Venvi’s ‘Vision’ celebrates local talent in 10th year

Summer Callahan

Council on Culture & Arts

Venvi Gallery opened its doors in November 2015 with the objective of exhibiting vibrant abstracts, contemporary artworks, and captivating compositions, thereby elevating everyday life into an expression of luxury.

Now it opens a new chapter. The group exhibit 'From Vision to Reality' celebrates a decade of contemporary art in Tallahassee and the creative force behind it, gallery founder Brinda Pamulapati.

Art meets arithmetic

Brinda Pamulapati's artistic career is rooted in mathematics and science. Specifically, the root can be found in the record books owned by her five older sisters, where they drew animals, plants, and diagrams. Pamulapati used to trace those figures.

'Looking back,' said Pamulapati. 'I truly believe this helped develop my finger strength, control, and hand-eye coordination in a very natural way.'

These efforts paid off. Growing up in Chennai, the sixth-most populous city in India, her teachers encouraged her to take on artistic responsibilities, such as drawing charts, creating visuals for public programs, or painting murals on the school walls. She was even allowed to skip class for special projects.

From Grade 1 through Grade 10 (about age 6 to 16 in

the American system), Pamulapati regularly won first prize in her school's painting competitions. The one year she didn't, she won a statewide photography contest instead.

'[That kind of encouragement] told me, early on, that art is not just a hobby, that it's something worth investing in,' said Brinda.

Pamulapati invested in art and in herself, moving to Tallahassee in 1999, going on to earn her bachelor's and master's degrees, both in mathematics, from Florida State University. She has dedicated more than 20 years to the vibrant Tallahassee community, filled with numerous meaningful endeavors that reflect her heartfelt commitment.

In addition to her career as an artist, gallery owner, and art dealer, and being a wife and mother of two sons, she also works as an online math faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University.

'Having a background in mathematics, and still teaching math today, has deeply shaped my creative process,' said Pamulapati. 'In mathematics, you often spend more time thinking through the problem than you do writing the final solution. My art process works similarly. I spend a great deal of time thinking, planning, imagining the composition, and mentally building the painting before the brush ever touches the canvas.'

That drive to create, be it artistic works or mathematical proofs, led her to open Venvi Gallery. But she didn't do it alone; Pamulapati's friend and mentor, renowned Toronto artist Jacob Pichhadze, encouraged her to take the step and guided her through the process of curation and exhibition staging.

'Starting an art gallery was exciting,' said Pamulapati. 'But maintaining it and growing it requires an entirely different level of commitment, community engagement, and leadership. Looking back, the encouragement and mentoring I received was one of the biggest reasons I was able to begin.'

For a new gallery owner, Pamulapati has one piece of advice: show up more. 'You must meet people consistently,' she said. 'Not only in art spaces, but in the wider community. Art is not only for artists and collectors. Many people will fall in love with art when they feel welcomed into it.'

A decade on display

Venvi Gallery opened 10 years ago. Since then, it's become more than a business.

'It was a dream,' said Pamulapati. 'I wanted to build a space where art could be taken seriously, artists could be elevated, and collectors could discover original works.'

Visitors to this show, 'From Vision to Reality,' will see a wide range of artistic styles, including realism, surrealism, abstraction, cubism, and some styles for which no name yet exists. But Pamulapati says that all artists included in this anniversary showcase have a few commonalities. Among them are mastery of their respective art forms and what Pamulapati calls a 'maturity of vision.'

'These artists have developed their own distinctive style and voice,' she said. 'They continue growing, rather than repeating themselves. Their work feels original, not like a mixture of borrowed ideas.'

Artists featured in the show are Ray Burggraf and Mark Messersmith. Pamulapati says that they were among the first artists to support Venvi and that their insight as artists helped her grow into her new role as curator and collector.

Pamulapati also encourages viewers to look for the works of Leon Hicks, a Black artist born in Gainesville in 1933, who went on to become a celebrated printmaker and scholar of African American art. 'He's been deeply knowledgeable and supportive over the years,' said Pamulapati.

'As a gallerist, the most meaningful accomplishment is helping artwork find its rightful home,' said Pamulapati. 'It represents trust in the artist, trust in the gallery, and trust in the original art.'

Summer Callahan is the Grants Manager for the Council on Culture & Arts. COCA is the capital area's umbrella agency for arts and culture (tallahasseearts. org).