TAMPA, Fla. – The OXH Gallery hopes to share different points of view by showcasing artists from outside the Tampa Bay area.
“I felt by bringing national and international women artists, I gave an opportunity to all these different voices to come and have a presence in Tampa, and the local artists somehow have a connection with a broader perspective,” OXH Gallery Director Odeta Xheka said.
The backstory:
Xheka joined the Tampa art scene in early 2024. She says there’s so much support and avenues for local artists that she wanted to swerve in the other direction.
OXH moved from Ybor City to Hyde Park a couple of months ago. The first exhibition in the new space is by Boston-based Adria Arch, called “Permission to Play.”
“I chose her because she’s very playful in the way that she does her work and the way that she’s very free about allowing others to interact with the work,” Xheka said.
Dig deeper:
Arch works with large sheets of lightweight plastic, manipulating them with cuts and bends.
“I hang it up in my studio, and then I play around making other kinds of shapes by pulling points up. My studio has very high ceilings, so I attach the pieces to a piece of monofilament, like nylon fishing line, that I have a lot of fun making them curve in different directions,” Arch said.
What they’re saying:
Arch frequently has work featured across the country. She says all her pieces encourage interaction.
“It’s a thrill when they’re curious about what happens when you put your head underneath it or peek out some of the holes and some of the different shapes that I have,” Arch said. “It’s much more interesting to have a three-dimensional piece that somebody relates to physically rather than just standing in front of, so that’s very, really thrilling to me.”
Having her work traveling the country also provides much-desired feedback from a variety of audiences.
“Love that other people who I don’t know in different places can see my work. Curious about reactions,” Arch said. “The greatest thing for an artist is to share their vision. It’s a form of communication, so that’s what I’m really after.”
The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13 photojournalist, Barry Wong, with interviews from the director of the OXH Gallery and Adria Arch.