A contemporary art museum with constantly rotating exhibits, Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design has transformed its galleries once again. From lifesize sculptures to an immersive intergalactic voyage, these two new exhibitions feature various artists, mediums, and techniques that all share one common experience: a residency at the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Florida.

On view from March 10 - July 7, the first exhibition Impact: Contemporary Artists at the Hermitage Artist Retreat brings together 10 Hermitage alumni to explore how modern-day life can both inspire and hinder creativity, and how contemporary artists use their practice to narrate current issues and social challenges.

“We are excited to be partnering with Sarasota Art Museum to share the work of these 10 extraordinary Hermitage artists with our community,” said Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. “These are some of the leading contemporary artists of this generation.”

Impact includes a wide variety of media from sculpture and painting to photography and video. In addition to addressing social, cultural, and philosophical constructs, several works also reflect on troubling histories, pose questions about identity, and emphasize the role art plays in helping people understand and process their lives. Artists such as Diana Al Hadid, Sanford Biggers, and Ted Riederer will be featured, along with the late, beloved John Sims.

“John Sims’ contributions to the art world were vast, and we were fortunate to have an artist of his talent and caliber call Sarasota home,” said Sarasota Art Museum Executive Director, Virginia Shearer. “Impact affords Sarasota Art Museum the opportunity to continue to exhibit his work with the community.”

The second exhibition, on view April 21 - September 29,  The Truth of the Night Sky: Anne Patterson and Patrick Harlin invites visitors on a journey through space and time. Excerpts from Harlin’s orchestral composition will be paired with Patterson’s drawings and sculptural pieces to take visitors on a journey to outer space.

“There is a sense of awe in looking at the night sky, the vastness of the universe, and the improbability of reaching the moon, let alone our closest stars,” said Harlin. “I hope visitors might vicariously experience the feeling that astronauts have when they’ve taken a trip beyond the moon.”

Patterson, a multimedia artist, is a synesthete who visualizes color and shape when she hears music. Harlin, a composer, combines classical, jazz, and electronic traditions to produce music that displays his respect for the great outdoors. When the two met and began collaborating in 2014 while in residence at the Hermitage Artist Retreat on Manasota Key, Florida, they discovered their shared affinity for drawing inspiration from nature. Their collaboration in The Truth of the Night Sky expands upon the iconic photograph of Earth taken from Apollo 8 in 1968.

“The viewer will witness the wonderment of the universe and nature that surrounds us and be reminded that only when it is dark can we see the stars,” said Patterson.

To learn more about and see these two new exhibitions, visit Sarasota Art Museum, located at the old Sarasota High School.