I’ve had my eye on this space for the past year: OXH Gallery in Tampa’s historic Kress building, the artistic heart of Ybor City.
The gallery was founded by Odeta Xheka in late 2023 and opened at Tempus Projects’ independent guest curator space called Drift. In 2024, Xheka moved into a permanent space in the Kress building, where she continues to present exhibitions showcasing women artists. Xheka intentionally only shows art made by women because art history is male-dominated, and women artists get fewer opportunities than men, she said.
OXH Gallery is Xheka’s first gallery. Born and raised in Albania, she moved to Tampa with her husband and children from Brooklyn, New York. She was inspired to open a different kind of gallery than the ones she saw in Tampa — a “house of art” that is more focused on building a community cultural center and a place for contemplation.
“I want the gallery to be that little space, that little home away from home, that when you enter for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, half an hour, you forget who you are as a human being out there in the world, and you allow yourself to get in touch with your deepest sense of self, your emotions and your feelings, sort of like meditating,” she said.
For her first endeavor as a gallerist, Xheka has been successful in bringing in accomplished women artists from around the world. There have been six distinctive exhibitions since its inception, all in line with Xheka’s aesthetic of rich texture, color and sound.
The opening show, “Manifold,” featured the work of California-based artist Holly Wong, who presented photographs that were a tribute to her mother and a colorful installation of drafting film adorned with colored pencil and graphite, called “Spiral Dance.”
An oversized woven blanket was the centerpiece of “Receptacle,” which featured work from textile artists Adria Arch, Julie Gladstone and Madison Hendry, among others. “Red Gasps” showcased Rima Day’s silk organza and red threaded book sculptures along with video installations of Venera Kazarova’s mashup of costume design and performance art.
Because Xheka is both an artist and a mother, the subject of motherhood is often explored, as with the recent “Motherhood Mediated” exhibition. Twelve artists, including Xheka, demonstrated the complexities and nuances of being a mother.
Rather than sign artists like many traditional galleries do, Xheka wants to provide them with exposure to museum curators, critics and collectors. While work is for sale online and in the gallery, artists are free to work with other galleries and explore opportunities.
Xheka thinks now is an exciting time to try something unique in Tampa and that in five years, chances are that the population would be even more receptive to her vision. “It will become a cultural venue versus a gallery for just selling art,” she said.
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On exhibit at the Tampa Museum of Art
The new year is off to an exciting start, filled with events that are emblematic of our progressive scene. At the Tampa Museum of Art, don’t miss “Suchitra Mattai: Bodies and Souls.” Mattai is Guyanese and her work focuses on her own family’s history as well as Guyana’s Indo-Caribbean community. Themes in this show are migration, motherland and materiality, translated through textile works made of recycled saris, resulting in breathtaking installations. The show runs through April 20.
Opening soon at The Gallery at Creative Pinellas
One of my favorite local artists, Jabari Reed-Diop, aka iBOMS, has a solo exhibition opening Feb. 20 at The Gallery at Creative Pinellas in Largo. “Imagine Nation” is presented in partnership with the Woodson African American Museum of Florida. At 25 years old, iBOMS has documented his life’s journey and transformation with 2D and 3D works. It runs through May 10.
Coming to Jobsite Theater March 12-April 6
In the theater world, I’m looking forward to “The Pillowman” at Jobsite Theater, the Straz Center’s resident theater company in Tampa. The comedy-drama is written by British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, who wrote “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” which Jobsite produced last year (it knocked me out). “The Pillowman” will be directed by artistic director David M. Jenkins. According to Jobsite’s website, the “thriller was one of London’s hottest tickets when it premiered in 2003 with Billy Crudup and again (in 2023) in a revival starring Lily Allen.”
