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HCC showcasing rare collection of Florida-themed art during free exhibit

By FOX 13 News Staff
Published  September 15, 2024 1:47pm EDT
Tampa
FOX 13 News

Flourishing Dichotomies exhibit at HCC

Hillsborough Community College's Flourishing Dichotomies: Florida Art, Past & Present exhibit showcases a rare collection of Florida themed art.

TAMPA, Fla. - In the art world, it's kind of a big deal to get the chance to see a rare collection of Florida themed art all in one place. Hillsborough Community College is not only showcasing the Vickers Collection, they are doing it for free.

"The Vickers collection is one of the world's largest collections of Florida art," shared Jennifer Ring from Gallery 221 at the HCC Dale Mabry Campus, "It's something very special that the Harn [Museum] recently acquired."

Samuel and Roberta Vickers collected over 1,200 works of art from all over. Some are oil paintings, some are photographs, some are by famous artists and some are by relatively unknown creators. The common theme is Florida.

The curator from HCC was allowed to create this traveling exhibit from that collection.

"It is Florida. All of Florida. Good Florida, bad Florida, old Florida, new Florida and that's part of where the title comes from [for the exhibit], Flourishing Dichotomies," explained Ring.

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The trained eye will recognize the art of Florida Highwayman Johnny Lee "Hook" Daniels in this traveling selection of artwork.

"We have museum quality art on loan from the Harm from the Vicker's Collection," said Ring. " 'Cause you have all of this growth the flourishing, all of these contradictions. You can see that here. You can see the old Florida grove scene at sunset. Which is something you don't see as much of anymore; next to a parking lot. Which is something you see a lot of these days."

Ring encouraged visitors to come inside Gallery 221 to see the collection as it speaks to the entire state and the beauty of this place we call home.

"You can learn a lot about Florida history from this exhibit," she said. "So much of this exhibit is so much of what's great about Florida. It's like you're traveling through every bit of the state in this small gallery space."

The exhibit is free to the community and parking is free as well.

To see what times the exhibit is open, click here.

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