Charles Presti - Best of Show, Artel Gallery

Please join us for an evening reception to meet the artist and view a selection of Charles Presti’s work on Thursday, April 2, 2026, from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM at Artel Gallery in Pensacola, Florida.

Presti’s painting Before the Splash received Best of Show in the February 2026 Artel Gallery juried exhibition, Fabulous Forgeries, and the work has since been acquired by a collector.

His work will be featured in the Award Cove as part of his exhibition Suspended, on view March 31 through May 8, 2026 at Artel Gallery.

📍 Artel Gallery

223 S. Palafox Street

Pensacola, Florida

Thursday, April 2, 2026

4:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Refreshments and light bites will be available throughout the evening.

At 6:00 PM, the gallery will present the juried award announcement for the next exhibition.

Artist Reception held in conjunction 

with the Artel Gallery 

juried exhibition evening

Painting the World in Polygons

After more than twenty-five years away from the canvas, Charles Presti returned to painting in the fall of 2025 fulfilling a promise he once made to himself. His work explores memory, family, and fleeting everyday moments through a distinctive visual language of polygonal geometry, layered color, and fragmented form. 

Rather than presenting scenes exactly as they appear, Presti reconstructs them the way memory often return in pieces. Shapes, angles, and color fields come together to form moments drawn from ordinary life: family gatherings, quiet domestic scenes, and reflections on time and memory. 

Included among the works is a compelling self-portrait, reflecting both the artist’s return to painting and his evolving exploration of perception, structure, and memory.