A season of abundance in new exhibits

From Thursday through Saturday this week there are opportunities to see great art in Tampa. Here they are, in approximate order of the times of their opening receptions:

•From 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, the TECO Public Art Gallery will host an opening reception for a solo exhibit of works by Tampa artist Frank Bolock.

Working in acrylics or watercolors, Bolock creates realistic paintings of Florida's varied landscapes and other familiar spots, such as the Tampa Theatre. His work will hang in the gallery through Dec. 31.

The reception is free and includes a cash bar, light refreshments and guitar music provided by David Bolock and Kevin Carter. TECO Public Art Gallery is at 702 Franklin St. in downtown Tampa. Visit www.artoverture .com/frankbolock to learn more about the artist and see his work.

•The earliest reception Saturday starts at 6 p.m. at the Bleu Acier atelier and gallery, where guests can view a solo exhibit of works on paper and small paintings by Brooklyn-based French artist Vicky Colombet.

"Most of her paintings are landscapes," said Bleu Acier owner and master printer Erika Schneider. "I'm interested in abstraction and minimalism, and her work strips down the landscape to a series of sensations about the landscape. A lot of it looks like topographical studies of surfaces."

The exhibit features recent, never-before-shown small oil and alkyd paintings and drawings. In addition, Colombet will present working proofs from a series of etching she is working on with Schneider.

The free reception goes until 9 p.m. at 109 W. Columbus Drive. For information, contact Schneider at (813) 272-9746. Gallery hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday or by appointment.

•One sure thing about weather is change. It's a fact that becomes a metaphor for lots of changes - in the world, in art, in people's lives - as interpreted by three artists in three media in an exhibit at the University of South Florida's Contemporary Art Museum.

Called "New Weather," the exhibit showcases the multimedia sculptures of Brooklyn-based artist Diana Al-Hadid, the chaotic paintings of Los Angeles-based artist Iva Gueorguieva and the multipaneled, intricately detailed graphite drawings of Houston-based artist Robyn O'Neil. All three artists create in dramatic large format, which should lend the gallery a sense of explosive change and spontaneity.

A fully illustrated catalog with an essay by curator David Louis Norr will accompany the exhibit, which is up through March 6.

The free opening reception is from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at the museum, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., on the University of South Florida campus. Call (813) 974-4133 for hours and information.

•The University of Tampa's Scarfone/Hartley Gallery has chosen three of its graduates to interpret their life experiences through photography, mixed-media and painting. Photographer Rob Bovarnick gathers the photographic bases for his works from his extensive travels; Chalet Comellas' mixed-media works explore design, color and sensibility; and Perri Neri creates softly constructed figurative images among waves of motion and texture in her classically rendered paintings.

The artists will present a talk about their work at 10 a.m. Friday. The reception follows later that day, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., with a dance offering by Susan Taylor Lennon at 8 p.m.

All events are free and take place in the gallery in the R K Bailey Art Studios building at 310 N. Boulevard on the UT campus. Call director Dorothy Cowden at (813) 253-6217 for information.

Gallery 5art hosts an opening reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday for an exhibit of recent works by George Anderton in the main gallery and a one-night exhibit of current work by Robb Fladry in the reception area.

Anderton's exhibit will stay up through Nov. 27.

The Friday night reception includes light refreshments and music spun by disc jockey Brian Oblivion. Admission is free, with donations requested.

Gallery 5art is on the second floor of the old Santaella Cigar Factory at 1906 N. Armenia Ave. Visit www.five-art.com for information.

From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Tampa Artist Emporium hosts the opening for this month's themed art mixer called "Sticks of Fire."

That's the translation from the Indian for "Tampa," explained gallery director Shelby Boggs. "So all 20 artists will be depicting Tampa."

The depictions comes in all sizes, styles and media. Admission is free.

The emporium is in the Starbucks Plaza at 3415 Bay to Bay Blvd. Call the gallery at (813) 835-0212 for information, or visit www.tampaartistemporium.com.

Stroll Ybor City to visit art venues

If Friday night gallery hopping isn't your cup of tea, or even if it is, try the slower-paced ArtWalk offered in Ybor City from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday.

It's a free monthly event aimed to reintroduce people to the many and diverse artistic venues alive and well and unusually creative amid the bars in Ybor City.

This month's walk highlights a new art destination in the area, 01-Organic at 1517 E. Seventh Ave., where the walls feature art by local and regional emerging artists.

Pick up a guide at any art gallery or at the Ybor Art Association's Hospitality Suite at 15211/2 Seventh Ave., which is also the location for the Ybor Art Colony.

Admission to all the venues is free. For information, call Walter Romeo at (813) 495-4649.