- September 12, 2024
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Somewhere, Syd Solomon is smiling.
The late artist and his wife Annie, who died in 2020 at age 102, were known for bringing Sarasota's visual arts community together and sparking dialogue, collaboration and fun.
As a result of the teamwork at Ringling College of Art and Design's recent Solomon exhibition, a new gallery has opened in the historic Burns Court district.
The team behind the new 502 Gallery at 502 S. Pineapple Ave. — Ringling College Chief Curator Tim Jaeger, art collector and investor Dr. Richard Mones and gallery operations manager Christina Antoniou — collaborated on "“Fluid Impressions: The Paintings of Syd Solomon," which ran from November 2023 to March in the college's Lois and David Stulberg Gallery.
Rounding out the 502 Gallery team is Jaeger's wife, Cassia Kite, who is an arts educator and an artist herself.
Including the Ringling College galleries that Jaeger oversees, the 502 Gallery brings the number of galleries that he's actively curating to nine.
Like all artistic endeavors, 502 Gallery is a labor of love. But the partners aim to make money for themselves and for the Sarasota artists whose works are on display in the 400-square-foot gallery.
The grand opening for 502 Gallery was scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 4, but Hurricane Debby threw a wrench into the works and the event was delayed until Aug. 11.
On Aug. 9, the partners in 502 Gallery were presiding over a soft opening of sorts, as friends and well-wishers dropped by the gallery, which was dealing with some air-conditioning problems. Even with the last-minute opening snafus, the excitement was palpable.
Despite lifelong admonitions heard by every American to "think big," 502 Gallery is doing exactly the opposite. Its first show, "Shopliftable," features multimedia works no larger than 6 inches high, wide and deep. The pieces are billed as "small enough to steal," but they also seem like the perfect stocking stuffers for arts lovers. (It's never too early to start your holiday shopping.)
The response to 502 Gallery's request for entries was so great that its next show, in November, will be called "Shopliftable II."
Even with a soft opening, artworks were being purchased on Aug. 9 and Antoniou, a Boston native who graduated from Ringling's Fine Arts department in May, slipped into the back room to pick up new pieces to replenish the gallery's display.
The price points range from $300 to $1,300, Antoniou says.
The Jaegers and Mones see 502 Gallery as filling a niche in the Sarasota arts scene that has been overlooked.
By focusing on small works, 502 Gallery is offering affordability, giving both established and emerging artists the opportunity to connect with collectors who need art to fill a corner or a space on a bookshelf. "It's all about being accessible," Jaeger says.
For their new venture, partners considered South Palm Avenue downtown, home to other art galleries and the scene of First Friday Artwalks during season, but the rents were too high, Mones says.
The block of Pineapple Avenue where 502 Gallery is located is filled with restaurants, antique stores and other retailers, and the sidewalk art has been refreshed ahead of this November's Chalk Festival. Just around the corner is Burns Court Cinema and the ever-popular Owen's Fish Camp. "It's a perfect location for us," Mones says.
About 50 Sarasota artists are featured in the first edition of "Shopliftable." Among them are familiar names such as Omar Chacon, Keith Crowley, Jack Dowd, Joe Fig, Virginia Hoffman, Joseph Melancon, Marina Shaltout as well as Kite, who has been married to Jaeger since 2012.
Kite met her future husband when she took a class at Ringling College, which included a visit to Jaeger's studio at the time. "We started talking and we haven't stopped since," she says.
Despite their small space, Jaeger and his collaborators envision 502 Gallery as a hub for artists and their collectors. The gallery is just a few doors down from Project Coffee, and Jaeger hopes the space will be the kind of place where folks drop by just as they would a coffee shop. "We want to build community," Jaeger says.
