CoRK WEST, STUDIO 8
Al Letson is a playwright, performer, screenwriter, journalist, and the host of Reveal. Soul-stirring, interdisciplinary work has garnered Letson national recognition and devoted fans. Early in his career, Letson established himself as a heavyweight in the Poetry Slam Movement, which reaped artistic credibility and renown. He has performed on a number of national, regional and local stages, including such venues as HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, and CBS’s 2004 Final Four PreGame.
In 2008, Letson was one of three finalists out of more than 1,500 applicants to win the Public Radio Talent Quest. The Talent Quest is an effort by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to find new voices and innovative programming to launch nationally on public radio. Letson’s program “State of the Re:Union” is gearing up for a full season of 12 episodes and a robust multimedia campaign that will launch in February with a Black History Month. Produced by the Public Radio Exchange and distributed by National Public Radio, State of the Re:Union travels to an American city or town to discover the interesting things that people are doing to create community and transcend their circumstances, while placing focus on the vital cultural narratives.
In addition to the radio show, Letson works as a professional playwright, and actor. Drawing on his background as a performance poet, Letson seamlessly weaves spoken word into the fabric of his theatre work His solo play, Summer in Sanctuary, will be produced off Broadway by The Abingdon Theatre Company at the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre. The Baltimore Sun said, “Letson is a powerful performer who tells his story by moving fluidly from one role to the next.”
While his many interests are diverse, the common theme in Letson’s work is his effort to bring people together. By examining difficult topics and influential historical themes, Letson strives to focus on our common humanity—and always present a production with consummate artistry.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 15
The landscapes of Allison Watson are represented in over 400 public, private and corporate collections nationally including the First District Court of Appeals Tallahassee, The Office of the Mayor in Jacksonville, two works in the Baptist Medical Centers, etc. She has had over 35 solo exhibitions throughout the South East. Ms. Watson is on the teaching staff of the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville and other locations. She has worked as a studio artist since her twenties. She is best known for her paintings of the wet lands, upland forests, springs, rivers, lakes and dunes of her native Florida. Ms Watson is a life long environmentalist.
awatsonart@aol.com
CoRK WEST, STUDIO 6
Avondale Artworks, located in the CoRK Arts District in Jacksonville, Florida, provides archival quality custom picture framing, art installation, and periodic exhibitions in various venues. Visit our website at www.AvondaleArtworks.com for more information.
Custom Framing
In our workshop, located at 2689 Rosselle Street in Jacksonville, we have thousands of moulding and mat choices to choose from, representing most major suppliers and all price points.
We are the framing choice for Art Collectors, Artists, Interior Designers, traveling art shows, and even frame for some of our competitors!
All framing work is completed on-site using archival materials. For larger custom framing orders, we also provide pick-up and delivery services. We provide quality custom framing options to meet your needs, and your budget! To schedule an appointment for custom framing, please call us at 904-716-3117.
Art Services
We work with many business partners toprovide periodic exhibitions of artwork in various locations, and have access to The Art of Dr. Seuss, Mackenzie Thorpe, Peter Max, actress Jane Seymour, and Salvador Dali: The Argillet Collection. We also work with many local and regional artists and can help you find that perfect piece of art for your home or office.
Art Installations
Installing artwork, like creating artwork, can be challenging for some people. At Avondale Artworks, we provide the professional expertise to make your art installation easy and appealing. Our art installation services are offered at an hourly rate, and can accommodate most schedules.
Call today for a free estimate, call 904-716-3117.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 14
Through embroidery, painting, drawing, murals, and zines, fine artist Aysha Miskin’s work builds a familiar and whimsical world inspired by unique imagery and characters.
Follow her on Instagram: @ayshastar.
Contact Info:
ayshadv@gmail.com
Website:
ayshastar.com
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO H
Multi-faceted artist Barbara Colaciello began her career as the Advertising Director of Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine at The Factory in New York City. For over two decades, Barbara has written, directed, produced, and performed socially engaged theater that contributes to vital conversations in the Jacksonville community. Through the practice of storytelling, she engages performers and audiences in examining complex themes in much more nuanced ways than our local and national discourses often allow.
Her studio at CoRk Arts District is called BABS’LAB. BABS'LAB is a space for creating in the NOW. It's a place for experimentation, training, and performance, a place where the community comes together to witness work that uplifts, breaks barriers, and crosses lines. Our monthly STORY SLAMS, incredibly intimate evenings of live storytelling, are packed out! A story slam is a friendly competition similar to poetry slams. Storytellers have 5 minutes each to tell a TRUE personal story based on a THEME chosen for the event without the use of notes.
Barbara’s company Improv to the Rescue specializes in experiential and creative learning to enhance communication skills, develop storytellers and encourage collaboration through workshops, classes and coaching. A 2013 TEDxJacksonville Speaker, Barbara was voted Best Actor by Folio Weekly’s 2016 Best of Jax readership.
contact: babslab@barbaracolaciello.com
CoRK East, Studio 2
Some common synonyms for the phrase “black eye” are blemish, shiner, dishonor, disgrace and shame. None of these are really appealing so I decided to take a more liberal approach to how I define the Blakeye. My heritage is interwoven with Black and Spanish roots by way of Panama where my father introduced me to the world of photography and graphic design at an early age. I was taught that art comes from within and the manner in which we choose to express that creativity will ultimately become our avatar in society. With that being said, I find it ironic that my love of comics, anime, video games, action figures and Hip-Hop became the foundation from which my own Blakeyes were formed.
The blending of action figures and Hip-Hop is not new, but I’d like to think that my vision of it adds something different to the mix. I make music, take pictures of toys and sometimes create visuals to capture moments when my energy dictates. After years of procrastination and self doubt, I am now at a place in time where I felt it was necessary to have my own space to share my perspective and allow it room to resonate.
IG: @arsunfist
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 17
Chip is a renowned artist known for portraits, political and street art. He considers himself equal parts artist and activist and lives in Jacksonville with his wife and kids.
chipdesign@mac.com
CoRK East, Studio 14
Cole Collier is a painter from Jacksonville Florida. His paintings show reverence to the working class, specifically the men he grew up working with for his family’s construction company. Common themes in his works are drama, immediacy, and vulnerability. Inspired by the baroque, he expands on the story of the laborer.
Cole is also available for portrait commissions. For inquiries about a studio visit, purchasing work, organizing shows, or commissions, please contact him via email at colecollier258@gmail.com or direct message on Instagram @colecpainter.
View more of his work on his website
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 8
Cryface design is the brainchild of artist Stephen Bunnell. Hailing from Jacksonville FL, Cryface was influenced at an early age by comics, cartoons, slasher films, heavy metal and the need to escape the every day grind that most people find themselves in.
Over the years he has developed his own style of colorful illustration that has found a home in the music and apparel industry. Cryface has designed custom merch for such bands and apparel companies as sublime, 5 seconds of summer, iron fist clothing, insane clown posse, rotten cotton, victory records, 8-bit zombie, and mac miller.
CoRK WEST, STUDIO 4
Visual Artist / Gardener / Naturalist
Studio Director for CoRK Arts District
Contact: crystal@crystalfloyd.com or corkdistrictevents@gmail.com
Photo credits: Jesse Brantman for studio shots & Amy Ploss Samson for artwork images
Available for Commissions
As a visual artist and aspiring naturalist native to Northeast Florida, Crystal Floyd’s work explores themes of nature, storytelling, and adaptive reuse, transforming collected ephemera and manipulated materials into naturalistic vignettes. Drawing inspiration from the environment and science, she uses preserved insects, plants, taxonomic items, natural artifacts, miniatures and found objects to activate magical narratives. Her practice focuses on encouraging observation and participation in the natural world and closer examination of the individual role and responsibilities we all have to our environment.
In addition to exhibiting personal work and completing commissioned projects, she regularly teaches public and private terrarium construction, art assemblage and gardening workshops at various museums, art venues and gardens. Her goal is to have her work evoke a sense of connection and wonder in the viewer, hopefully causing a ripple effect of increased compassion, creative thinking and caring.
Crystal serves as Studio Director and works from her art space at CoRK Arts District, a large warehouse facility that houses gallery & work space for over 60 artists. Her pieces were recently featured at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens during the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida ArtVentures Anniversary Exhibition in early 2021 and were on view in their Concourse Gallery from September 2020 through February 2021. She was recently featured in Void Magazine’s February 2021 Issue.
Since 2015, Crystal has also filled the role of bimonthly visual arts curator for all three Bold Bean Coffee Roasters locations. Her exhibition at the Thomas Center Gallery’s 2017 juried show, “Cross Creek Rising: The Consciousness of Land and Water,” received an Honorable Mention. Her work has appeared nationally, most recently in shows at Light Grey Art Lab (Minneapolis, MN), the Gallery at Avalon Island (Orlando, FL), Flower Pepper Gallery (Pasadena, CA), and other locations in the United States. Locally, she has recently had her work on view in the offices of the City Council and had work on display for six months in the concourse gallery of the Jacksonville International Airport.
Crystal is a recipient of a 2013 ArtVentures Individual Artist Grant from the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida and a Community First Cares Grant in 2018. Her exhibition with fellow artist Eric Gillyard, entitled "Dark Nature," won Folio's Best of Jax award for Best Art Exhibition of 2012 and her work was featured in a an article and on the cover of Folio's Fall Arts Issue in September 2017. She received an Executive Certificate in Arts and Culture Strategy through the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice | NAS in October 2019.
Comprehensive CV available upon request
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO G
Currently working in watercolor, Danielle Helow is a painter who is reconnecting to her passion for the arts and the simple beauty of the natural world. With a BFA in Visual Communications, she’s moved through the commercial world first as a graphic designer and then ultimately as a leader in brand and marketing for a major health care organization.
In 2019 she started her own brand consultancy with her husband Phil, and now enjoys the flexibility that the new role brings.
Whether it's painting blooms from the backyard, a still life in a day’s routine or fresh picks from the market, Danielle enjoys taking a slice of life and finding the color within.
Member of St. Augustine Art Association and Jacksonville Watercolor Society
IG: @danielle_helow
CoRK LABS, EAST BUILDING
Collaborative work of
Mark Ferreira x Shaun Thurston
IG: @_datastorm
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO A1
Dennis' commissions include portraits of university presidents and U.S. ambassadors, food by celebrity chefs, and fashion work for clothing lines and luxury brands.
His editorial work invokes themes of youth, bad behavior, innocent intentions, and unabashed drug use.
He is a full time photographer based in Florida.
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO M
Doug Eng is a fine art photographer and installation artist whose specialties are urban and natural landscapes.
An engineer by education and trade, Eng is pursuing a lifelong interest in the visual arts and has established a reputation for unique imagery and meaningful public projects. “My visual fascination with my surroundings, whether built or natural, comes from many years of trying to understand why things are what they are. An engineering discipline seeks to explain and rationalize the world, and to develop solutions to problems. My curiosity about forms, structures, patterns, rhythms, and textures, is a natural outgrowth of the need to find order in all things. But it is chaotic randomness that creates uniqueness and vitality. Our world is both simple and complex, structured and random, free and bound…all in a simultaneous expression of what IS. This is my realization through my art and these are the subjects of my investigations.”
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 7
I’ve been a Freelance Photographer for 4 years now, my journey began with portrait photography, expanding to editorial and events as well. My work revolves strongly around the essence of black culture, but I love exploring other cultures and point of views. My passion lies within bringing creative vision and ideas to life!
Phone: 904-718-8285
IG: @shawtyeb
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 10
Erin Kendrick is an international artist and arts educator from Jacksonville, Florida. Her color-rich, works of art and transformative installations examine contemporary spectatorship and the power of language as it relates to the lived experiences of black women and girls. She has exhibited work in museums, galleries and alternative spaces throughout the United States and abroad and maintains a studio at CoRK Arts District. Erin earned an MFA from Georgia State University and a BFA from Florida State University. She is currently the Director of Education and Lead Visual Art Instructor at Jacksonville Arts & Music School.
She was the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville’s 2019 Art Educator of the Year and in 2018, she was voted Best Visual Artist, Best Art Exhibition, and Best Arts Educator in the Folio Weekly. She has won several grants including the Jackie Cornelius Art Residency Grant, the Lift Every Student Artist-In-Residence Grant, and the Community First Foundation Art Ventures Individual Artist Grant.
Her current initiative, “Artists Types”, helps practicing artists with career advancement by providing workshops, mini-courses, and templates for CV writing, artist statements, proposals, and more.
In 2021, her first authored chapter was published by Liverpool University Press’ in the book, With Fists Raised: Radical Art, Contemporary Activism, and the Iconoclasm of the Black Arts Movement.
Websites:
Email Erin: hello@eriniscreative.co
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO G
Portraiture, Landscapes, Abstracts in oil and other mediums. Commissions and Classes offered.
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO K
Jake Carlson is a mixed media and performance artist who received his BFA at Flagler College in 2018. His work constructs cultural identities, and critiques prominent American power structures, while utilizing the body. The form of the work is modular, where objects and performances are fluid in composition.
jakecarlsonart@gmail.com
603-933-0248
jakecarlsonart.com
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 9
Jason Wright, a sideburn wearing silk screen t-shirt enthusiast, can sometimes be found moseying around the hallowed sidewalks of Five Points in cloppity cowboy boots, head darting left and right like a meerkat looking for unlocked doors that might have gin and tonics for sale behind them.
At some point in time, most likely after the Big Bang, he was born in Jacksonville Florida. And some time after that, between mayonnaise and or just bread sandwiches, he began self teaching art to hisself. He’s since been throwing art all over unsuspecting walls throughout town, and all over the US for decades, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
On some days, you might sneak up on him hunched over some sort of instrument, writing music for a short film soundtrack or for his most recent band, Welcome To Wichita, trying to sound like Leonard Cohen fell into The Neverending story.
Prospective collectors of his works (who know the requisite rituals, and know when to do them, on what day, in what phase of the moon) can commission him to fabricate something to be placed somewhere. Legend says he is easy and fun to work with in such an endeavor.
Some of his visual art ranges:
pop art, fine art, fantasy, cartoon work, digital art, t-shirt design, logo design, shrine making, etc..
See more of his work on his website and Instagram.
CoRK East, Studio 2
Jay Myztroh, Jeremy McKinnies, is a vocalist, conductor, songwriter, composer and music educator. He has become known for soulful singing and energetic live performances most recently through the bands Stono Echo and Nightcrawler. He earned a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of North Florida. His Bachelor of Music degree from Jacksonville University was in Music Theory and Composition.
Myztroh’s experience as a musician is diverse. In 2017, his duo with the late great Paten Locke, called Stono Echo, released the LP Black Diamonds with recording label Full Plate. Cosmic Link, his international collaboration with Ben Dubuisson of High Noon records, based in Bristol, UK, produced the Metaphysical EP in 2022 and their self-titled follow up LP is scheduled for a 2023 release. Some of his music has been featured on various television programs/motion pictures, including How I Met Your Mother and Paramount Pictures’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows.
Along with performing in the popular event band Bold City Classics, he continues to sing with original bands Stono Echo, Cosmic Link, NightCrawler and Myztroh & Friends, for which he is also the composer/pianist for. His creations revolve around themes of love, universal truths, and justice.
As a conductor and educator, he has taught pre-k through collegiate undergraduate levels. He is passionate about conducting in increasing awareness of compositions from all over the African Diaspora. This is demonstrated in his Voices of Mahogany choral concert, where black composers from 7 different countries were showcased. In the community, he has directed the Ritz Voices Children’s Chorus and directed plays for Orange Park Community Theatre (Beauty and the Beast/Matilda). Currently, he teaches private lessons (vocal coaching and beginner piano), serves as a vocal ensemble instructor at JAMS (Jacksonville Arts & Music School) and is the music director for Unity Church for Creative Living.
Photo Cred: MK Tebo instagram - @35mmk
Logo Cred: Byron Spates, IG - @steadieroc
IG: @jaymyztroh
CoRK SOUTH, STUDIO 1
Jeff Whipple creates art that engages viewers in imaginative contemplations about the weirdness and beauty of our brief appearance in the infinity of time. He has won awards in professional competitions for drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, video, photography and playwriting.
He has had 83 solo exhibitions in galleries, colleges and museums including the Tampa Museum of Art, the Gulf Coast Museum of Art, the Museum of Florida Art, and the Boca Raton Museum of Art. His art has been in dozens of group exhibitions across the USA and has received 48 top awards in competitions.
Whipple’s play “Spokesperson” was produced in Chicago in 2008 and his comedy, “Couch Potatoes of the 22nd Century” was produced in 2009 in Orlando. He’s had 17 other play productions since the mid-1980s. He’s won several playwriting awards including five Florida statewide playwriting competitions.
Whipple has won six state arts council individual artist fellowships: Two from Illinois: 1985 and 1990 and four from Florida: 1982, 1996, 2006, and 2014. The 1996 Florida fellowship was for Playwriting and the others were for Visual Art. In 2001, he won the $10,000 Fulton Ross Grant based on career achievements.
Whipple’s paintings for a New Orleans library were selected as one of the 50 best public art projects in 2012 by the Public Art Network. His other public art commissions include an 80-foot long video on the exterior of the Tampa Museum of Art, a 300-foot long mural for the City of Tampa and a 150-foot long mural for a library in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Tampa Museum of Art commissioned Whipple to create a large-scale outdoor video and art installation in Miami Beach that was seen by hundreds of thousands during the week of Art Basel Miami in 2006. In 2014, he created a 75-foot long mural for Ballou High School in Washington, DC.
Whipple’s artwork is in dozens of corporate, municipal, college and museum collections.
He has taught at several colleges including Arizona State University, Florida State University, and Northern Illinois University. He currently teaches at the University of North Florida.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 7
Jesse Brantman is a commercial, advertising, and lifestyle photographer based in Jacksonville, Florida. His style is a mix between documentary photo-journalism and natural portraiture. He loves coming at commercial work from a creative angle, with a major focus on emotion and feeling.
contact: 772-285-3072
jessebrantman@gmail.com
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO F
Jim Gold has studied art formally or informally throughout most of his adult life. He is currently focused on plein air and figurative painting.
Jim regularly visits art museum shows and art fairs; and he is active in the Art League of Jacksonville. Other memberships include: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art (Artist Membership), Cummer Museum, etc.
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO A2
Writer, software designer, and student of coffee
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 12
Josh Rudloff | Furious Facades
Josh graduated from SCAD in 2002 with a BFA in Computer Art. He started doing work in government contracting making interactive training. It was interesting but not creative.
Josh started making a comic book called “Dan In Space”, which he kickstarted and was fairly successful. He loved it but it was a lot of work and not much money.
He has 3d modeled for his whole career. So when 3d printers became accessible, he had to get one. I started making cosplay masks and prosthetics. which he has had a great time selling on Etsy. He became so busy that he had printers all over the house and the need for expansion became evident. He is very excited to have a studio at Cork.
512-964-4944
CoRK WEST, STUDIO 4
Jamie Emmanuelli is a Floridan (Jacksonvillian) artisan wandering about the lands as this and that and currently as a ceramic enthusiast.
She has shown us her abilities in other areas, Design and Printmaking, back in her days as a pressman when she worked under the name Paperweight Press. Moving into 2023, she works as an agent of insurance, a peddler of ceramics and a capturer of photography with her husband Miguel Emmanuelli. They work together as StokeFoster.
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO J
Karen Kurycki is a designer/illustrator in Jacksonville, FL. Design is her passion and she loves to combine illustration with design in her commercial work. Karen has been experimenting with watercolor since her days at Kent State University, embracing its unpredictability and the surprises that can come out of using it. She admits that in her view of the world she usually sees the humorous, the quirky, the slightly off "normal", which she tries to communicate through her design and illustration.
Karen has worked with a number of national and international clients including The Washington Post, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Nike, Reebok, McDonald's, AT&T, TBWA Italia and Emirates Airline.
Karen served as president of the Jacksonville AIGA chapter from 2011-2013, and is a strong proponent of volunteerism. During her role as Community Outreach Chair for AIGA Jacksonville, she was instrumental in starting Discover Design, a mentoring program for high school students that has been active for eight years.
Visit Karen's website
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO D
Keith Doles is an artist and graphic designer living in Jacksonville where he received his BFA in Graphic Design from the University of North Florida and a MA in Business from Webster University.
His painting style includes influences from Cubism and Abstract Expressionism where geometric shapes are layered in perspective with expressive color. His paintings have been commissioned for interior design and mural projects.
Doles' graphic design career started at a Wisconsin-based web design firm in 2005. He has worked for a global healthcare device manufacturer and taught fine art courses at the University of North Florida.
In recent years, Doles has participated in several regional art exhibitions and youth outreach activities in Jacksonville, St. Petersburg and St. Augustine, Florida. His work can be found in private collections and public institutions.
CoRK East, Studio 14
Kim is a Florida artist who began in textile design and then migrated into mixed media and painting. She is influenced by the imagery, shapes, colors and patterns found in textile and wallpaper designs and prefers the stylization of Japanese art, graffiti art and tattoo design.
In addition, she is an everyday gardener who spends countless hours working in her flower beds studying the movement and relationships of a variety of wildlife.
Contact: kimcollier8@yahoo.com
View more of Kim’s work on her website
Instagram: guzzone_collier_painter
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 16
Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Korie Williams is a photographer and retoucher specializing in fine art portraiture. With a passion for visual storytelling, her work encompasses weddings, lifestyle photography, and creative portraits, each project reflecting her artistic vision.
Her distinctive style blends high-end beauty with editorial sophistication, focusing on fine details that elevate each image. She believes that every photograph should tell a story, and she aims to capture genuine expressions and emotions in every frame.
While documenting significant events or collaborating with individuals to produce creative portraits, she strives to create an immersive experience that allows her subjects to shine.
Website: www.ruliphotography.com
Email: kapturedbykorie@gmail.com
IG: @ruliphotography
CoRK WEST, STUDIO 1
Lana Shuttleworth ’s highly original art uses common plastic castoff materials, particularly traffic safety cones, to create lavish landscapes and sculptural figures that challenge the viewer’s comprehension. The Los Angeles Times said that in her work “you find yourself looking at these everyday plastic objects in a whole new way.”
Shuttleworth’s work ranges from large ten-foot landscapes to intimate miniature dioramas. Some of her pieces are composed of over 10,000 hand-cut shards of safety cones, forming a dazzling mosaic of dream-like landscapes.
For over 20 years Shuttleworth has been playing with the potential of a plastic cone beyond directing traffic. And her playful yet arresting work makes us realize their potential as well … Her tranquil scenes of Klimt-inspired parks and Japanese-inspired cherry blossoms evoke a humanless, pure natural state. Yet the mosaics of found objects show plastics are often buried deep in our natural and cultural landscapes, even if we do not notice them. Shuttleworth creates an interesting but not incongruous relationship between nature and consumption, asking where found and recycled objects fit into this spectrum.
-- Priscilla Frank, The Huffington Post
Her artwork was featured on the quiz show, Jeopardy, and she has been the cover artist on numerous magazines and art journals. Recent shows of her work include the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, the Beaches Museum, Space 42, the Space Gallery, Ormond Memorial Museum, LeMoyne Gallery in Tallahassee, and the George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles.
CoRK WEST, STUDIO 2
Lane Koster
Ideal Conditions (Control)
Oil on Canvas
20” x 16”
NFP
Ideal Conditions (Confounder)
Oil on Canvas
12” x 10”
WIP
b. 1980 (Boston, Ma)
Education
Harvard University (A.B. History of Art & Architecture) 1999 - 2005
Williams College Graduate Program
in the History of Art — Clark Art Institute 2005 - 2007
Academy of Classical Design: D. Jeffrey Mims, director 2011 - 2020
Exhibition
“Pure Ornament,” Ann Long Fine Art (Charleston, SC) 2013
Publication
Classicist, No.13, “The American South,” p. 96. 2016
Classicist, No.16, “Chicago,” p. 98. 2019
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 4
Larry Wilson received his Bachelor of Design Degree, University of Florida in 1976. After practicing in Houston, Washington, DC and New York City,
Wilson relocated to Jacksonville, Florida. Wilson has exhibited in national museums and galleries including the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, Fl., MOCA, Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, The Fine Art Museum of the South, Montgomery, Alabama, The Alexander Breast Museum at Jacksonville University, The Boca Museum, Baca Raton, Florida, Montgomery Museum of Art, Montgomery, Alabama, The Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, Florida and The Nathan Wilson Gallery at Florida Community College in Jacksonville.
Appointed by the Mayor he served as the Chair for the Art in Public Places Committee, he also served on the board of The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and currently sits on the Jacksonville International Airport Art Commission. Wilson has served as a Trustee on the board of the Jacksonville Museum of Contemporary Art.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 4
Jacksonville based artist Laurie Hitzig, a graduate of the University of Florida, also studied at the Kansas City Art Institute, Florida State University Overseas Study Program in Florence, Italy and the University of Missouri.
Hitzig, a native New Yorker, has been exhibiting her powerful and mystical paintings and sculpture since 1985. Laurie’s work has been shown nationally and regionally and has won top awards in Juried and Group exhibitions. Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout the Southeast including The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens Jacksonville, the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA), the University of North Florida, the south gallery at the Nathan H. Wilson Center for the Arts at FSCJ, Jacksonville, The Alexander Brest Museum at Jacksonville University, The Boca Art Museum, The Norton Art Museum in Palm Beach, The All Florida Juried Exhibitions in Boca, The Haskell Gallery, Jacksonville international Airport, The Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra, The Thomas Center in Gainesville, The Suwannee Valley Regional Exhibitions, The University of Mobile, Florida A&M University and The Fine Arts Council of Montgomery, Alabama. Laurie was invited to participate in The Florida-Wyoming Tarot Project Artists’ Collaboration with the Wyoming Arts Council in Cheyenne which was exhibited in galleries throughout the country.
From the Artist:
Creating is a process of constant discovery.
Sometimes the image is right there, other times it is a struggle.
When the images begin to reveal themselves it becomes a collaboration between me and the work.
It is always different from my initial intent.
The most successful and exciting pieces are the ones that just happen on their own.
All I have to do is brush away the dirt and uncover what is hidden.
lehitzig@gmail.com 904 318-9544
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 7
Lexi Mire Brantman uses printmaking, embroidery and alternative photography processes to explore botanical imagery and art history. Lexi’s first book, Beautiful Embroidered Accessories, is available online with most major retailers.
To learn more, visit leximire.com.
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO G
Figure Sculptor / Writer
Contact: rodanteart@gmail.com
CoRK SOUTH, STUDIO 1
Liz Gibson is a self-proclaimed “Deformance” artist who expresses her personal experience of living with a birth defect through her art. She works in painting, sculpture, video, installation, performance and storytelling.
Her art has been presented and exhibited in galleries, colleges and museums including performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, the Jepson Center at the Telfair Museum in Savannah and the Ringling Museum of Art.
Gibson won an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs for 2014. She was a recipient of a Spark Grant funded by Florida Blue Insurance to bring art experiences about her themes to young adults in Jacksonville in 2014-2015. She also received a grant from the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida for 2013-14.
She received her MFA in Performance Art from Florida State University in 2011. Gibson is based in Jacksonville, Florida and teaches at the University of North Florida.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 3
Madeleine Peck-Wagner (United States, 1977), received her BFA from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts and anticipates the completion of her MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design in late 2014.
She has exhibited her work in Miami, Los Angeles, Asheville, and Orlando. She has been a guest curator at the Museum of Modern Art, Jacksonville, a guest lecturer at the Woman’s Center of Jacksonville, and an artist in residence at UF Health, a trauma one hospital in the urban center of Jacksonville.
Engaging in a drawing practice that is edging towards sculpture, Peck-Wagner’s works are an attempt to reconcile fixed notions of beauty with that which is imperfect and flawed.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 22
Marcus Jamal Williams is a visual artist born in Jacksonville, FL in 1988. He has been immersed in the world of visual and performing art since a the age of 5, first developing his passion for creativity while attending Lake Forest elementary, school of the arts.
This early and consistent exposure to the arts revealed a pervasive lack of representation with regards to both the creators and subjects of the most well known and highly regarded works of art. This observation heavily influences Williams' decision to exclusively depict members of the African diaspora, primarily its female members, and to do so with a reverential approach prevalent in the work he grew up learning about. He also creates work designed to evoke a shift in perspective around issues of historical oppression and continued injustices.
Williams' professional career began in 2011 after earning a degree in philosophy from the University of Florida and moving back to Jacksonville. Early on, his work was largely observational rather than conceptual and consisted of mostly charcoal and graphite. Over time, his preferred medium gradually shifted towards acrylic paint, allowing for the exploration of wide range concepts and techniques. This shift led to an experimental method of creating, where each successive piece builds on the trials and errors of previous works. Abstraction, blurring the boundaries between foreground and background, and exploring different application methods are some of the tools employed in his constantly evolving process. Whereas his early work centered around the accurate depiction of subjects, his current work seeks to interpret them in more thoughtful and creative ways.
Williams' work has been exhibited in galleries and museums locally and internationally and has been featured in various publications including, EU Jacksonville, Folio Weekly, Worthy Magazine, Arbus Magazine, and Modish Affairs. He currently has work in various private collections and works out of his studio in the Cork Arts District in his hometown of Jacksonville.
photos by Cre8Jax
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 13
Contemporary Figurative Painter
MFA : The Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts, in Philadelphia.
BA : Florida State University , The History and Criticism of Art
BFA : Florida State University, Painting and Drawing.
Media: Oil Painting, Drawing, Mixed Media, Acrylic and Installation Works
Currently:
Taking commissions (email or call) Teaching private lessons and classes (email or call) Looking for an opportunity to do what I love.
Contact: marisayowart@gmail.com
CoRK SOUTH, STUDIO 2
Renaissance Jax is responsible for 170 FIRST Robotics teams in Northeast Florida. Our machine shop calls the CoRK Arts District home and we are built upon the idea that engineering is an art form. When you place robotics students near the ideas and artists at CoRK, magic happens.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 16
Marquis, founder of J Marq Productions, is a Jacksonville-based filmmaker specializing in commercial, event, creative and wedding cinematography. With roots in visual arts that began with pen-and-paper drawings, Marquis has transformed his early passion into a thriving career behind the camera. His work is defined by a keen eye for detail and a commitment to capturing moments that resonate.
Whether it’s crafting a brand’s story or preserving memories from a couple’s big day, Marquis blends creativity and professionalism to deliver cinematic experiences that exceed expectations.
J Marq Productions is known for its unique storytelling, high-quality visuals, and dedication to clients, ensuring every project reflects the emotion and energy of the moment.
Website: www.jmarqproductions.com
Email: marquis.filmmaker@gmail.com
Phone: (904) 497-5463
IG: @gin_marquis
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO G
Mary O. Smith received her Bachelor of Design in 1982 from Louisiana State University. In her professional years working for an architectural firm as an interior designer, she developed a quick architectural rendering style to convey ideas to clients which lead her to the love of plein air painting.
Mary O. is a member of Plein Air Painters of the Southeast, Signature Member of Southern Watercolor Society, Georgia Watercolor Society, and Tallahassee Watercolor Society. She is a founding and current board member of Pines & Palms. She was invited to be faculty at Plein Air South in 2021 and Ambassador for the Forgotten Coast Plein Air event in Apalachicola in 2022. She is one of the featured artists for the High Cotton Paint Out in Thomasville, GA. She enjoys sharing her love of painting and the inspiration of Southern subjects; boats, oaks with moss, historical landmarks.
Mary O. will say that her highest achievement thus far is winning the Artist Choice Award at the Shadows on the Teche event 2021. She won Louisiana Beauty Award 2023 at the Shadows event. Her motto that she tries to reinforce as of late, is “A little planning is planning to succeed”.
Artist Statement
As an artist. I am always reaching for the next level of growth and expressing myself through color and form using subject matter. I have gained a wealth of knowledge through the teachings of accomplished artists and through my own work in the studio and plein-air painting. I hope through my own teaching I can inspire other artists to reach their goals. I start each painting with a plan of values and shapes to achieve the composition that reveals my feelings and inspirations of the scene. Whether painting in oil or watercolor, I am figuring out the best method for designing my work. I want my work to have expressive lines and movement, but through a well thought out format. I love painting in plein-air. It comes with many challenges: weather conditions, hot or humid, cold and windy. I love creating a painting that coveys something about the day that I encountered and the shapes that caught my attention. I use the moment to inspire me.
Living near the gulf coast has a wealth of marine subjects; working boats, shrimp boats, boats in dry storage. Moss covered oaks are among the wonderful subjects of the area. With a background in architectural rendering, finding an interesting building is just an added bonus. I fall in love with each area that I paint.
You can find more of her work in oils, watercolor, and gouache on her website, www.maryosmith.com.
Facebook: Studio by Mary O
Instagram: @mary.o.smith
Email: maryo@maryosmith.com
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 3
Mary St. Germain is an American Visual Artist based in Jacksonville, Florida. Her studio is in the the CoRK Arts District, an active studio/gallery warehouse district .
Mary's work is in both private and public collections including: Lee Health Gulf Coast Medical Center, Fort Myers, Fl., Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fl., Mayo Clinic Primary Care Center, Jacksonville, Fl., Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center, Jacksonville, Fl., University of North Florida~ Thomas G. Carpenter Library, Permanent Collection, Louisiana State Medical Center,Shreveport, LA., Baptist Hospital South, Jacksonville, Fl., Flagler Hospital, St.Augustine, Fl. United States Embassy, Tegucigalpa, Honduras (4 year term).
From the artist:
I am a painter whose work is sparked by the natural world through observation and informed by memory and imagination. Enjoying the breadth of working between genres: still life, nature, landscape, and botanicals, the ebb and flow of my personal life guides the journey.
My work is typically nature based, a recent breast cancer journey along with my primary caretaker role has proven to reinforce and stimulate that interest. Nature, for me, acts as healer, supporter, and spiritual energy source. I explore and manipulate color complexions to capture the essence of our environment, often employing calligraphic line as an element. Walking through the wildflowers, entranced by the winged things , discovering the complexities and interaction of nature, man, and our spiritual existence. I am thankful to observe the waning of life and excited by the seeds of new beginnings.
It is my belief that art and nature are the catalysts to the healing process of the human spirit, lifting our thoughts and emotions to levels that transform our physical and spiritual wellbeing.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 7
Rakimism Photography LLC
Lifestyle Photographer
First name Wesly while my second middle name “Rakim” stems from the 90’s hip-hop artist, ode to my mothers taste in music. Virginia Beach, Virginia proved to be my early roots and after a few stops down the east coast my home was made here in Jacksonville, FL. 2009 is my first memory of ever touching a camera not yet knowing just how intrinsic the craft was engrained in my shutter finger.
Today, I have the special privilege as a Lifestyle Photographer to exercise my “ism” by helping curate the soul of different Lifestyles through timeless imagery rather it be celebrating life events, producing eclectic art projects, to birthing unique Business identities for Entrepreneurs like myself.
Capturing the essence of what’s in my frame is 100% my passion and driving force behind every client session and I look forward to illustrating yours!
Phone: (904) 775-2265
CoRK WEST, STUDIO 4
Olivia Carr was born in St. Augustine, Florida in 1985. She studied at the Jewelry Design Institute where she learned the fundamental techniques of design and jewelry fabrication, including silversmithing and casting.
Carr has been creating jewelry for the last 12 years and has received a degree in sculpture from the University of North Florida. She maintains a studio in Jacksonville, FL at Cork Arts District in the Riverside neighborhood. In her work, she explores the relationship between fine art and craft, particularly interested in the areas where the two disciplines merge and where they divide.
Carr finds great inspiration in the organic patterns and repetitions found in the plant and animal kingdoms.
contact: oliviamcarr@gmail.com
website: oliviacarr.com
CoRK EAST, LABS
Photo credit for images: Jesse Brantman
Overstreet Ducasse is a Haitian artist based in Jacksonville, Florida. After moving to the United States at age six and feeling disconnected with his new environment, Ducasse found solace - and a way of expressing himself - through art. His work stands out due to its hidden depths: clever symbolism, metaphors and irony lay just beneath the surface for viewers to explore as they attempt to decipher what statement he's trying best to convey.
Through 'The Floreada Targets' series specifically; these amalgamations of gun range targets -- representing magazine covers -- document current affairs while prompting civic engagement between those that take it upon themselves to view them carefully.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 15
Pablo Rivera was born in El Barrio, Spanish Harlem section of New York City, graduated from Cooper Union School of Art, attended workshops at School of Visual Arts and Educational Alliance in New York as well as workshops in Florida, Charles Reid and Mary Whyte in watercolor and Enzo Torcoletti in stone sculpture.
Rivera is a multi faceted artist, well known for his stone and wood sculptures, expressive watercolor paintings, portraits and drawings, represented in many private collections. He is a popular teacher in those disciplines as well. Rivera has been and still is a practicing fine art as well as commercial photographer.
904-612-9307
magdairip@yahoo.com
www.pablorivera-art.com
CoRK WEST, STUDIOS 5 & 7
Paul Ladnier, Professor Emeritus, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, taught painting and drawing for nearly forty years. He received numerous awards and recognition for the quality of his teaching and dedication to his students, the community, and the university. Upon his retirement, UNF honored him with an eponymous scholarship, which provides educational funds for exceptional painting majors. He received the MFA degree from Syracuse University and the BFA degree from Ringling School of Art, Sarasota, Florida. Paul has exhibited in solo exhibitions and numerous group shows throughout his career. He is an invited artist to many plein-air competitions and events throughout the United States. He taught two summers in Italy as part of UNF’s study abroad program. He has painted throughout the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe.
He is a member of The American Impressionist Society, The Society of Illustrators, since 1984, and in 2017 he was elected to the prestigious Salmagundi Club, New York. In 2019 he was voted into the prestigious Florida artists organization FLAG. (Florida Artists Group.) He was one of eight charter members to start the CoRK Arts District in Jacksonville, which has become a focal point of the arts. It has grown to more than 65 artists and studios.
Paul continues to travel, paint, exhibit his works, teach privately at his CoRK studio and conduct painting and drawing workshops. In June 2019, he taught a plein-air workshop for Il Chiostro at San Fedele, Italy, and most recently, conducted a three-weekend figure drawing/painting workshop at the CoRK studios in Jacksonville.
Affiliations: Salmagundi Club, New York, Society of Illustrators, FCPAP (First Coast Plein Air Painters), The American Impressionist Society, FLAG, (Florida Artists Group.)
CoRK EAST, STUDIOS 5
Photo credit for images: Jesse Brantman
The Sword & Brush Gallery
Princess Simpson Rashid is an American abstract painter and printmaker.
Her current body of work explores the relationship between color, perception and symbolism. She is a breast cancer survivor and feels her more recent work has been matured and tempered by that experience.
Rashid has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in museums, art centers, galleries and alternative art spaces across the United States including the Pacific Grove Art Center in Pacific Grove, CA, Felix Kulpa Gallery in Santa Cruz, CA, Tempus Projects in Tampa, FL and the CoRK Art District in Jacksonville, FL.
In addition, her paintings and prints are in museum and private collections in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Portugal. Rashid’s museum collections include, The Museum of Science and History (MOSH) in Jacksonville, FL, The Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence, KS, and The Lake Eustis Museum of Art in Eustis, FL.
Princess Simpson Rashid was born in Atlanta, GA in 1972. She studied printmaking and painting at Escuela de Artes in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She earned her B.S in Physics from Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA.
Rashid currently operates her studio practice within the CoRK Art District of Jacksonville, FL.
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO E
Robert Leedy’s watercolors are filled with bold color and luminous light; the paintings wonderfully exemplify the medium through mingling color, granulating washes, and rich, transparent glazes.
A native Floridian, Leedy grew up in Jacksonville but spent over 20 years living worldwide. He returned to his hometown in 2010. The artist now divides his time between his studio at CoRK and painting in nature en plein air.
Leedy teaches watercolor classes and workshops at CoRK and annual workshops in Italy. He accepts commissioned work and is available for lectures and group demonstrations. Studio visits are arranged by appointment through his website. His work can be seen and purchased on his website.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 14
Painter, Printmaker, Collage Artist, Art Educator
Available for commissions
Sarah Colado (She/Her) is an artist and educator living in Jacksonville, Florida. She obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Painting, Drawing and Printmaking with a minor in Art History from the University of North Florida in 2014.
Sarah has participated in group shows nationally and regionally, had solo exhibitions of her work and maintains a balance between artist and educator with her studio practice at CoRK. Her work marries the use of collage, paint and printmaking techniques that focus on perceptions of identity and gender-based roles in society. The often humorous or satirical nature of her collage work leads to reworked images across disciplines. Sarah experiments with transforming paintings to drawings, drawings to paintings and collages to prints.
Sarah is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Art Education from the University of Florida. Sarah currently teaches drawing and painting at the high school level but has also explored adult education at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in 2018 as an assistant educator, teaching fundamental techniques in drawing. Sarah also participated in the 2019 Arrowmont artist residency, Pentaculum in January of 2019.
You can follow Sarah on Instagram @sarah.colado.art or see more of her work on her website
Contact: sbcolado@gmail.com
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 25
"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." - Confucius
Stephanie Glen is an award-winning visual artist who works in pen and ink. In 2023, Glen’s one-line drawing "One Line Street" won the People's Choice 2D award at Artfields in Lake City, South Carolina.
Each of Glen’s signature drawings is composed of a single, continuous line that never crosses its own path. Her art is based on an unsolved mathematical problem called The Traveling Salesman problem. Each drawing takes many hours to design and draw – and in some cases can take hundreds of hours to complete. For example, One Line Street – which is 5’ x 4’ – took 400 hours to draw.
contact: andalepublishing@gmail.com
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 6
Stephen Dunn Art
Studio and Plein Air Original Oil Paintings
I currently reside in Jacksonville FL. My passion for oil painting started as child and I have continually worked on excelling over the years. I am happiest with a brush in my hand in the studio or out in the fresh air painting.
Currently my studio is in the CoRK Art District here in Jacksonville. I have been doing studio art for many years, but now my new love is Plein air painting. I am also the past President of the First Coast Plein Air Painters of Jacksonville, Fl.
I mainly paint oils although have tried other medias, I am a self-taught artist. I currently teach Oil and Drawing classes and do commissions of all types. My love for the outdoors helps to see what has been created to put it on to canvas.
Stephendunnart@att.net
904-571-1721
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO G
Susan Daly Voss is a contemporary realist oil painter, who enjoys exploring the effects of light, whether it’s illuminating a still life, landscape or figure.
Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, her interest in art was nurtured from a very young age, and eventually led to a BFA in painting and printmaking Summa Cum Laude, from the University of North Florida in 1986, where she earned the award of Outstanding Graduate of the College of Fine Arts.
Daly’s education continued with her move to NY, where she studied at the renowned Art Student’s League and The Andrew Lattimore Atelier. She also studied regularly with Garin Baker at his Carriage House Studios, as well as American master Max Ginsburg. Time spent in the museums and galleries there was an important education as well.
Her years in NY were highlighted by her invitation to join the esteemed Salmagundi Club of NYC, founded in 1871 as a center for artists and collectors. Her paintings hang there regularly, in members exhibitions.
Her paintings are in many corporate collections, including Sun Bank, Florida State College, Halifax Hospital and others. Private collections range over three continents.
Back in her hometown of Jacksonville now, and with a studio in the CoRK Arts District, she looks forward to exploring the light and form of the Southeast’s coastal areas, as well as continuing her interest in still life and the figure.
Daly shares her life with her husband John Voss, and son Devin Daly as well as her studio buddy, standard poodle Jax, who is her biggest fan.
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 10
Susan Davenport Ober was born and reared in Virginia. As an adult, she lived in South Carolina, Virginia and Washington before moving to North Florida in 1987. She earned a BS degree in art education at Longwood College in Virginia and did post-graduate study in art education at Virginia Commonwealth University. At University of North Florida she earned a BFA with an emphasis in drawing.
She has had a nearly life-long interest in portraiture and figurative representation. In this pursuit, she has used a wide range of media, including vine charcoal, pastel, oil, and watercolor as well as clay, wax, and bronze. In recent years she has been better known for floral and still life painting.
In her current work, she uses the tool of photography to capture, preserve, enlarge, and reveal. She uses the vehicle of oil painting to interpret the discoveries she makes from her photographs of a transient subject.
Ober has participated in both solo and group shows in the southeastern states. Her work has received both regional and national recognition and is in private, corporate and museum collections.
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO I
Acrylic painter Tiffany Manning’s drive to create is fueled by a lifelong fascination with energy and the way it moves through people to form the connective tissue that weaves our world together. The aspects rooted somewhere between science and spirit are what excite her the most.
Her process, heavily influenced by music and dance, allows for a complete surrender to the experience. She becomes present with the canvas. A palpable energetic thread of joy courses through her work because that is the energy she wants to leave behind, long after the work is done.
Artist Statement:
“I lovingly refer to my studio practice as the art of allowing. I am creating to be present in my body. I am creating to have a better understanding of the parts inside that can only be discovered through a sense of mental displacement. My time in the studio is one part moving meditation and one part dance party for one. This is where I tap into my bliss, but that state of bliss can only be achieved when I am acting as a conduit, rather than a conductor.”
IG: @lovetifcreates
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 19
Tim Gilmore has written 22 books including The Culture Wars of Warren Folks, Murder Capital: Eight Stories, 1890s-1980s, Channeling Anna Fletcher, Repossessions: Mass Shooting in Baymeadows, The Book of Isaiah: A Vision of the Founder of a City, illustrated by Shep Shepard, Devil in the Baptist Church: Bob Gray’s Unholy Trinity, and The Mad Atlas of Virginia King. Four of his works for the stage have been produced by Florida State College at Jacksonville DramaWorks. His writing has appeared in numerous publications both locally and nationally.
Gilmore is the writer and creator of Jax Psycho Geo, a hometown project that explores place and catalogues the Southern Gothic, telling more than 700 stories of strange and historic locations in and around Jacksonville, Florida. JaxPsychoGeo has received mention in publications including The Miami Herald, The Washington Post and The New Yorker and was featured in the A24 book Florida! A Hyper-Local Guide to the Flora, Fauna and Fantasy of the Most Far-Out State in America.
Gilmore is the founder of JaxbyJax, now in its 10th year, a literary arts festival built on the theme of “Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville.” He teaches Literature and Writing at Florida State College at Jacksonville. He’s received awards from FSCJ, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and Jacksonville City Council. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida.
You can also read his regular posts about architecture and anti-racism, moonshine murder and racist governors, alligator electroliers and writers at Tim Gilmore’s deadpaper page.
b&w photo credit: James Hunter
CoRK NORTH, STUDIO C
Tony Wood was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee but left there to pursue a career in art. Wood studied with photo-realists in Columbia, South Carolina, and studied contemporary pop art on the streets of San Francisco and finally expressive and realistic figure at the University of North Florida where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2001.
Wood is currently based in Jacksonville, FL at the CoRK Arts District in Riverside and teaches art and design at Stanton College Preparatory School. Wood recently had an exhibition based on a westerner’s point-of-view of Japanese Ama pearl divers from the 1960’s in the South Gallery, at the Wilson Center and a collaborative exhibition of paintings and performance with playwright and musician, Jennifer Chase and actor, Eva Matthews at the gallery at CoRK North and will be exhibited again in January at the Cummer Museum.
Wood has shown his work throughout the Southeast and can be found in many private and academic collections.
“My paintings seem to always gravitate towards people, faces and the figure. I believe I am looking for an emotional connection, a certain action that speaks to our humanity, our biography, our wit, and I want to say it with subtle but universally recognizable human gestures and nuanced body language. Because I choose to paint people and their emotions, I have often been called a romantic, trying to only paint and draw beautiful things. Sometimes this is true – I like to accentuate the beautiful in an often ugly world – but I’m not naïve. I also want my art to reflect my time and my truth. This is a truth in metaphor only because the idea of a naturalistic painting as something other than illusion is laughable. It is a lie by nature. A lie made beautiful, poignant or ugly by the artist. I am interested in this beautiful lie and how I can use it to find my place in the vast representation of the human in art.”
CoRK EAST, STUDIO 7
Kyle and Marquiette Dorrell
Jacksonville natives,
looking to tell stories
and shine light on our
community and the history it holds.
GO JAGS !
View the Weighed Sailor website
Phone: 904-613-1912
CoRK WEST, STUDIO 8
The physical manifestation of Hip-Hop and one of the funkiest cats to ever touch a microphone and MPC.
