Newest art in public spaces exhibit opened

Historic City News Editor Michael Gold was on hand for an opening reception “Friends and Family”; an exhibit of seven artists connected through friendship, family, and music, held at 8:15 a.m. this morning in the Rotunda Gallery located in the St. Johns County Administration Building.

The artists, whose work is on display through until April 8, 2011, include James Quine, Joseph and Theresa Segal (husband and wife), Kenneth M. Barrett, Jr., and the entire Coker family, Walter, Karen, (husband and wife) along with their teenage daughter, Brennan.

All the artists were either born in Florida or are long time residents of the state.

The rotunda gallery was filled with the sound of jazz provided by two of the exhibit artists and Housecats band mates, James Quine and Joseph Segal, along with their friend Matt Emmel. Light refreshments were served.

Artist Kenneth Barrett explained the intertwined relationships of all the artists with these words, “I first met Jimmy Quine for the first time back in 1978, when I was operating the boats during the restoration of Fort Matanzas National Monument. We both shared a love of photography and have been friends since. While operating the Carrera Gallery at Flagler College I invited Joe to have a showing of his sculpture there. Theresa and I shared the classroom at Flagler College for a while. I have known Walter since he graduated at UF, our alumni.”

Walter, Karen, and Brennan Coker

A passion for photography brought Walter and Karen Coker together over 20 years ago, and they still share it today. Walter has been a photojournalist for Folio Weekly magazine for the past 18 years, covering news and feature stories for the local alternative publication.

Karen’s photography is inspired by her love of historic architecture, which she has captured on infrared film to give her images a timeless and ethereal beauty. Karen is currently an art history professor at The Art Institute in Jacksonville.

Walter and Karen’s 15-year-old daughter Brennan has also taken a serious interest in photography over the past year. Her work concentrates on stylistic portraits of friends, and exploring different ways to capture the world around her. She is currently a student in the St. Johns County Center for the Arts program at St. Augustine High School.

Kenneth M. Barrett Jr.

Prowling about the dune lines, tidal flats and Florida scrub, Ken Barrett, Jr. has been seen lately fiddling with his cameras and tripods in Anastasia Island State Park. Raised in St. Augustine, a University Florida graduate in photojournalism he continues to write the odd story now and then about marine related activities.

Self professed ship’s cook he practices procrastination and self discipline working on his sailing story, Standing Off the Bar, about the Schooner Mariah and fictional captain Ian Leather Payne. His photographs of St. Augustine and marine themes have seen gallery walls and have been published by Pineapple Press and University Florida Press. A life member of the St. Augustine Art Association he is currently photographing what he refers to as ‘old Florida.’

Joe and Theresa Segal

Joe and Theresa Segal have lived in St. Augustine as artists since they met while attending Flagler College. Theresa graduated in 1988 and Joe in 1989, both received a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Originally from New York, Joe Segal has been a sculptor for over 20 years creating minimalist works primarily in wood and metal. He has been the recipient of numerous regional and state grants for his art, which also includes printmaking. Joe is represented in many private and corporate collections including The Forbes Collection in New York, The Lowe Museum in Coral Gables and The Bass Museum in Miami and has exhibited his work throughout Florida as well as in Atlanta, New York and, most recently, Hawaii.

Theresa Segal is a traditional black & white photographer and native of St. Augustine. She furthered her studies at the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies at Daytona State College and the University of North Florida.

Theresa has received artist’s grants and executed several bodies of work which include landscape, architecture and light studies. In 2003 she joined with local photographer Jim Quine and two Cuban photographers in a documentary project of Baracoa, Cuba entitled “Shared Vision”. She taught photographic processes at Flagler College for many years and is currently exploring personal work.

James Quine

James Quine is a St. Augustine based freelance photographer who has established a career photographing cultural, archaeological and historical subject matter and has been recognized for his documentary and fine-art images of Cuba and other Latin American countries. His photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries in the US and Cuba and have been published in books and magazines worldwide. In 2003, he acted as director and participating photographer for Shared Vision, a collaborative documentary of Baracoa, Cuba, which was awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs. In 2005-2006 his work was represented in the traveling exhibition Viajeros: North American Artist/Photographers Working in Cuba, sponsored by Lehigh University.

Quine began work on The Faces of Farming project at the request of Richard Villadoniga of Slow Food First Coast as a way of making the public more aware of the contributions of the local farming community to our quality of life. All of the photographs were made in and around Hastings, Florida and are part of an ongoing project. The photographer credits the assistance of the agricultural workers, Johnnie Barnes, Jennie Skillman, Virginia Barnes, Barnes Farms, County Line Produce and Byrnes Farms for making the exhibition possible.

When he’s not photographing, Quine plays guitar in a jazz trio, The House Cats, with sculptor Joe Segal, who is the bassist in the band. He has also worked with Joe’s wife, photographer Theresa Segal, who participated in the Shared Vision project.

The St. Johns County Administration Building is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located at 500 San Sebastian Way in St. Augustine.

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News staff photographer