A special art exhibit is on display at the Brick City Center for the Arts.
The exhibit, titled “Nature’s Beauty: Seeing & Feeling,” will feature paintings by Dr. Jillian Ramsammy and photography by Dr. Saul Reyes. The artwork will be on display through Jan. 30.
Ramsammy, of Ocala, was first inspired to become an artist more than 40 years ago when she studied painting in high school. At a time when there was only one television station on her home island of Trinidad, she also became intrigued with moving images. The energy and motion in her work, coupled with a brilliant palette, are influenced by her passion for film and her Caribbean heritage. Through gestural and expressive forms, she captures the rhythm of creation.
Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, she uses a technique of layering wet on wet glazes of intense colors, voluminous shapes and fluid lines. She draws on memories, photographs, journaling and observation as a lens through which she experiences, and then visually describes, the natural world in her paintings.
Reyes, also of Ocala, is a wildlife and nature photographer who travels and explores Central Florida with his camera. He was born in New York City to parents who were Cuban immigrants and spent seven years of his childhood living in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He has lived in Florida since 1996 and he finds joy in discovering and rediscovering Florida’s beauty and capturing that beauty in photographs.
Photographing wildlife since 2013, his work represents the natural beauty of Florida and the diverse wildlife that calls it home. He enjoys photographing birds of all types, although owls, hawks, woodpeckers, herons and egrets captivate his interest most often. He has also photographed black bears, alligators, and bobcats in the wild.
The Brick City Center for the Arts is located at 23 S.W. Broadway St. in Ocala. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The Brick Gallery is sponsored by Ocala Electric Utility, Renasant Bank, Recharge Clinic and Angie Lewis State Farm.
For more information, call (352) 369-1500.