Chakaia Booker: Surface Pressure

July 16 – October 29, 2023

Chakaia Booker: Surface Pressure celebrates the diverse work of multimedia artist Chakaia Booker. Booker is renowned for her expert manipulation of unconventional materials, transforming perceived visual tensions into compellingly unified compositions. Her complex body of work challenges viewers to consider the nature of their relationships with one another and the world at large.
The title “Surface Pressure” alludes to Booker’s process of making — the literal force she exerts through the manipulation of raw materials including rubber, wood, steel, and paper. A hallmark of Booker’s artistic practice are her inventive sculptures composed of recycled tires. This exhibition will present these signature works alongside the artist’s innovative creations in printmaking and painting. Booker imbues each piece, regardless of the medium she employs, with a sense of energy, drama, and tactility. Her abstract, multidimensional configurations illustrate her careful attention to texture, pattern, form, and scale. The complex surfaces of the works, accomplished by layering, weaving, and fusing, represent a deeply personal and physical process, and one that serves as a gateway for generating new meaning and exchange.
Surface Pressure will feature over a dozen works, including prints, paintings, and monumental sculptures, from across the artist’s extensive career. Booker has received numerous awards and honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship and participation in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s prestigious biennial. Her works are housed in more than 40 public collections and have been exhibited across the United States, in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

This exhibition is organized by Sarasota Art Museum and curated by Keidra Daniels Navaroli, independent curator.

This exhibition is made possible, in part, with generous support from:
Platinum Sponsor
Shari and John Hicks

Silver Sponsors
Marge and Leon Ellin
Judy and Fred Fiala
Keith Monda and Veronica Brady

Programs

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

Sarasota Art Museum Announces “Something Borrowed, Something New,” a Rare Glimpse into Private Art Collections of Southwest Florida

Sarasota, Fla — Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design (SAM) is proud to announce its upcoming exhibition, “Something Borrowed, Something New,” opening to the public on April 19, 2026. This landmark exhibition offers a never-before-seen look into the extraordinary contemporary and modern artworks held in private collections throughout Sarasota, Longboat Key, and Tampa, Florida.

Figure made of a variety of colorful hand printed and embroidered textiles

Sarasota Art Museum Explores Identity, Culture and Companionship through Maria A. Guzmán Capron’s Vibrant Textiles

Sarasota, Fla — Step into a world of exuberant color and intricate storytelling with “Maria A. Guzmán Capron: Penumbra,” on view April 19-Sept. 27 at Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design. In this solo exhibition, the California-based artist explores the nuances of identity through ten vibrant figurative textiles. Capron was born in Milan, Italy to Peruvian and Colombian parents and immigrated to Texas as a teenager. Her work is deeply informed by her personal experience navigating different cultures, languages and geographies.