One of my favorite things about Central Florida is all the wonderful pockets of creativity and art scattered throughout area and the town of Winter Garden, specifically its historic downtown district, is one such special place. Winter Garden is home to the Winter Garden Art Association and its SOBO Gallery hosts art exhibitions and demonstrations year round.

The current art exhibition is titled “About Face” and will be on view through the month of July, so you have plenty of time to add it to your itinerary. This show is intriguing in that it is bursting with some very interesting (and often unusual) interpretations of the theme. While one expects to see an assortment of portraits – and there are plenty! – it is the way in which the artists reimagine the traditional portrait format and subject matter that makes this exhibition fun. I especially enjoyed seeing the animal kingdom represented with a variety of faces depicting all creatures great and small.

I think what struck me most about this exhibition was the vast array of media used by the artists and the inventive way the idea of “mixed media” was taken to new heights. This exhibit features assemblage, collage and sculpture alongside painted glass, photography, and mosaic in addition to oil, watercolor and acrylic paintings. And while paintings in oil, watercolor and acrylic may be anticipated, even expected in a show like this, what these artists did with those “traditional” mediums is striking, bold and a bit surprising.

For more information on SOBO Gallery and the “About Face” exhibition, please visit…