There have been others like Gone Fishin, Trans, and Pose down just to name a few. If you know of others let us know.

Hopefully these biker chicks won’t be there.

Relay for Life Downtown has a limited  discounted amount of tickets for the last few shows.  If you have not seen this performance you need to.  For more information about tickets contact Beth Hayes 239-936-1113 or Don Molloy 239-980-1077

“Poked in the Mind’s Eye: The Humorous Perspective of Doug MacGregor”

Opening Reception: Friday, May 6th, 5:00-7:00PM
Exhibiting: May 6-28
Gallery WALK & TALK w/ Doug MacGregor: May 18th, 1:30-2:30PM

On May 06, 2011, the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center will host its first solo exhibition by local resident and internationally renowned painter Marcus Jansen. His recent documentary, A Painters’s Allegory, will show during the reception and throughout the exhibition period.  The show opens at 6:00 p.m., during Art Walk, and runs through May 27, 2011.  The Art Center is located at 2301 First Street, in the River District, downtown Fort Myers.

Jansen is a citizen of the World, a Gulf War Veteran who managed to transform his life from a soldier at war to a soldier in the arts. Since 1997, he has been known for exploring modern settings and often graffiti urban landscapes that deliver social and political commentary of our contemporary world.

Jansen’s work has been published and noted in media publications such as Forbes Magazine, The New York Times, The Kuwait Times, Art News and Art in America Magazine. Work has been included in Who’s Who in American Art and Who’s Who in International Art. His collections include the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, The Moscow Museum of Modern Art, (MMOMA), The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, as well as The New Britain Museum of American Art and the Smithsonian Institution. Jansen may be considered one of the most exciting new painters to emerge at the early part of the 21st Century and has created an international following. 

Jansen’s background is as complex as his art. A world traveler, his work demonstrates a rebellious spirit, an unusual and raw style that rejects traditional norms in painting. Over the last decade, Jansen’s paintings feel like a mix of urban street art crossed with expressionism from Germany. Jansen’s work shows viewers a raw usage of paint and swift interlocking texture changes that create a rhythm that draws viewers in. Jansen’s landscapes show strong North American influences, but he refers to them as universal in nature and not location specific. 

His work can be linked to Jansen’s history. He lived in the Bronx and Long Island in the 1970′s and often traveled to other boroughs of NY City on graffiti infested subway trains as a child. He was facinated by the large cartoon- like characters and letters that decorated those huge dull trains, transforming them into wonders of art. His father, a German businessman and student of history who had traveled widely in Germany, France and England as well as his West-Indien mother who was an artist and sang in choirs, had a strong lasting influence on Jansen’s work. Jansen moved to Germany in 1975, where he learned about German expressionism which made an impression early on during his visits to many European countries in the 1980′s. In 1986 he spent much time in the Netherlands, France and Italy and many other European capitals.

These experiences have found their ways into Jansen’s art, creating powerful visual images that tell stories about where and how people live. In 1990, Jansen joined the US Army and returned to the United States, and shortly afterwards he was assigned to Desert Storm. It was there he started experiencing difficulties from his combat experiences. He decided to dedicate his life to painting before being approached by Museum Director Jerome A. Donson. It was the beginning of a relationship that lasted for several years. Donson was quoted saying, “you are my last find,” shortly before he passed in 2009. He directed many traveling exhibitions for the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) NY, working closely with painters like Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning. Donson was also the author of the American Vanguard Exhibitions 1961 and in 2006 wrote the foreword to Jansen’s book, Modern Urban Expressionism, The Art of Marcus Antonius Jansen, which was Donson’s last written publication.

Opening Reception

 Friday, May 6, 2011 6pm-10pm.

A very special exhibition opens at daas Gallery in the month of May. This time, daas hosts a collaborative event between two of their own resident artists. Danielle Thomas, a glass and mixed media artist and her husband Troy Thomas, visual artist and assistant gallery director, will join forces to present a series of new works created just for this show. The exhibition is cleverly entitled Marriage. The title not only signifies the unification of Troy and Danielle in the month of May, but also the marrying together of the multiple mediums on display.

“To us, marriage is a piece of Art—an ever-changing canvas of bright spots, dark blobs, crazy lines, hard patches, and happy places. It is within that piece of art, that fabric of being, which we drew our inspiration for this show. It is not only about our marriage to each other, but the marriage of differing mediums to create our art. We wanted to stretch our comfort zone in our favored mediums and explore what it means to “marry” them together in a contemporary manner. The result is a vibrant display of colors, shapes, and ideas.” – says the artful couple.

Danielle Thomas is a fourth-generation artisan, with her father introducing to her favorite medium—glass fusion. Danielle draws from historical references, such as her great-grandmother’s quilts, to create her pieces. “I see scraps of glass as scraps of fabric and feel the heat sews them together, ” – says Danielle. After successful showings throughout the Florida art fair circuit, Danielle took time off to pursue other interests. She is now back to fusing.

Troy, on the other hand, did not get much exposure to art while growing up in a small town in Ohio. After a few attempts at an early age of production, he did not get serious about fine art until his return from serving in Iraq in 2005. Troy tends to prefer to paint geometrical abstractions, which stems from his keen love of Math.

As for the love story for these two, theirs is a modern version. Girl sees picture of boy on the Internet in fatigues holding an art piece he created. Girl emails boy. Boy replies. A long-distance courtship of emails, phone calls, and instant messaging ensued until the physical meeting occurred. Fireworks. They lived happily ever after.

Marriage will be on display through Friday, May 27. The daas Gallery promises another phenomenal night of great art, great friends and good wine. For more information about the event, please visit www.daasgallery.com. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00am to 3:00pm.

The Alliance with a joint event with Gulf Coast Symphony to bring chamber music to the Foulds Theatre. Saturday, May 21st at 8PM Gulf Coast Symphony’s chamber music ensemble will perform a concert featuring breathtaking pieces by Brahms, Handel, Gould and Danzi. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased by calling 239-277-1700 and online at www.gulfcoastsymphony.org. Seating is limited.

Paint the Down Town Purple is coming again in honor of Relay for Life

Fort Myers — The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Downtown –River District is just around the corner.  The downtown will be tied in Purple Ribbon Symbolizing   their support  for the Relay for life starting May 1^st-7th   Many area businesses will have their windows painted in honor of painting the Downtown Purple.  Thank you  to those business have supported this event.  Downtown House  of Pizza,  Starbucks,Franklin Shops,Bennetts  Florida Rep and Joes Crab Shack.

. This “celebration of life” brings the Lee County community together in a unified effort to fight cancer.

Former and current cancer patients, their families, businesses, civic organizations, and the public are invited to take part in this exciting team event. Relay For Life takes place from 5:00PM on May 6^TH  until 11:00AM on May 7th at Centennial  Park.

The evening will be filled with performances by local talent like Fellow Bliss and the Hot Flashes with Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall as a special guests. An exhibit and sale of ‘Art by Kids with Cancer’ will be featured  as part of May’s Art Walk.

Teams from companies, churches, organizations, hospitals, and schools collect donations and can win individual and team prizes for their efforts.

“Relay For Life brings the progress against cancer to the forefront,” said Don Molloy, event chair. “Many participants are our family, friends, and neighbors who have dealt with cancer themselves.

“The funds raised enable us to continue our investment in the fight against cancer through research, education, advocacy, and patient services,” said Beth Hayes. “Thanks to the generosity of corporate sponsors like 21^st Century Oncology,  Professionals in Urology , and Way –FM  the money raised by participants goes directly to the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving programs.”

Information about how to form a team or become involved in Relay For Life is available from the American Cancer Society at 239-936-1113. For more information on cancer, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or visit www.cancer.org.