The Hand Art Center welcomed spring with captivating exhibitions that invite viewers to enjoy a diverse variety of striking artworks.

On view until Saturday, March 29, A Painter‘s Diary: Oscar Bluemner and Amy Vigilante juxtaposes Amy Vigilante’s vibrant artworks with selections of Oscar Bluemner (1867-1938) from the Vera Bluemner Kouba Collection.

Sponsored by the Gary R. Libby Charitable Trust, the exhibit offers insight to both artists’ motivations and personal thought processes behind their artworks by way of their diaries. Viewers are invited to dive deeper into the minds of the artists through QR codes that bring them to digitized pages of Oscar Bluemner‘s painting diaries and Vigilante’s gouache diaries. This timely and “auspicious pairing” creates a whimsical exhibition that should not be missed.

Curated by Dr. Natália Marques da Silva, director of the Hand, the exhibit also presents an immersive work experience for Stetson students. Amarige Champion ’26 and Reagan Swayze ’26 — both majoring in Museum and Curatorial Studies — and Sonia Erzhenina ’25, who is majoring in Digital Arts, contributed to various aspects of the exhibit’s design and visitor engagement.

From March 12-29, visitors can also experience Upstate Camp: Amy Vigilante. Made possible thanks to an additional sponsorship by Gary R. Libby, this parallel exhibition focuses textile art. Vigilante’s multidisciplinary talent and eclectic style will be on full display, along with notes on the lasting legacy of Marimekko textiles.

Join the Hand Art Center on March 21 at 7 p.m. for an artist talk with Amy Vigilante. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for refreshments and a look into both exhibitions.

– Amarige Champion