Stacie Krupa Gallery offers fine art — and a warm welcome
Art and Fort Myers Beach are the perfect pair.
Stacie Krupa has been creating and dealing in fine art nationally for the better part of 30 years. An 18- year stint with her own gallery on Islamadora in the Keys taught her a lot, and she really wants to share it with her new community here on the Beach.
“I want people to be able to walk in and experience something different. The look, the feel of everything I do I think should draw some reaction out of anyone, but Fort Myers Beach seems like the kind of town I can really dig in to,” said Stacie Krupa, artist and owner of the Stacie Krupa Gallery.
There are a lot of opportunities in the area to learn a passion, be it music or painting or any form of artistic expression. Krupa wants her gallery and studio to be a place where people can do exactly that. Reaching out to local talent as well as some travelling artists, she wants her gallery to be a new place for people to find a new love for art.
“I’m trying to gather artists that have a knack for teaching. I want to host seminars, get people in here doing yoga, find someone to fire up a kiln outside and have some pottery classes. I’m a huge proponent of getting the experience out there for people of all walks, be it locals or tourists, I want to help people get into fine arts,” Krupa said.
Having studied psychology and art both in New York and the University of Miami, she has a lot to give back. Being born in Florida, she considers herself a penultimate native.
“I didn’t really fall in with the whole college loyalty, but there’s something about Florida that does it for me,” Krupa said.
She’s worked with dozens of agencies for art commission and charity, and has worked with HGTV on several occasions to showcase her talents. The goal, eventually, is to host a rotating showcase of her art as well as local talent, to up the “wow factor” as she calls it.
All of this has culminated in a tiny studio on San Carlos Parkway with a car-sized pink elephant in front of it that she has named Athena.
“This lot’s been a lot of things, I’m told, from used car sales to office space. I want to make sure people know they can come in just to look, there’s no pressure to buy anything, though I have custom made, one of a kind pieces from $100 to $100,000. I’d rather someone be comfortable here without the idea that I have to sell them something,” Krupa said.
A “Grand Opening” VIP ceremony will be held by invite on Nov. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m, with a family fun day on Nov. 9 for all ages.
The gallery is currently open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m and Krupa is almost always working on site.
You can find her at 17649 San Carlos Blvd, Fort Myers Beach or got to staciekrupa.com/