Tampa Museum of Art reopens with 2 exhibitions that will be in place through fall

TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Museum of Art reopened this week and they are especially grateful to benefactors who have allowed some of their traveling exhibits from spring to remain in place through the fall so visitors can experience those works of art. 

Two of those exhibits are from National Medal of Arts recipient Frank Stella. 

"We are excited to have recently reopened two new exhibitions," shared Joanna Robotham, curator of modern and contemporary art at the museum. "They are both focused on the artist Frank Stella."

His collections "What You See" and "Illustrations after El Lissitzky’s Had Gadya," are prominently featured at the Museum of Art through the fall.

In the first gallery, "What you See," is work from his early period.

"(You see) the wild breadth of color that Stella is known for," Robotham explained. "All of this action creates an illusion of depth."

"He goes from minimalism to maximalism, to a kind of refined minimalist composition,” she said

In the second gallery, "Illustrations after El Lissitzky’s Had Gadya," Robotham said, "You see the full gallery of Had Gadya."

The artwork is patterned after Russian artist El Lissitzky's gouaches illustrating a traditional Jewish Passover song - Had Gadya.

"There are 10 verses in the song," shared Robotham. "So there are 10 corresponding prints as well as a front cover and back cover."

"What you see is Frank Stella responding to another artist's work," she explained

Robotham further stated that the Museum of Art's reopening allows them to prepare for the 2020 Centennial celebration. 

They have prepared the antiquities gallery for this event.

"So upstairs you'll see the very first pieces we acquired that really anchored the identity of the museum” she explained. "We have raw objects that really speak to the founding of the museum."

To see the art of Frank Stella and some of the very first pieces that the Museum of Art ever collected 100 years ago, reserve a time on its website https://tampamuseum.org/.