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Walking through the new exhibition at the Saunders Foundation Art Gallery, viewers will find recurring themes and structures in the collection of works by Gil DeMeza ’65, UTampa alumnus and faculty emeritus.

Square frames layered with unconventional fabrics and bound with ropes, and wing-shaped foundations decorated with coarse, distressed textures fill the space on the first floor of the Ferman Center for the Arts.

The exhibition, titled Mile Markers: Collected Works by Gil DeMeza, brings together works from different periods of DeMeza’s creative practice, offering a view of an artist deeply engaged with memory, politics, personal history and the unexpected poetry of found and altered materials.

“Working primarily through assemblage and mixed media, DeMeza transforms familiar materials into works that combine humor, tension, nostalgia and social commentary,” described Jocelyn Boigenzahn, director of the College of Arts and Letters galleries. “The works serve as markers along a longer creative trajectory, revealing recurring ideas and changing approaches to material, storytelling and lived experience.”

DeMeza has long been an important presence within Tampa’s artistic and educational community; as an artist, faculty member and mentor, his influence has extended beyond his studio practice to generations of students and fellow artists.

Kendra Frorup ’92, associate professor of art and design, discovered sculpture under the mentorship of DeMeza when she was a student at UTampa. DeMeza recognized her instinct for collecting organic materials and building three-dimensional narratives, a practice that she now repeats with her own students at the University.

"When I asked him how he maintained such a prolific practice, he reminded me that he went into his studio every day, even if he was simply sitting with or looking at a project. He told me, ‘You have to keep the motor running,’" Frorup recalled. "That advice has stayed with me throughout my career. Gil’s dedication, discipline, and enduring passion for making art have inspired generations of artists within the UTampa community — and his motor is clearly still running.”

Mile Markers offers an opportunity to revisit DeMeza’s legacy through a selection of works that demonstrates the breadth and continuity of his practice. The exhibition is on view now through Sept. 17; there is no charge for admission. A reception, open to the public, will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 5:30 p.m., with DeMeza in attendance.

Opening Friday, Sept. 4, in the Scarfone/Hartley Gallery is another exhibition, The Gift of Art: 50 Years of Building the UTampa Art Collection.

Running through Sept. 18, this exhibition will celebrate the donors, artists, collectors and members of the community whose generosity has helped shape the University’s art collection over the past half century.

Drawing from works donated to the University across five decades, The Gift of Art brings together an array of objects from the UTampa Art Collection to recognize the important role that philanthropy and community support have played in its growth. The exhibition highlights the many individuals who have entrusted works of art to the University, building a collection that supports teaching, research, exhibitions and the cultural life of the campus.

“Together, the works offer a view into the collection’s development over time while honoring the relationships among artists, collectors, donors and the University that have made that growth possible,” said Boigenzahn. “The exhibition also provides an opportunity to consider the lasting impact of giving, as these individual acts of generosity become part of a shared cultural resource for generations of UTampa students and the broader Tampa community.”

The Scarfone/Hartley Gallery is located on campus at the R.K. Bailey Art Studios at 310 N. Boulevard. Gallery admission is free, with hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Ferman Center for the Arts is at 214 N. Boulevard.