Three of the Middle Keys’ finest artistic talents will have a space of their own to showcase their skills until May 2025, as the Florida Keys Artist Collective Gallery is set to celebrate a grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 9. Located at 10065 Overseas Highway in Marathon, the showcase brings new life to a space that’s no stranger to art displays as the former Ocean Sotheby’s Marathon art gallery.
Visitors to the gallery will be greeted by realistic oil paintings on ¼-inch plywood by Tom McGettrick before moving deeper into walls of Brittany Cherkes’ layered abstract acrylic paint and resin landscapes and Mike Papish’s immortalized looks into the Keys’ underwater world through photography at local aquatic landmarks.
“Mike and I are neighbors, and we both got puppies at the same time. We started talking, and we both had similar goals (with our art),” said Cherkes. “I was actively working on a new body of work, and I knew the next step was to have it on the walls.”
“And I’m a barfly, and she (Brittany) was my bartender at Overseas,” McGettrick laughed.
Papish said he’d previously sold pieces online and in individual art shows, but like Cherkes, knew “the next step was a space – and this was a really nice space.”
The trio said they aim to maintain visiting hours in the gallery every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., but with ever-changing availability, they highly encourage appointments to view or purchase pieces. All three will be on hand for Saturday’s festivities from 6 to 10 p.m., including complimentary beer, wine and tacos.
Patrons interested in private showings or purchases should contact the individual artists directly: Cherkes (brittanyleecherkes@gmail.com), Papish (mike@underwaterexploring.com) and McGettrick (tmcgettrick@gmail.com).
