Master works from Wujcik’s Blue Chip series have never before been shown in Tampa Bay
What: For a limited time, two masterworks by internationally known Tampa-based artist the late Theo Wujcik are on display at a Tampa Bay hotel. The pop up art installation is available for the public to view in the Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel’s lobby at no charge until Friday, Oct. 23.
The works temporarily on display are Balloon Dog and Times Square, which are part of Wujcik’s final body of work. Referred to as “Blue Chip,” the paintings represent Wujcik’s return to portraiture, and convey his deep and lasting friendships with some the most influential and prolific international contemporary artists. The fragmented background, found on discarded DJ cards around Ybor City, serve as a metaphor for the rise of DJ celebrity in popular culture. Thus, in Wujcik’s artworks, these giants of the art world become young and hip again, as they are presented as “DJ’s” to a new generation. The fragmentation also represents decay – of life, of fame, of values, of shifting centers of the art world throughout history. On a deeper level, Wujcik found beauty in the degraded cards, seeing them as stories of nights untold, youthful energy and one’s own aging process.
The Theo Wujcik Legacy Foundation has loaned the two pieces on display at the hotel. The works have been exhibited at Gallerie Urbane in Dallas and Bob Rauschenburg Gallery in Ft. Meyers, Florida, and it is the first time the two works have been shown publicly in the Tampa Bay area.
Why: The pop up installation leads into Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts (TBBCA) 2015 Impact Awards, which will be held at the hotel on Thursday, Oct. 22. At the event, Wujcik will be posthumously honored with the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for his extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to the arts.
Wujcik’s work is on display in numerous museums and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Library of Congress, Tampa Museum of Art and the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts. He served as director of Graphicstudio at the University of South Florida, where and he was also a professor of drawing, painting, and printmaking. He remains an iconic figure in the art world, and his legacy will impact future generations.
When: Through Friday, Oct. 23, 2015
Where: Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel, 4200 Jim Walter Blvd. in Tampa. The pop up installation is located in the lobby, which is open to the public.