'Radical' Studio Opens on Central Avenue

ST. PETERSBURG – At 1000 Central stands a non-descript, faded white industrial warehouse. More than a century old, the building used to house a market that specialized in selling bananas.

Just six months ago, the warehouse was vacant, its paint faded, floorboards stripped and windows broken.

On Saturday, local artist Geff Strik will host the opening of his art studio in the former warehouse space. Strik transformed the building into a studio. Now he wants to help transform the arts scene into something radical for St. Petersburg.

Strik began remodeling the building in July and has made a portion of the building into his own 4,000-square-foot painting studio.

But Strik envisions 1000 Central being much more than a studio. He wants it to be a place where ideas, art, theater and political action are cultivated and flourish.

Art, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder, Strik said. His studio will reflect that. One day, it will host a private concert with DJs and the next day he’ll lend the space to a local community theater to rehearse.

Like his paintings, Strik wants his studio to be up for interpretation – a place where ideas are exchanged and the standard thoughts questioned.

The creative hub/think tank he has planned for 1000 Central will be unveiled to guests at 10 p.m. Saturday.

“The opening party is not a regular art gallery or studio opening,” Strik said in an interview with Patch. “It’s going to be a party first. I don’t want it to be formal.”

Formal isn’t Strik's style.

A painter for most of his life, Strik came to the U.S. from France in 1999, seeking to live the American dream. In 2005, he moved from New York City to St. Petersburg, where he’s lived ever since.

Strik specializes in painting portraits. Several black-and-white portraits line the walls of 1000 Central now. They are immediately recognizable – Salvador Dali, Che Guevara, Andy Warhol, among others.

All portraits Strik paints are already sold. Those hanging now will go up for auction in London at the beginning of 2012.

French Inspiration

Painting the mundane or the extraordinary, Strik said he likes anything radical and often political.

He attributes his activism and nature to challenge the norm to his French heritage.

“[French] are not against the right, not against the left,” he said. “We are against everything. That’s how the French protest.

“We invented the martyr and the revolution. We have this in our blood,” Strik added. “We invented fighting with our panties, the French kiss and ménage a trois. We are radical, and we like everything that can be out of the ordinary; Fashion, food, wine, whatever.”

Strik hopes radical ideas and art are what comes out of 1000 Central. The world is a scary place when everyone tries to polish everything into the same model, he said.

The studio is planning to host many showings, events and meetings at 1000 Central. His studio will be open during the day, but by appointment only.

He plans to stay behind the scenes to see what grows at this new creative hub. While his paintings will line the walls, friends and clients will fill the room. What comes out of 1000 Central will be more important than what’s in it, he said.

“As long as we can protect our freedom, than we can have some spark of creativity," Strik said. “That’s what we have to protect. This spark can be anywhere.”