Exhibits open 6:00pm – 10:00pm during Art Walk on the 1st Fridays of every month.

Gallery hours Monday through Friday 10:00am – 5:00pm

Extended Gallery Hours most Wednesays, Thursdays,  and Fridays until 10pm

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Possibilitas: An Exhibition of Emerging Talents

In the heart of our city’s vibrant cultural district, a unique exhibition is poised to capture the imaginations of all who enter. “Possibilitas” brings together the pioneering works of two young artists, Gabrielle Garcia, Alayna Calkins and Anna Fischler, both freshly graduated from high school. This exhibition is not just a showcase of their talent but a celebration of the boundless potential that the future holds.

As you walk through “Possibilitas,” you will be greeted by a series of stunning artworks that exemplify the innovative spirit of these two young artists.

“Possibilitas” is more than an exhibition; it is a beacon of hope and inspiration. It invites you to witness the emergence of two remarkable artists at the beginning of their creative journeys. Through their art, Gabrielle Garcia, Alayna Calkins and Anna Fischler remind us of the limitless potential that lies within each of us. As you explore their works, may you be inspired to embrace your own possibilities and the endless horizons they promise.

Join us in celebrating the power of youthful creativity and the promise of a future filled with infinite possibilities.

Anna Forrest Fischler Artist’s Bio

Anna Forrest Fischler, born in 2002, was raised in Fort Myers, Florida and is currently a senior studying Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work represents a caring and compulsive urge to catalog the precious, yet ephemeral surroundings and relationships that serve as landmarks in her transition to adulthood. 

She uses a variety of media, including oil, gouache, colored pencil, risograph prints, and natural fibers. Her visual style leans toward realism with a fondness for saturated colors, organic textures, graphic shapes, and layered patterning.  

Anna’s work was most recently included in Terms of Concealment at RISD’s ISB Paper Gallery. She has also exhibited two solo shows in 2024, Plein Piece: Patchworks of Hometown Stillness at the Arts for ACT Gallery and Everyday at the Alliance for the Arts. This year, her work was spotlighted in Gulfshore Life magazine as well as the 38th Annual All Florida Exhibition. 

Artist’s Statement

As a young woman raised in Southwest Florida, the clash between my affinity for the state’s geography and my aversion to its ethics pervades my work and life. The flora, fauna, and bodies of water that characterize my homes, past and present, have thus become spaces of reflection. 

The contemplative time spent in the landscape, either en plein air or immersed in my studio, is crucial to the conceptual effect of my work. In a hyper-consumerist, overstimulating, digitized modernity, putting my attention and man-hours into something generative, imperfect, and gratifying, is a tiny revolt. Concurrent with the interior act of sitting with a piece, my practice is driven by the tactility of creative processes. Often, my work is marked by meditative, repeated actions, such as rendering a texture with swift hatching strokes or meticulously slicing shapes from paper. 

This partiality for regularity and repetition draws me to pattern, both visually and sensorially. Inspired by quilts and wallpaper, my work calls on traditions of feminized craftsmanship while imbuing geometric rigidity on my otherwise organic scenes. This practice at once imparts structure and volatility on the landscape. Graphic distortions allow me to separate my works from reality, disguise the original subject matter, layer visually disparate elements, and subvert symbology. 

Biomimicry is not the end goal, but a conduit through which I can explore other stylistic and emotional themes. Overall, my work contends with the idealization of memory, familial and romantic relationships, a childhood spent outdoors, and the transient uncertainty of adolescence. 

Gabrielle Garcia Artist’s Bio

Gabrielle Garcia is a recent graduate of Fort Myers High School where she actively participated in numerous community-based art exhibitions and did commissioned artworks. Ms. Garcia is now attending Florida Gulf Coast University as a Fine Arts Major. 

Gabrielle considers herself a self-taught artist who is interested in creating artworks using a variety of media and finds herself delving into different perspectives of the world. Her oil and acrylic paintings have a sense of Surrealism and primarily focuses on a deaf person negotiating their world. 

Alayna Shea Calkins Artist’s Bio

At age 19, Layn is already making waves in the art world with her innovative use of various mediums, including acrylics and oil paints. Balancing her role as an assistant at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery with her studies as A student at Florida Southwestern State College, ALayna combines a decade of classical art training with the raw creativity of a visionary artist forging her own path.

Layn’s art explores deep emotional landscapes of personal development within the inner and outer world. Through her distinctive portraiture, Layn twists reality with symbolic use of color and a striking interplay of light and darkness. An artist with a penchant for peculiarity, a lover of all that is dark and weird, Layn has channeled these insights into creation. While some would shun away from that that is unnerving, she has made this her muse, combining whimsical and eerie themes together. Layn creates visual art from a place she often cannot express verbally. To see her work is to see an aspect of humanity or a piece of Layn herself that words fail to embody.

Artist’s Statement

My name is Layn, and as a young artist, my work delves deeply into personal emotional expression through vibrant portraits and unsettling paintings, rich with hidden symbols and messages. My art is an extension of my being—whether I create a world that mimics the tranquility of nature with the chaos of calamity, it serves as a visual representation of my inner thoughts and emotions. Words often fail to capture what I wish to convey, so I turn to my art as a means of expression. Through painting eccentric faces or surrounding figures with blooming flowers, I infuse reality with my own twists and interpretations. My creative process is a journey through a forest of experimentation, where boundless curiosity and imagination guide me. My artistic practice involves a diverse range of mediums, from traditional oils to experimental mixed media with acrylic paint. Each medium and colors are carefully chosen to amplify the intensity and depth of my work. Through my art, I strive to create intimate experiences that engage audiences on a personal level, encouraging reflection and dialogue about our world.