Hurricanes Focus Of Exhibit By Hispanic Artists At Leepa-Rattner

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, located on the Tarpon Springs campus of St. Petersburg College, is celebrating Tampa Bay's Hispanic with the special exhibition, The Hurricane Within: Vibrancy and Resilience of Hispanic Heritage, on display through Dec. 17, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

This year’s exhibition focuses on the destructive power of storms and wind, “draw[ing] inspiration from two ancient deities contained within the origin stories of Hispanic peoples.”

One of them is Guabancex, the Taíno deity of chaos and disorder, also known as “Cacique of the Wind,” worshipped by the indigenous people of what is now Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and Florida.

The second deity is Huracán, the Mayan god often referred to as “Heart of Sky, "ruler of wind, storm and fire, and one of the creators of humanity.

Among the works on display is a 1963 woodcut by Cuban-American artist Tomás Marais titled, The Hurricane Within, referring to Huracán. Marais' small woodcuts from the 1960s depict Cubans, often in indigenous dress, surrounded by the landscape of the island.

The landscape is rendered both in color and in black and white, with intricate textural touches, a sense of bustle and a clear connection with nature.

Also on display is Cuban artist Alfredo Sosabravo’s 1979 lithograph, Paisaje Calcinado, depicting what appears to be just-charred leaves and trees in stark black-and-white contrast.

One of the largest pieces in the exhibit is Roberto Juarez’s Alley Violets, a screenprint depicting three of the titular flowers, each increasing in size, against a light paper background.

Chilean artist Alfredo Echazarreta contributes his 1988 woodblock, O Sea No Pacifico, a gift of Caroline Adams Byrd-Denjoy, depicting a group of people in a small boat in the middle of a furious ocean.

The only photographic work included in the exhibit is a 1999 portrait by Cuban-American artist Pedro Gonzalez titled Devour, another high-contrast black and white piece depicting a shirtless man against a white background, looking straight at the camera with what appears to be a mouth full of paint and bits of dried paint all over his torso.

The exhibit at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, 600 E Klosterman Road, Tarpon Springs is free.

The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.