First Friday Opening Reception featuring artist Sonny Romano

Name: First Friday Opening Reception featuring artist Sonny Romano
Start: 2025-01-03T17:30:00-05:00
End: 2025-01-03T21:00:00-05:00
Location: 10051 McGregor BLVD, STE 104, Fort Myers, FL

Schedule

Fri Jan 03 2025 at 05:30 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

10051 McGregor BLVD, STE 104, Fort Myers, FL | Fort Myers, FL

DAAS CO-OP features Thunderstruck: the Art of Sonny Romano in the Month of January, plus Sip, Read, Connect Event during First Friday Reception
Fort Myers, FL – In the month of January, DAAS CO-OP Art Gallery & Gifts is showcasing the art of Sonny Romano. His exhibition, entitled Thunderstruck, features recent works created using the artist’s twist on wood burning. The opening reception is scheduled for the evening of Friday, January 3, 2025, from 5:30pm to 9:00pm. Additionally, author Magdianamy Carrillo Sotomayor will be present for a Sip, Read, Connect book signing for her powerful Spanish memoir entitled “Entre Letras y Cicatrices.”
Sonny Romano is a trailblazing artist based in Southwest Florida. His work merges science, art, and nature with his own twist on a process called Lichtenberg wood burning. Using high-voltage electricity, Romano creates intricate, one-of-a-kind patterns on wood, evoking the beauty of lightning, river systems, and organic forms found throughout the natural world. A lifelong maker and musician, Romano’s journey began with custom woodworking and guitar building in 2018. Unsatisfied with conventional methods of finishing his instruments, he discovered Lichtenberg wood burning - a rare and hazardous technique requiring specialized equipment capable of generating thousands of [electrical] volts for the purpose of burning beautiful and intricate, but random patterns onto wood. With a bit of research and some tinkering around, Romano was confident he could take this process to a new, more artistic level.
After spending three years on experimentation, practice, and the occasional bite of electricity to keep him honest, Romano developed his own technology and a daring, hands on technique that allowed him to harness the chaos of a high voltage current, and collaborate with it, resulting in breath taking, one-of-a-kind pieces of art. After hurricane Ian in 2022 and a subsequent fire destroyed his studio, Romano rebuilt and returned with renewed vigor, founding Thunderstruck Woodworx in 2023. The exhibition will be on display through Sunday, February 2, 2025.
On Friday, January 3, the first Sip, Read, Connect book signing event features author Magdianamy Carrillo Sotomayor. The author will be signing copies of her book and taking the opportunity to talk about her memoir and the experiences that led to it all. Her story reminds us of the strength within us to overcome life’s challenges through perseverance, education, and self-discovery. Let’s sip coffee, explore meaningful stories, and celebrate the beauty of connection and creativity. The book signing will be held in the adjacent Arts & Eats Café, from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM.
Everyone is invited to attend these two great events on the first Friday of January. DAAS CO-OP Art Gallery & Gifts is located at 10051 McGregor BLVD, STE 104 in Fort Myers, FL (adjacent to Arts & Eats Café) in the Alliance for the Arts Campus. The gallery’s business hours are Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 2pm. Information about the venue can be found at daascoop.com or by calling 239-955-0422.