By Cindy Lane
SUN STAFF WRITERS

HOLMES BEACH – The reception for the "All Nude Review" on Friday at the Anna Maria Island Art League may feature unclothed models both on and off the walls.

Gallery Director Ginger White has designated the reception as "clothing optional," and expects that some of her studio models may shed their clothes, even if gallery patrons decline.

However, there is the chance some may accept and embrace the clothing-optional theme.
The event, scheduled on Feb. 3 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., opens the gallery’s February exhibit, which runs through Feb. 24 at 5312 Holmes Blvd. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.

"If we’re distracted, we might just sit down and draw them," quipped White, who teaches at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota.

Holmes Beach police said Monday there is nothing illegal about such a reception. The event will be on private property and not visible from the outside.

A year ago, White raised eyebrows when she refused the Island Branch Library’s offer of a private room in which to display half her exhibit of pastel nudes after staffers took all the works down, saying some were too graphic. The exhibit depicted six female and six male nudes.

White had previously displayed some of her landscapes and nudes in the main portion of the library, where library staff insisted the nudes be removed because they were visible from the children’s reading area.

In response to the incidents, the county removed all art displays in county libraries for months while they instituted a formal policy for artists requesting display space, requiring written proposals and a review.

White plans to exhibit her nude works in March at Bradenton’s Village of the Arts. An opening reception is planned March 4 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Green Bull Gallery, 913 12th Ave. W.