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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT JANUARY 11, 2024
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Picking up the pieces Judy Pfaff’s SAM show evokes Hurricane Ian and a life of upheaval. MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
I
s it possible to create beauty out of the remnants of destruction?
Image courtesy of Peter Aaron
Artist Judy Pfaff’s exhibition “Picking Up the Pieces” runs through March 24 at SAM.
Yes, says artist Judy Pfaff.
You can decide for yourself
at her exhibition, “Picking Up the Pieces,” which runs through March 24 at Sarasota Art Museum. The show has a schizophrenic feel. One half is an exploration of the aftermath of Hurricane Ian’s September 2022 landfall. Pfaff saw Ian’s impact firsthand when she visited Fort Myers and Sanibel Island after the storm. The other half of the exhibition is a dizzying riot of color. Walking through works cobbled together from salvaged odds and ends feels like going to a garage sale after taking LSD. (That observation is based on portrayals in books and film, not personal experience.) SEE PFAFF, PAGE 2
IF YOU GO
JUDY PFAFF: ‘PICKING UP THE PIECES’ When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Runs through March 24 Where: Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $15 Info: Visit SarasotaArtMuseum.org.
Monica Gagnier
One half of Judy Pfaff’s “Picking Up the Pieces” exhibition at SAM focuses on the wake of Hurricane Ian.