Two paintings by father and son juxtaposed to show similar purple red and blue treatments
Paintings of two different styles in blue
Syd Solomon (American, 1917–2004). Cloudcall (detail), 1968. Acrylic and aerosol enamel on canvas, 48 x 60 in. Photo courtesy Estate of Syd Solomon / Berry Campbell Gallery, New York; and Mike Solomon (American, b. 1956). Clarity Girl (detail), 2025. Acrylic on polyester sheets, 58 x 58 in. Courtesy of the artist.
Acrylic and aerosol enamel painting in a t shape.
Syd Solomon (American, 1917–2004). Shoreday (detail), 1979.
Acrylic and aerosol enamel on canvas, 52 x 136 in. Photo courtesy Estate of Syd Solomon / Berry Campbell Gallery, New York.
Stripe colors in yellows greens blues and ochre on a painted canvas
Mike Solomon (American, b. 1956). Set It, 2025.
Acrylic on polyester sheets, 58 x 58 in. Courtesy of the artist.
Acrylic abstract painting using blues and reds
Syd Solomon (American, 1917–2004). Daysend, 1975.
Acrylic and aerosol enamel on canvas, 60 x 66 in. Photo courtesy Estate of Syd Solomon / Berry Campbell Gallery, New York.
Stripe colors on a painted canvas
Mike Solomon (American, 1956). Nice Heat, 2025. Acrylic on polyester sheets, 58 x 58 in.

Double Feature: Mike Solomon and Syd Solomon

May 16–October 31, 2027

Experience the artistic legacy of Sarasota and New York-based artists Mike and Syd Solomon in Double Feature. Syd Solomon’s sweeping gestures and bold colors, inspired by the Sarasota landscape, made him a highly regarded artist of the Abstract Expressionist movement in the mid-20th century. After moving to the Gulf Coast in the mid-1940s, Solomon helped put Sarasota on the map as a destination for modern art, encouraging his New York-based artistic colleagues to live and work in Florida. Today, Mike Solomon carries on the creative continuum with his ethereal body of work, influenced by spirituality and material exploration. Bruce Helander for the Huffington Post called Mike Solomon, “a tastemaker if there ever was one.” Exhibited in side-by-side galleries, the works of father and son create an intergenerational dialogue between modernist and contemporary practices and celebrate Sarasota as a wellspring of artistic inspiration and ongoing influence.
Double Feature: Mike Solomon and Syd Solomon is organized by Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design and curated by Elana Rubinfeld, guest curator with Rangsook Yoon, former senior curator.

This exhibition is made possible, in part, with generous support from:


Platinum Sponsors
Judy and Fred Fiala


Gold Sponsor
Cynthia McCague

Essay

Happenings

Large pink playscape on a green lawn with children playing in the foreground

Sarasota Art Museum Announces Installation of New Site-Specific Outdoor Playscape, “Natural Curiosity” 

Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design (SAM) is pleased
to announce the addition of a new playscape located on the Museum’s Great Lawn. Titled “Natural Curiosity,” this piece will serve as part art installation, part outdoor classroom, inspiring creativity, social connection and well-being for locals, tourists and school students alike.
Designed by Brooklyn, New York-based, award-winning multidisciplinary design studio The
Urban Conga, this inviting, site-specific installation will create a dynamic outdoor respite for Museum visitors, sparking connection with nature and social activity through open-ended play.

Blue Star Museums Program

Sarasota Art Museum is a Blue Star Museum

Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design (SAM) is pleased to participate in Blue Star Museums, a program that provides free admission to currently serving U.S. military personnel and their families during the summer. The 2026 program will begin on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 16, 2026, and end on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026.

Skyway 2027 Logo

Call to Artists Announced for Tampa Bay Area Exhibition ‘Skyway 2027: A Contemporary Collaboration’​

Five regional art museums, the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg; The John and
Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota;
the Tampa Museum of Art; and the University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, are pleased to
announce a call to artists for “Skyway 2027: A Contemporary Collaboration”, the fourth iteration of the exhibition
celebrating the diversity and talent of artistic practices in the Tampa Bay area and beyond.