People & Business: Wednesday

Wednesday, January 9th, 2019
THE SARASOTA SCENE
People & Business
To submit your news for consideration, please send press info to scenemagazine@scenesarasota.com.

 Lakewood Ranch: Upcoming Genoa Enclave Home To New Stock Model

The Lake Club, admired as the most exclusive village in Lakewood Ranch, is debuting its newest luxury enclave, Genoa, in February. The exceptional homes in Genoa will perfectly complement the available residences within the Matera, Vineyard, and recently opened Lake View Estates enclaves. The Phase 1 homes start from the $600s and will be offered on 65-foot and 84-foot homesites with breathtaking lake and preserve views.

Among the new models to be offered is the Cambria by Stock Signature Homes. Mixing clean lines with earthy textures, the interior design by Soco Interiors will have a modern coastal feel, with crisp whites, soft tans, cool greys and accents of black. The model will encompass 2,627 feet of living space with three bedrooms, three full and one-half bath, great room, study and three-car garage.

To learn more about Lake Club living, visit the Model Preview Center located at 8307 Lake Club Boulevard in Lakewood Ranch, call (855) 201-8065 or preview models, floor plans and amenities at TheLakeClubLWR.com.

Beach Bistro Proprietor Announces New Location at BLVD Sarasota

BLVD Sarasota, the area’s most exciting luxury condominium tower, is proud to announce that Sean Murphy will open a renewed replication of his famous Beach Bistro on Anna Maria Island as the on-site restaurant for BLVD. Beach Bistro has repeatedly been selected by ZAGAT as one of its “Top Restaurants in America” and it is a member of long standing in Florida Trend’s Golden Spoon Hall of Fame. The restaurant opening is slated for the BLVD ’s completion at the beginning of 2020.  Construction is well underway as Core Development continues to bring BLVD Sarasota to life.

The atmosphere of the new restaurant will be warm, welcoming and luxurious, with a uniquely Bistro feel. Sean Murphy, proprietor of the world-renowned Beach Bistro, is very proud to call BLVD Sarasota the home of his new location. Murphy stated, “BLVD will be the exciting new entrance to downtown Sarasota. We’ll have a perfect location, right at the front door to everything Sarasota offers.”

This new restaurant at BLVD Sarasota will reproduce Beach Bistro ‘s popular menu amplified with newer culinary creations focused on providing a truly memorable dining experience.  Murphy selects only the finest products from the Best of America’s food bounty. The offerings emphasize fresh seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, exotic meat selections from Florida ranches and prime offerings from America’s ranchlands. Sean’s new Bistro will offer a full bar experience featuring creative cocktails from his new Island “Doctor’s Office” craft cocktail bar and an extensive wine list. Patrons will also have the option of custom personal storage in the bistro’s spectacular “Wine Attic.”

Murphy says, “If you strive for perfection, you will achieve a high degree of excellence,” and that is exactly what he plans to do for the Beach Bistro’s new location. This new Bistro venue will offer BLVD residents the best of Sarasota’s culinary accomplishments without having to leave the building.  

Located in the highly sought-after Rosemary District, BLVD residents will live in the walkable downtown waterfront and the vibrant arts & cultural district of downtown Sarasota. With a walkability score of 92 residents are always just steps away from world-class entertainment, museums and art galleries.

Ranging from 3550sf to 5500sf, these BLVD Sarasota residences will feature large wrap around terraces, soaring ceilings, and a rooftop zero-horizon pool to capture the city views and expansive sights of Sarasota Bay. Spacious designs offer some of the largest floor plans in Downtown Sarasota.  Two story penthouse floorplans, along with an innovative amenities program makes BLVD the most exciting offering to be introduced to the downtown scene.

BLVD Sarasota’s impressive amenities include a few remaining Hobby Rooms, an enhanced golf simulator, a pet lawn with grooming station, a wine cellar for the storage of private collections, a fitness center, conference center and a zero-horizon, rooftop pool with sundeck and entertainment area.

Interested buyers are invited to visit the one-of-a-kind BLVD Sarasota Virtual Reality Sales Studio at 1266 1st Street where they can virtually walk thru each residence and see the views using state of the art technology. Appointments are recommended by calling 941-316-1499 to meet with the BLVD Client Service Team. Remaining inventory for BLVD Sarasota starts from $1.9M.  

“Jewels of the Imagination” brings one of the world’s most extensive collections of jewelry to the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg

Exhibit showcases mid-century elegance from Jean Schlumberger, the Tiffany & Co. jewelry designer who was a favorite of Jacqueline Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn and Rachel “Bunny” Mellon

When independent, jet-setting women of the 1960s and ‘70s wanted to sparkle a little brighter, they frequently turned to renowned French jewelry designer Jean Schlumberger. Best known for his work for Tiffany & Co., Schlumberger was a master at using the beauty of the natural world as inspiration for creating unique, brightly colored works of jeweled art that were both elegant and whimsical.

After premiering at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 2017, Jewels of the Imagination: Radiant Masterworks by Jean Schlumberger from the Mellon Collection is making its first appearance outside Virginia at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, opening December 15.

The exhibition highlights 135 spectacular pieces from the personal collection of philanthropist and art collector Rachel “Bunny” Mellon.

The glittering jewelry designs of Schlumberger were the epitome of mid-century elegance. Drawing inspiration from the natural world and such exotic locales as Bali, India and Thailand, Schlumberger’s lively, experimental designs graced the necks, wrists and lapels of style icons of the era like Jacqueline Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Diana Vreeland, Elizabeth Taylor and of course, Bunny Mellon.

Mrs. Mellon’s love of gardening inspired many of Schlumberger’s botanical jewelry pieces, such as Flower Pot (Pot de fleurs), 1960, an ornate flowering plant emerging from a tiny terracotta pot, encrusted with emeralds and diamonds, with an amethyst flower bursting with gold petals. Another famous piece, Jellyfish, 1967, is a brooch that floats mysteriously on the wearer’s lapel, with a body of moonstones, and dynamic tentacles made of diamonds and sapphires appearing to move through flowing lines.

A special friendship between the artist and Mrs. Mellon inspired many of Schlumberger’s pieces. Her love of gardening, combined with his creative takes on color, movement and shape, resulted in whimsical creations that are unmistakably Schlumberger. More than 30 years after Schlumberger’s death in 1987, Tiffany & Co. still carries many of his designs.

Mrs. Mellon’s extensive collection of Schlumberger pieces is the largest, most comprehensive public collection of his work in the world. It was donated to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts between 1985 and 2015. Jewels of the Imagination will be on view at the MFA from Dec. 15, 2018 to March 31, 2019, giving visitors an opportunity to view everything from jewelry to cigarette cases to salt cellars.

Dickinson & Gibbons Names New Partners

Dickinson & Gibbons, P.A., a Sarasota trial law firm, is pleased to announce that Jesse R. Butler and Andrew L. Douberly have been named partners of the firm.  Managing Shareholder A. James Rolfes stated, “We are pleased to have these fine litigators as partners and look forward to their continued outstanding service to our clients.”

Jesse Butler represents clients in legal actions involving civil and commercial matters, specializing in product liability, consumer protection, and complex tort cases.  He also maintains an active appellate practice, and has handled appeals in every District Court of Appeal in the State of Florida.  Mr. Butler holds the prestigious AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®.

Andrew Douberly focuses his practice on auto and trucking litigation, premises liability, personal injury, and criminal defense.  Prior to joining Dickinson & Gibbons, Mr. Douberly was an assistant State Attorney in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit in Manatee County, Florida.

The Glenridge Performing Arts Center Announces its 2019 Season

The Glenridge Performing Arts Center’s 2019 season, January 13-March 30, features more than 15 theatrical and musical performances. Highlights include a celebration of songwriter legend Yip Harburg with music historian Michael Lasser (January 26); the game-changing puppetry troupe, the Cashore Marionettes (February 5); the Eddie Metz Jazz Trio (February 13); celebrated singer-songwriter, pianist, and Broadway star Johnny Rodgers (Match 9), and The Four Freshmen (March 24). For more information about the Glenridge’s 2019 season and to purchase tickets, visit www.gpactix.com or call the box office at 941-552-5325. The Glenridge Performing Arts Center is located at 7333 Scotland Way, Sarasota.

Ben Turoff, the director of the Glenridge Performing Arts Center, says that he designed the 2019 season with diversity in mind. “We try to break the mold at The Glenridge,” he says. “We offer experiences you won’t find anywhere else. The 2019 season is a creative mix of innovative, cutting-edge, sometimes highbrow, sometimes lowbrow, but always entertaining performances.”

The Sarasota Ballet Opens 2019 by Adding An Additional Performance to January’s Transcending Movement

The Sarasota Ballet opens its 2019 winter and spring season with Transcending Movement. The Program, accompanied by Guest Artist Marcelo Gomes, will feature an eclectic combination of ballets including the company premiere of Sir Frederick Ashton’s Varii Capricci, revivals of David Bintley’s Four Scottish Dances and Ashton’s Meditation from Thaïs, as well as a World Premiere by Ricardo Graziano. Due to overwhelming demand, The Sarasota Ballet has added a 2:00 PM Monday Matinee to enable more patrons to see these stunning works.

Bintley’s Four Scottish Dances, his second professional choreographic work, was created for a 1979 tour to Israel by the dancers of the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet. Described as a ‘picture postcard’ of Scotland, with caber tossing and wandering in the heather, this humorous and entertaining ballet for six dancers is a wonderful example of Bintley’s choreographic brilliance and wit.

Resident Choreographer Ricardo Graziano’s forthcoming World Premiere will be his first new one-act ballet in two years and his first new work to receive its world premiere in Sarasota since 2015. Sarasota Herald Tribune dance critic Carrie Seidman has stated that “Graziano’s ability to create integrated movement that is both original and difficult, yet still organic and fluid, is impressive.”

Closing the program is the Company Premiere of Ashton’s Varii Capricci, a ballet that received its World Premiere during The Royal Ballet’s 1983 tour to New York. 

The ELC has been awarded a $8,000 grant from the Conquistador Historical Foundation 
 The Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County (ELC) has been awarded a $8,000 grant from the Conquistador Historical Foundation to support its programs.

Sarasota Yacht Club Cares Group Raises $85,000+ for Women’s Breast Cancer

Members of the Sarasota Yacht Club, SYC Cares group, raised more than $85,000 during a fundraiser to benefit the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation and the women’s breast cancer services at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

The Boaters Battling Breast Cancer Bash included live and silent auctions as well as pink-clad SYC-SMH doctors and other male SYC members selling 50-50 tickets to party-goers.  Emcee Jeff Birnbach and auctioneer Greg Goebel kept the fundraising momentum going throughout the evening. Event chair, Maddie Kujawski, along with Stephania Feltz, SYC Member Relations Director and others, were proud to announce that this year’s event raised nearly three times as much as last year. 

 “The Healthcare Foundation is honored to have been chosen by the Sarasota Yacht club as a charitable partner,” said Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation President Mason Ayres. “We are grateful for the generosity of this SYC community and their continued support of the Healthcare Foundation in raising critical funds for women’s breast cancer services at SMH.”

Funds raised help cover approximately 1,000-breast health visits for low-income or uninsured residents who need breast health screenings and/or diagnostic tests. Tests include mammograms, breast ultrasounds and breast biopsies for those who do not quality for other assistance. Ongoing grants from Sarasota Memorial Health Care Foundation also support a Clinical Oncologist Coordinator, Cancer Research Coordinator and Gynecological Tissue Banking Collection.

Rarely-seen Gauguin works to be displayed amid tropical garden displays  at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) was an innovative and influential artist, known for his unconventional lifestyle, personality and longing for a more natural way of life.

A key figure in the Parisian avant-garde including Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cézanne, Gauguin rejected traditional artistic hierarchies in Europe, identified as a self-styled “savage” and traveled extensively to the South Pacific on a romantic quest for a paradisiacal land far from the ills of urban life. 

Known for his bold colors and contrasts, Gauguin blended fine art and craft in a wide range of media, merging Western artistic traditions with those of rural and island cultures.  Gauguin: Voyage to Paradise, on view beginning February 2019 at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, will offer the rare opportunity to experience a selection of captivating works by the artist, alongside lush horticultural displays of tropical plants that inspired him in French Polynesia.

Ten original dramatic woodcuts, wood engravings and lithographs that Gauguin created on his journeys to Brittany, Martinique and Tahiti will be the centerpiece of the Museum of Botany & the Arts, along with photographs, historic maps and postcards. These works are on generous loan from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Smith College; Bates College; as well as private collectors Keith and Linda Monda (Sarasota) and Dennis Powers (New York). The exhibit will provide a comprehensive focus on Gauguin’s woodcuts and his connection with nature, a viewpoint on Gauguin that has never been exhibited in a natural setting before.

The exhibition is curated by Carol Ockman, Ph.D., Curator-at-Large for Selby Gardens and the Robert Sterling Clark Professor of Art at Williams College. Gauguin: Voyage to Paradise will be on view exclusively at Selby Gardens from Feb. 10 through June 30, 2019.

“Gauguin, in his work and his travels, was constantly searching for a place that was beyond the reach of industrialization,” said Ockman. “No matter how many ‘exotic’ locales he visited, he never found it. This exhibition locates his visions of a utopian paradise in both the natural environments and cultural perceptions that shaped it.”

Living displays throughout the gardens and in the glass house conservatory will showcase rare and spectacular plants from the tropical regions that figure prominently in his repertoire. More importantly these vignettes will draw the visitor in, making them feel as if they are in the South Pacific during the time of Gauguin’s travels. Elements that will be used in the vignettes and throughout the Gardens will include artfully-placed canoes filled with tropical plants, planted native masks and coconut installations; patterned tapa-cloths; bamboo features; Tahitian marae totems and Marquesas totems surrounded by masses of sumptuous flowers. 

Among the plants from the Selby Gardens’ collection to be featured are banana and coconut trees, as well as a variety of palm, taro and breadfruit trees along with the Gardens’ collections of orchids and bromeliads.

Gauguin: Voyage to Paradise is the third installment of the ongoing, record-breaking Jean and Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series at Selby Gardens, which explores the rich connections between nature and the arts.

“After successfully showcasing works by Warhol and Chagall in our gardens over the past two years, we are delighted to continue our exhibition series focusing on a rarely explored aspect of Paul Gauguin—his connection to nature,” said Jennifer O. Rominiecki, president and chief executive officer of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. “He is a fascinating and challenging historical figure, and we are excited to place his work in this new context and innovative setting.”

Admission to Gauguin: Voyage to Paradise is included with all-access admission to Selby Gardens: $25 adults; $15 children 4-17; free for members.

New College of Florida Hosts Juried Student Art Exhibition

New College of Florida presents its annual Juried Student Art Exhibition from January 28 through March 15, 2019 at the Isermann Gallery, located at 5315 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, Florida. The awards ceremony and jurors’ talk are scheduled for Thursday, January 31 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

Each year, the New College Art Department hosts this competitively juried exhibition that features students’ most compelling works of art. The 2019 exhibition, which is cosponsored by Art & Frame of Sarasota, represents a diverse array of media, including painting, sculpture, technology-based art, photography, and printmaking.

This year’s jurors include John & Mabel Ringling Museum of Art curators Ola Wlusek and Rhiannon Paget. The Isermann Gallery is open Monday through Friday, noon to 5 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Founded in Sarasota in 1960, New College of Florida educates intellectually curious students for lives of great achievement. As the State of Florida’s designated honors college, New College provides an exceptional education that transforms students’ intellectual curiosity into personal accomplishment. New College offers nearly 40 areas of concentration for undergraduates and a master’s degree program in Data Science. 

For more information, contact Professor Kim Anderson at kanderson@ncf.edu.

Canandaigua National Trust Company of Florida Announces New Board Member

Canandaigua National Trust Company of Florida (CNTF)
welcomes Magdiel (Mike) Rosario as their newest Board Member.   Rosario was officially added to the board October 11, 2018.  “We look forward to drawing on Mike’s broad knowledge of business and the community as our newest board member,” states Paul Tarantino, Vice President and Wealth Advisor at CNTF.   Rosario served this past year as an Advisory Council Member for CNTF.  Rosario is the founder and President of RoseBay International, Inc., a full service real estate company serving the Sarasota/Bradenton area. Rosario is known for his vision, his
inspirational leadership, and his ability to do not only what is best for his customers and clients, but for his community as a whole. Rosario’s current and past volunteer affiliations include Member of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce, Sarasota
Chamber of Commerce, former mayoral appointee to the Bradenton Central Community Redevelopment Agency, Director of Manatee Nursery Schools, seven year mentor with the Big Brother program, and Secretary on the Board of Directors for the West Coast
Black Theatre Troupe.

Discover Sarasota Tours Launches New Public Art Tour

Sculpture has long been an integral part of Sarasota’s cultural legacy. Guests on the new Discover Sarasota Tours Public Art Tour will visit some of the city’s 57+ public art sculptures, monuments, and murals during this 90-minute air-conditioned tour.

Between the authorized replica of Michelangelo’s statue of David which graces the courtyard of the Ringling Museum, John Henry’s Complexus (in front of One Sarasota Tower) and Seward Johnson’s Bayfront sculpture Unconditional Surrender, you will get a better sense of the artists, the stories and the history of public art in Sarasota from painter and public art expert Jerome Chesley.

Public Art Tours run Wednesdays —February 6, March 6, 13, & 27, and April 3 & 10, from 1-2:30 PM. $35 + tax and fees.

All tours depart from the DST Trolley Depot located at 1826 Fourth Street—a cute 1930s cottage near downtown with a charming vintage gift shop.

Tour tickets and information can be found online at discoversarasotatours.com. For information call 941-260-9818. Private groups start at 20+ passengers. There is also a TOUR-ISTA membership program for serial tour-goers, offering discounts and tickets to the annual Trolley Bash.

The 90-minute Public Art Tour is led by Jerome Chesley, a painter whose background in education includes teaching in both public school and college level. He continues to teach painting in Florida where he is currently the president of the Florida Watercolor Society, and a docent for the Fine Arts Society of Sarasota’s iconic Florida artists collection at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center. Summers find Jerome teaching at the renowned Chautauqua Institution in New York State. He has studied with distinguished teachers throughout the US. BA & MA, SUNY College at Buffalo, with additional studies at the University of Art in Siena, Italy.

“Sarasota is home to educated, curious, and passionate residents and visitors who want to learn more about her creative, multi-layered past,” says Tammy Hauser, founder and CEO of Discover Sarasota Tours.

Circus Sarasota Winter Show

This year’s Circus Sarasota Winter Show will offer high-flying, heart-stopping thrills, laugh-out-loud comedic antics, and acts that defy both expectations and the boundaries of human limitations. The show, which runs from February 15 – March 10,2019, will continue to honor the proud circus arts tradition, bringing together a global cast that has perfected their art form through years of training and performances with some of the world’s most prestigious circuses and festivals. Highlights will include a female hand balancing duo making its American debut, and masters of acts including the high wire, Aerial Lyra, Cyr Wheel, Teeterboard, Wheel of Destiny and more. The thrills and chills will be balanced by uproarious laughter, with a world-renowned clown, and a dog act that will spur “ooohs” and “awwws”! Shows are Sundays and Mondays at 1 and 5 p.m., Tuesdays (excluding Feb. 19) at 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., and Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 and 7 p.m. All performances are rain or shine and take place under the Ulla Searing Big Top at Nathan Benderson Park, air-conditioned by Cool Today. Tickets are $15-$55, with children under 2 free. For advance sales, please visit CircusArts.org/BuyTickets, call the Box Office at (941) 355-9805, or visit the Big Top Box Office in Nathan Benderson Park behind the Mall at UTC (140 University Town Center Dr., Sarasota) Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.