Art planner: Cool Art Show comes to St. Petersburg, new gallery shows around Tampa Bay

COOL ART SHOW: IT REALLY IS COOL

Its name would be a cruel joke in this summer of our sweltering discontent if not for its literalness: The Cool Art Show is air-conditioned! For almost 30 years, the event, organized by the Professional Association of Visual Artists, has been parked in the St. Petersburg Coliseum, a necessary departure from most art festivals, which are held outside in more temperate weather. Also unlike most, rain can't dampen it. It's intimate, with 75 artists and crafters displaying their work so you can navigate all the booths without getting visual overload.

Ample free parking is available in the adjacent lot of the Coliseum, 535 Fourth Ave. N, St. Petersburg, and admission is free. Food and beverages, including beer and wine, will be for sale. Pets are not allowed. Cool Art Show hours Saturday and Sunday are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. pava-artists.org.

JUSTIN RABIDEAU: TRASH BECOMES TREASURES

Atlanta-based sculptor Justin Rabideau's works are interesting assemblages of found material, not a new concept but in Rabideau's hands done with originality. An example, seen here, is the artful curve of red-splashed blocks of wood, some tipped with yellow, is interrupted by an interloper in gray. The circle made from these hard-edges almost obscures a stack of blocks saturated in the same yellow as if the circle had a brief encounter with the rectangle. See the collection at the Leslie Curran Gallery at ARTicles, 1431 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, through Aug. 6. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Free. (727) 898-6061. interiormotivesstpete.com.

NUANCE GALLERIES: CUBAN ARTISTS CELEBRATED

In 2013 gallery owner Rob Rowen purchased a collection of about 300 works by 15 artists working in post-Revolution Cuba and has been exhibiting them in rotation at Nuance, 804 S Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, since then. Some of the artists have left Cuba because the government didn't approve of their work and some have died. Many of the artists are well-regarded in other parts of the world but haven't been exhibited much in the United States. The collection is eclectic with a wide range of styles and subject matter.

For this show, three artists are being featured, some with new work: Jehovanny Rodriguez Saname, Guillermo Orlando Piedra Labañino and Mildo Matos Carcasés with "Jeho" here in person from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday and 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Rowan represents many non-Cuban artists as well and their work can also be seen at the gallery. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Free. (813) 875-0511. nuancegalleries.com.

PORTSPACE GALLERY: CARRIE JADUS PAINTINGS

Many of us know Carrie Jadus from her public, large-scale work. The murals she created for the SHINE Festival in 2015 were among the best. The group of works at Portspace is on a small scale. An outgrowth of live-drawing sessions, they're nudes, each on a field of blue with no contextual references. But there are allusions to tropical landscapes, and the brush strokes' fluidity suggest the ebb and flow of sea and land. In an artist's statement she writes that the use of the blue was at first a way to responsibly dispose of too much of one color. It has turned out to be a serendipitous solution.

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The gallery, 3007 Beach Blvd. S, Gulfport, doesn't keep regular hours so go to the opening 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, and while you're in Gulfport, have a meal at one of the many charming restaurants and cafes. The gallery will also be open Aug. 5 and Aug. 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. Or you may contact Portspace for an appointment. Free. portspacegallery.com.