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New gallery in downtown St. Pete is for pop art and sports fans

 
A yoga class is held on a Wednesday afternoon under original portraits of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Amy Winehouse — members of the “27 Club” — by Jack Dowd. 
A yoga class is held on a Wednesday afternoon under original portraits of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Amy Winehouse — members of the “27 Club” — by Jack Dowd. 
Published Jan. 24, 2014

ST. PETERSBURG — A new art gallery in the lobby of the city's tallest building houses unconventional pieces by Timothy Raines and Jack Dowd. Gallery, as it is called, is in 7,000 square feet on the south side of the former Bank of America tower at 200 Central Ave.

Raines drips paint on canvas to create images of luxury cars and pro baseball logos. Dowd is known for his sculptures and iconic pop art, including life-sized statues of Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí. (The two are paired in a window as a tribute to the exhibition at the Dalí Museum.)

Gallery also displays and sells Latin American art placed there as an extension of the Feathered Serpent Gallery at 1018 Central Ave.

After painting all Major League Baseball team logos in his stylized way several years ago, the league granted Raines the right to reproduce them. Prints of each team logo now hang in the league's headquarters on Park Avenue in New York. The original Tampa Bay Rays logo was on display in the team's office for a while but was bought by a couple in Tampa, Raines said.

His paintings cost $1,500 to $7,000. Prints at Gallery start at $40.

"His two main passions are cars and sports," said Pat Feinberg, gallery curator. "He loves doing car paintings and does a lot of commission work for people who own luxury cars."

Raines' work is reminiscent of artist Jackson Pollock, who was a major figure in abstract expressionist art known for his unconventional style of drip painting. Raines also uses pointillism, creating images with dots, a technique made famous by French artist Georges-Pierre Seurat.

He said he doesn't mind being compared to either of the two greats, but he stresses that their work and his are far more than just throwing down paint on canvas.

The gallery at One Progress Plaza can be rented for private functions.

It holds yoga classes from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and 6 to 7 p.m. Thursdays.

Katherine Snow Smith can be reached at kssmith@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8785.