Art at Noon

Come enjoy discussions with specialists and artists covering a variety of topics related to Sarasota Art Museum’s exhibitions, architecture, and areas of interest.

As this talk will be exploring works in the galleries, there will be standing room only.

Meet in the Wendy G. Surkis & Peppi Elona Lobby.

Art at Noon

Join one of our Art at Noon Talks

headshot for Bill Crouse

Art at Noon with Bill Crouse

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

12 – 1 pm

Free for Members

$20 Not-Yet Members (Includes Museum Admission)

Join Bill Crouse, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and art collector, in a discussion about the exhibition Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration, which showcases 100 rare posters from the Crouse Collection created by some of the world’s earliest, master graphic designers during the 1920s and 1930s.

About Bill Crouse

Mr. Crouse is the retired Managing Director and a General Partner of Healthcare Ventures, one of the world’s largest venture capital firms specializing in biotechnology. HealthCare Ventures creates, finances, manages and builds high science biopharmaceutical companies. The General Partners have led the strategic development and management of more than 100 companies with a combined market capitalization of greater than $60 billion in important and emerging fields such as genetic therapy, genomic sciences and organ and cellular transplantation. Mr. Crouse maintains extensive contacts with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and has assisted the portfolio companies in initiating and negotiating collaborative agreements which have resulted in more than $3 billion of funding to the portfolio companies. He also led a leveraged buyout of a Johnson & Johnson operating company and served as Chairman until the business was sold to Sybron Corporation.

In addition to his twenty plus years of venture capital experience, he had thirty years of experience in the pharmaceutical and diagnostics industry in general management, international operations, strategic planning, licensing, acquisitions, new product development, and sales and marketing. Prior to joining HealthCare Ventures, he was Worldwide President of Ortho Diagnostic Systems and a Vice President of Johnson & Johnson International from 1987 to 1993.

Before joining Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Crouse was Division Director, DuPont Pharmaceuticals, responsible for all international businesses and worldwide commercial development activities. He previously served as President of Revlon Health Care Group’s companies in Latin America, Canada and Asia/Pacific. He also held various sales, marketing and management positions at E.R. Squibb & Sons and lived and worked in Latin America and Europe for seven years.

Mr. Crouse retired in 2018 from the Board of Directors for The Medicines Company, a publicly traded biotechnology company, where he was Chairman of the Compensation Committee and the Goverance and Nominating Committee. He is currently on the Board of Directors of three private biotechnology companies. Previously he served on the Board of Directors of numerous other biotechnology companies and has recently been involved with the successful sale of EUSA to Jazz Pharmaceuticals, CBR,Inc to GTCR and then to AMAG Pharmaceuticals and Precision Dermatology to Valaent Pharmaceuticals.

Among his community activities, Mr. Crouse served as a Trustee and executive committee member of Lehigh University and is a member of their Business Advisory Board. He is a Trustee and Executive Committee Member Emeritus of the New York Blood Center and served as Chairman of the New Jersey Blood Services Blood Drive. He was a Trustee at Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. He is a former Board Member of Liberty Science Center and was on the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee of the United Way of Somerset County and was co-chairman of their annual fund raising campaign. He also served on the Board of Directors of Pace University, Lubin Graduate School of Business Alumni Association. He was active in the Health Industry Manufacturers Association and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association. He received a B.S. in Finance and Economics from Lehigh University and an M.B.A with Distinction in Marketing Management from Pace University.

4 indians in front of various tvs in the middle of a field

Art at Noon: Collectors in Conversation

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

12 – 1 pm

Free for Members

$20 Not-Yet Members (Includes Museum Admission)

Join seasoned art collectors Warren Colbert and Keith Monda for an intimate walking tour of Something Borrowed, Something New, a special exhibition of privately held treasures from across Southwest Florida. Featuring works by such artistic luminaries as Richard Serra, Alex Katz, Shinique Smith, Dox Thrash, Sam Gilliam, and more, this rare showcase brings extraordinary works out from private display and into a public space for a limited time, never be exhibited side-by-side again. As you tour this special exhibition, discover the personal stories that brought these remarkable art pieces to Southwest Florida, shaping world-class collections in our region.

About Something Borrowed, Something New

Featuring works by such acclaimed modern and contemporary artists as Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Yoko Ono, Kara Walker, Ai Weiwei, and more, this never-before-seen exhibition offers a rare glimpse into private collections held throughout Southwest Florida. From paintings, sculptures, and prints to photographs and video works, Something Borrowed, Something New showcases a diverse range of artworks produced by some of the most prominent artists of our time. Complementing these borrowed selections, this show also features exciting new pieces and creates a dialogue between the works of late 20th-century trailblazers and today’s leading global artists. Together, this curation celebrates our region’s passion for the visual arts with extraordinary artworks never to be exhibited side-by-side again.

Something Borrowed, Something New is organized by Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design and curated by Rangsook Yoon, senior curator at Sarasota Art Museum.

William Villalongo (American, born 1975). Mother Tongue, 2020. Acrylic, cut velour paper and pigment print collage, 40 x 40 in. (sheet); 44 ⅛ x 43 ⅜ in. (frame). Courtesy of ©Villalongo Studio LLC and Susan Inglett Gallery, NYC

Art at Noon: Collectors in Conversation

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

12 – 1 pm

Free for Members

$20 Not-Yet Members (Includes Museum Admission)

What happens when world-class art leaves the vault? Joined seasoned art collectors Kimberley Pelyk, Flora Major, and Frank Martucci for an intimate walking tour of Something Borrowed, Something New, a landmark exhibition of some of Southwest Florida’s most prestigious private treasures. Featuring works by such artistic luminaries as Vik Muniz, Norman Lewis, Lesley Dill, Steven Young Lee, Syd Solomon, and more, this intimate tour will give visitors a rare glimpse of extraordinary acquisitions along with the opportunity to hear first-hand from collectors about the personal stories, passions, and strategies behind building a world-class collection.

About Something Borrowed, Something New

Featuring works by such acclaimed modern and contemporary artists as Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Yoko Ono, Kara Walker, Ai Weiwei, and more, this never-before-seen exhibition offers a rare glimpse into private collections held throughout Southwest Florida. From paintings, sculptures, and prints to photographs and video works, Something Borrowed, Something New showcases a diverse range of artworks produced by some of the most prominent artists of our time. Complementing these borrowed selections, this show also features exciting new pieces and creates a dialogue between the works of late 20th-century trailblazers and today’s leading global artists. Together, this curation celebrates our region’s passion for the visual arts with extraordinary artworks never to be exhibited side-by-side again.

Something Borrowed, Something New is organized by Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design and curated by Rangsook Yoon, senior curator at Sarasota Art Museum.

Amanda Walters headshot

Art at Noon with Amanda Walters

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

12 – 1 pm

Free for Members

$20 Not-Yet Members (Includes Museum Admission)

Join Amanda Walters, Ringling College of Art and Design editorial manager, in a discussion about the exhibition Penumbra.

About Amanda Walters

Amanda Walters is a writer, editor, educator, and multimedia artist working primarily with sculptural forms and textiles. Both her written and visual works explore her relationships to death, nature, motherhood, kinship, and magic. Walters is also one-half of the journal and collaborative social practice textile project, Feral Fabric, originally based in the San Francisco Bay Area and now scattered across the globe. 

 

Walters received her MFA in Studio Practice and MA in Visual and Critical Studies from California College of the Arts and her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been published by Play Press and exhibited nationally, including a solo show at NIAD Art Center in Richmond, California, and group shows at Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago, Berkeley Art Center, and Southern Exposure in San Francisco, among other places. 

Eszter Sziksz's Black and White headshot

Art at Noon with Eszter Sziksz

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

12 – 1 pm

Free for Members

$20 Not-Yet Members (Includes Museum Admission)

Join Eszter Sziksz, Ringling College of Art and Design professor of Fine Arts, Printmaking, in a discussion about the exhibition Beautiful Ideas: The Prints of Sol LeWitt

About Eszter Sziksz

Eszter Sziksz, DLA is a Hungarian visual artist, educator, and Fulbright U.S. Scholar whose global journey has taken her across Asia and Europe. Her immersive artwork seamlessly blends traditional printmaking with video and sensory installations to explore themes of memory and change. Eszter’s work has been exhibited around the world—from Tokyo to Budapest—with features at the International Print Center New York (IPCNY), the Krakow International Print Triennial in Poland, the Santorini Art Biennial in Greece, and even a site-specific installation at the famous IceHotel in Sweden.

Currently teaching printmaking and book arts at Ringling College of Art + Design, Eszter holds an MFA from the Memphis College of Art and a Doctor of Liberal Arts (DLA) from the University of Pécs in Hungary. Her prints are held in international collections, including the Szent István Museum in Hungary and the University of North Florida. Whether working with paper or interactive media, her practice bridges cultures, making her a vibrant voice in contemporary art.

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