PirateQ 
By Troy Moon
Pensacola State College
The artist statement for Pensacola State College sculpture instructor Jimmy Rhea’s upcoming art exhibition tells us “I am fascinated with finding the evidence of existence by drawing from the lines of our past. Objects that have absorbed a previous life or history visually attract me.”
What it doesn’t tell us is that the exhibition will include a claw hammer game machine where gallery-goers can maybe win a foam replica of one of Rhea’s sculptures. Or that another of Rhea’s pieces will feature three programmed Roomba vacuum cleaners bumping around and painting.
Rhea is one of the two featured artists showcased in the new exhibition “We Do Acknowledge, But We Don’t Always Scan,’’ which opens May 30 at the PSC Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts.
The exhibition reception is from 5-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 2. The exhibition runs through July 25.
“We Do Acknowledge, But We Don’t Always Scan” also features the art of Justin Quaid Grubb, University of West Florida Ceramics Lab Coordinator and full-time adjunct Professor of Ceramics.
“Both work in a way that deals with domestic life,’’ said Jason Pinckard, PSC Gallery Director. “They’re drawing inspiration from objects that surrounds us. They’re kind of taking those objects and dissecting them and rearticulating them in a new fashion. It shows the latent peculiarity of all the objects around us.”
Rhea earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of West Georgia and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
“When I first started, I wanted to make the big monumental things,’’ said Rhea, who began teaching at PSC in 2015. “Then, my practice became more individual to me. I feel like I’m trying to create entertainment, where you can go in and have fun with it.”
Grubb earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics from IUPUI Herron School of Art & Design. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design.
There is no charge for admission to the Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts. It is open from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday. For more information, call 850-484-2550.