Twin Shadow Paints His Next Chapter — Inside CADET at Tempus Projects

Oct 5

🌇 Opening Ritual

There’s a rhythm to Friday nights in Ybor City — the hum of 7th Avenue, the glow of lights spilling onto old brick streets, the quiet anticipation before a gallery door opens. Tempus Projects, housed in the historic Kress Building, has long been one of my favorite places to experience that moment when the world slows down and art takes over.

This time, I came with friends — fellow art lovers and old souls — to see CADET, the debut exhibition of paintings by George Lewis Jr., better known as Twin Shadow. But as always with Tempus, the night unfolded into something larger: a reminder of why art spaces like this matter, and how vital it feels to gather in their glow.

🕯️ Sacred Theme

Before I go any further, I must talk about the woman behind the magic curtain — Tracy Midulla, founder and driving force behind Tempus Projects. Since 2009, Tracy has carried Tampa’s experimental art scene on her shoulders with relentless devotion.

When others from our late-90s/early aughts era art community left for bigger cities, Tracy stayed. She built Tempus — a nonprofit project space named after the Latin tempus fugit (“time flies”) — to give contemporary, boundary-pushing artists a home.

I first bonded with her in the late ’90s, when she was an art professor at HCC and I was immersed in printmaking at USF. We shared an obsession with process and ink, and seeing what she’s built since fills me with awe.

🌙 Curated Indulgence

Twin Shadow — George Lewis Jr. — was born in the Dominican Republic, raised in Sarasota, shaped in New York, and now lives in Los Angeles. A platinum-selling producer, songwriter, and recording artist, he’s spent years layering sound, emotion, and story through his albums.

This year, he picked up a paintbrush for the first time.

His exhibition CADET filled the gallery with striking, intimate portraits of people from his life — each painted with tenderness and a sense of narrative. The brushwork felt both confident and searching, as though sound had simply transformed into color.

We spoke briefly about the figures on his canvases — how each carried its own story — and I was struck by how effortlessly his eye for character translated across mediums. My friends, longtime admirers of his music, ended up buying the very first painting he ever made: a work titled Moon Man. They’ll bring Moon Man home when the show closes — a piece that marks the meeting point of two creative worlds.

And yes, Moon Man is the image on today’s newsletter — a fitting symbol of new beginnings orbiting old connections.

🌿 Sacred Invitation

In Tempus’s Flash Gallery, the group show Doodle Noodle hummed with energy. Over forty artists filled the walls with drawings pinned directly to the surface — raw, unframed, alive. The installation offered a peek into private sketchbooks and studio moments, celebrating process over perfection.

I loved seeing names like Bruce Marsh, Joe Griffith, Kurt Piazza, and Theo Wujcik — artists who have helped shape Tampa’s creative landscape for decades. The price tags ranged from $5 to $5,000, reminding visitors that collecting art doesn’t require a trust fund — just curiosity and care.

Both CADET and Doodle Noodle are on view through November 20th at Tempus Projects and the Kress Collective, inside the historic Kress Building in Ybor City.

If you haven’t been, go. Wander the galleries. Visit the open studios upstairs (3rd Thursday of every month). And if you can, become a member — it’s one of the simplest, most meaningful ways to support the arts in our community.

The truth is, the art world needs us more than ever. With public arts funding shrinking, spaces like Tempus Projects rely on people like us — those who care enough to show up, donate, and participate.

This is my gentle plea: put your money where it matters. Buy the ticket, collect the work, champion the cause.

✨ Closing Ritual

Tracy’s endurance. Twin Shadow’s courage. Forty sketchbooks turned outward for us to see. Old friends finding new meaning together under the soft light of Ybor City.

Art — like life — is fleeting, but its echoes linger.

As Twin Shadow once said, “Creativity isn’t about perfection; it’s about courage.”

Here’s to courage.
To community.
To showing up for beauty while it’s still here.

Until next Sunday,
Heather
The Bonne Vivant

If you’d like to experience the art for yourself or support these creative spaces, here’s where to begin:
🎨 Tempus Projects — Current Exhibitions →
🖼️ Kress Contemporary — Learn More →
🌿 The Bonne Vivant — Join the Newsletter →

The Bonne Vivant
Stories that Nourish. Moments that Matter.

Made with intention in Tampa Bay.

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Heather McCleaf https://thebonnevivant.com