‘Day Dreams’ exhibit depicts dreams at Morean Art Center in St. Pete

ST PETERSBURG, Fla. - The ‘Day Dreams’ exhibition at the Morean Arts Center depicts dreams in artwork. 

"I hope everyone that sees this exhibition just gets really mesmerized by everything," Morean Arts Center Chief Curator Amanda Cooper said. 

The backstory:

The exhibition features work from S|ART|Q Artist Collective based in the Sarasota area. S|ART|Q is a play on the SRQ code for Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. 

"As a collective, we really strive to create unique and collaborative exhibitions and art experiences for the community," S|ART|Q Artist Collective Co-Director Julie Kanapaux said. 

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Sharing artwork from different locations and perspectives is one of the goals of the Morean Arts Center in St. Pete, so a natural partnership was born. "Day Dreams" was a result of that collaboration. 

Dig deeper:

"Our idea was to have a theme that was open enough so that all of our artists could join the exhibition," Kanapaux said. "We all take a little bit of a different take on that, some more literal than others, but all come from that space of daydreaming and being in that creative space of inspiration."

Kanapaux contributed a pair of paintings to the show, called "Desert Glow" and "Desert Prayer." She said they are reflections of a trip to Southern California. 

"I felt like the theme, Daydreams, would work really well for these pieces, because they're very reflective of that open kind of dreamy space where you have a lot of light and a lot of intense reflections from the landscape," Kanapaux said. 

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Artist Izzy Stark created two large, vibrant and colorful pieces titled "Sing Me to Sleep One" and "Sing Me to Sleep Two." They feature lyrics from "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "Good Night Sweetheart."

"I find a lot of peace and nostalgic elements of my past. Ultimately, I was sent back to the memories of my mom singing to me to sleep as a kid. There's something so potent about tapping into those moments," Stark said. "The shapes themselves are kind of like reminiscent of childhood crayon-scribbled drawings, and they’re bright and colorful, and that's exactly how I feel when I think of those memories."

What they're saying:

Both artists stress the importance of daydreaming in today's busy world. 

"The daydream is that little moment where I can think about the future or think about a time in the past that gives me some peace and some sense of serenity and certainly hope for the future," Kanapaux said. "When you're working on something and really focused on it, it becomes entirely meditative, so even the process of art making is a bit of daydreaming in itself."