ST. PETERSBURG — “Ceremony,” a solo exhibition featuring the multifaceted work of Rhys Meatyard, will be presented April 3 through May 3, at the Werk Gallery, 2210 First Ave. S., St. Petersburg. An opening reception will take place on Friday, April 3, from 5 to 9 p.m.
A couple times a year, the Werk Gallery devotes both of its galleries to a singular artist of extraordinary talent and vision. This April, an exhibition will showcase the multifaceted work of Rhys, one of St Petersburg’s most recognizable and recognized artists. In this momentous exhibition, Rhys’ work will present the case for resilience over suffering, purpose over complacency and for love, above all.
Rhys is a third generation queer/trans artist, living and working in St. Petersburg. He was influenced from a young age by the work of his grandfather Jerry Meatyard, Tampa metal sculptor and lifelong educator; his grandfather’s brother Ralph Eugene Meatyard, pioneering postmodern photographer; and his mother Laura Meatyard, who was a monument designer responsible for a great number of headstones and other stone memorials all over the state.
According to Rhys: “Victor Frankl, holocaust survivor and author of ‘Man’s Search for Meaning,’ tried to teach us that even in the most desperate of circumstances, we must find purpose … that without purpose, we cannot maintain our humanity and will to survive. In this show, my goal is to help the viewer find the right questions to ask themselves, to create space for the collective grief of the moment, to create space for the collective love and joy we must maintain to keep up the fight. Grief is the ultimate price of love, but it is a risk we must be willing to take, or we risk losing what makes us human at all. If we lose that, we have already lost everything.”
From the time Rhys was drawing unicorns with crayons, his grandfather — who taught art at Hillsborough Community College Ybor for decades — critiqued his art and helped hone the skills needed to render form and design balanced compositions. Rhys attended the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School and studied fine art and anthropology at Eckerd College. Professionally, he has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator since 2007.
Although Rhys created work during his schooling, he was too intimidated by the long shadow cast by his artistic family to take chances and develop a personal artistic vocabulary. With greatest hope that this exhibit places Rhys firmly into his own light, illuminated by the brilliance within, the Werk Gallery is proud to help present Rhys’s messages of love, resilience, and hope.
The Werk Gallery and Object Lab is a locally focused art venue with an international scope. The gallery displays a variety of art experiences, from a series of community-oriented, large group shows to solo shows by internationally established contemporary artists. Regular outdoor art markets and craft events spice up our calendar. For information, visit thewerk.gallery.