Masterworks from the Collection, on view January 22 through April 30, 2022, and François Impressions: Early 20th Century Master Printmakers, on view December 11, 2021, through June 12, 2022. From Impressionism to present day, the evolution of Modern Art is explored through the museum’s major collections. To complement LRMA’s masterworks, the traveling exhibition Greater Than 17, on view January 22 through April 30, 2022, explores the innovative prints of Stanley William Hayter’s Atelier 17, which influenced many of these Modern masters.
IMAGE CREDIT:
Joan Miró, Untitled, c. 1970, color lithograph, 28 1/8 x 20 7/8 in. Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, on loan from the St. Petersburg College Foundation, 1997.1.7.22. Miró © Successió Miró / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris 2021.
LRMA’s 20th Anniversary opening celebration weekend includes a Family and Community Day on Saturday, January 22nd from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., which includes a sidewalk chalk festival, makers market, art demonstrations, gallery tours, cake, and a panel discussion on the origins of the museum.
LRMA was established through the generosity of artist, educator, and author Dr. Allen Leepa and his wife, Isabelle. Additional support was provided by the St. Petersburg College Foundation, Inc., through St. Petersburg College (SPC) and the State of Florida. When LRMA opened in 2002, the museum’s contemporary design by Hoffman Architects immediately garnered attention and, in 2012, it was featured in the American Institute of Architecture’s Florida Architecture: 100 Years, one hundred Places. As the cultural hub of north Pinellas County, LRMA’s mission is to engage and inspire our diverse community by providing opportunities for education and enlightenment through exhibitions, educational programs and an expanding collection of 20th and 21st century art. Building on the foundation of the Leepa-Rattner-Gentle Collection, the museum’s significant holding of more than 7,000 works includes Modern masters and celebrated regional artists, from Pablo Picasso to Christopher Still, and has dramatically increased its representation of diverse artists. (RIGHT)
IMAGE CREDIT LINE: Stanley William Hayter, Maternity, 1940, 3-Silkscreen colors in tempera overprinted with engraving and soft-ground etching plate, Artist Proof 2/5, 9 x 7 ½ in., on loan from the Tyrus Clutter Collection. Hayter © 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.
Since 2002, LRMA has evolved and flourished as a valuable resource at SPC and in the greater Tampa Bay area. This year, the museum honors the past and looks toward the future with great expectations. In its twentieth year, LRMA embarks on an exciting new chapter as it makes the transition from a stand-alone museum to a department of the College to ensure its sustainability and to better serve the community. This celebration will be used as a springboard to reinforce its commitment to serving students, the public, scholars, and visitors from around the world through thoughtful exhibitions and programs. LRMA looks forward to introducing a new generation of contemporary artists, cutting edge exhibitions and educational experiences that engage the community.
LRMA 20th Anniversary: Masterworks from the Collection
January 22 – April 30, 2022
LRMA 20th Anniversary: Masterworks from the Collection showcases sixty fine art prints, paintings, and sculptures by some of the most recognizable artists of our time. Looking back on twenty years of collecting, LRMA celebrates the donors, collectors, and artists who have contributed to its story by highlighting favorites from the vault and new acquisitions.
LRMA’s encyclopedic collection explores the evolution of Modern Art from trailblazers like Francisco Goya, Édouard Manet and Paul Cézanne to contemporary artists such as Dale Chihuly and Jim Dine. Breaking free from centuries-old traditions, their influence has paved the way for generations of artists, including local legends Theo Wujcik and Christopher Still.
LRMA’s story begins one hundred years ago with Abraham Rattner who, like many young artists who served in the First World War, returned to France to study art in Paris. While living in Paris from 1919-1939, he was immersed in the inner circles of the world’s most influential artists and writers. At the center of the Surrealist art movement, Rattner’s contemporaries influenced his burgeoning style and collaborated with him, including Joan Miró, Fernand Léger and Marc Chagall. (LEFT)
IMAGE CREDIT LINE: Louis Markoya, The Virus, Lenticular print, LED Lightbox, 32 x 32 in., Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, St. Petersburg College, gift of Louis Markoya, E2020.3.1
Among Rattner’s vast archives, inscriptions on a number of prints and drawings indicate his close ties with artists as seen in Chagall’s De Mauvais Sujets (1958) portfolio and Claude and Myself (1948), a self-portrait by Picasso’s long-time partner Français Gilot which is dedicated to Rattner on the backside of the drawing. Building on the original collection through the generosity of its donors, LRMA has become a vital resource within our community. Integrating prominent artists from throughout art history and in our region, the museum chronicles the significant changes within the greater framework of understanding humanity on a local and global scale.
Français Impressions: Early 20th Century French Master Printmakers
December 11, 2021 – June 12, 2022
The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art (LRMA) is honored to unveil Français Impressions: Early 20th Century French Master Printmakers as a special highlight of the museum’s 20th Anniversary Masterworks exhibition. On view to the public for the first time, this recent acquisition of French Impressionist printmakers features seven etchings and lithographs by five master artists including Maximilien Luce (1858-1941), Jean-François Raffaëlli (1850-1924), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Manuel Robbe (1872-1936), and Jacques Villon (1875-1963).
In the 1960’s, Impressionism was an avant-garde art movement that rejected the traditional ideas of art. To find a new way of seeing and understanding modern life, artists such as Monet and Renoir worked en plein air (painting outside) to capture the ever-changing effects of light and atmosphere found in nature. This painting style was based on the use of short, expressive brushstrokes and a vibrant color palette. These artists further pushed the boundaries of Impressionism by experimenting with printmaking methods. Impressionism laid the foundation for Modern art movements, such as Pointillism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism.
Greater Than 17: The Art and Influence of Stanley William Hayter and Atelier 17
January 22 – April 30, 2022
Greater Than 17 complements LRMA’s 20th Anniversary Masterworks exhibition. Featuring forty-five vibrant prints drawn from the collection of College of Central Florida Associate Professor Tyrus Clutter, this exhibition highlights the vibrant work of influential printmaker Stanley William Hayter and artists from his renowned workshop, Atelier 17. As an innovator, educator, and collaborator, Hayter encouraged experimentation at Atelier 17, where a diverse group of international artists, including many women, developed printmaking techniques such as color viscosity. Between Paris and New York, the workshop was filled with some of the greatest names of 20th century art: Miró, Calder, Lipchitz, Picasso, Stuart Davis, David Smith, Motherwell, Nevelson, Pollock, Rothko, and de Kooning. Abraham Rattner was among his circle of friends and collaborators.
IMAGE CREDIT LINE: (LEFT)
Allen Leepa, Tondo, 1960, acrylic on unprimed canvas, 59 ¼ in. diameter, Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, on loan from the St. Petersburg College Foundation, 1997.2.1.69.
FINAL WEEKS for Louis Markoya: A Deeper Understanding!
On view through February 6, 2022
One of LRMA’s most popular exhibitions to date, Louis Markoya: A Deeper Understanding is on view through February 6, 2022. As a former protégé of master surrealist Salvador Dalí, Louis Markoya is a multi-media artist and engineer who brings modern technology into classical art. Markoya merges the tradition of oil painting with fractal geometry, mathematics, and 3-D holographic technology to depict human thought and emotion. Featuring more than seventy oil paintings, sculptures and interactive lenticular prints, this retrospective exhibition dives deep into Markoya’s fascinating cerebral world. From his time spent with the master surrealist to his more recent exploration of fractal imagery, this exhibition also includes rare collaborative works by Dalí from Markoya’s personal collection, LED-illuminated lenticular prints and chessboard, and a 3-D film experience. This exhibition is a must see, multi-sensory experience! (Evening Dream right)
RELATED PROGRAMS:
LRMA 20th Anniversary: Family and Community Day
Saturday, January 22, 2022
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art celebrates its 20th anniversary with fun festivities for the whole family including hands-on art making activities, guided docent tours, printmaking demonstrations by 24 Hands, a curated sidewalk chalk festival, pop-up makers market, food vendors and birthday cake, too!
Panel Discussion – Beginnings: The Origins of the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Free Admission
Gallery Talk: Atelier 17 and its Founder Stanley William Hayter with scholar Ann Shafer
Thursday, February 24, 2022
5:30-6:30 pm
Interactive Gallery
Free Admission, donations welcome
For more information on upcoming programs, please visit www.leeparattner.org/calendar.
Also on View: Louis Markoya: A Deeper Understanding, Abraham Rattner: French Watercolors; Artistic Journeys; Elemental: Fine Crafts from the Collection; Made in Florida: The Art of Giving.
About the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art:
Opened to the public in 2002, LRMA is a modern and contemporary art museum with a collection of more than 7,000 works of 20th and 21st century art. The museum’s permanent collection includes works by Abraham Rattner, a renowned figurative expressionist; Esther Gentle, Rattner’s second wife and a printmaker, sculptor, and painter; Allen Leepa, Rattner’s stepson and an abstract expressionist artist; and an extensive collection of works by notable 20th century artists such as Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger, and Henry Moore. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, a distinction held by only 6 percent of all U.S. museums.
LRMA is located just west of U.S. Highway 19 at 600 E. Klosterman Road, on the Tarpon Springs Campus of St. Petersburg College. Museum hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission by donation. The museum is closed on Mondays and major holidays. Additional information available at leeparattner.org.
Content provided by the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art. (Feature image above) IMAGE CREDIT LINE: Louis Markoya, The Virus, Lenticular print, LED Lightbox, 32 x 32 in., Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, St. Petersburg College, gift of Louis Markoya, E2020.3.1. All images are for editorial purposes only, all rights reserved.
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