I recently spent some time in Sarasota, Florida.  The home of my college -Ringling College of Art and Design.  There I show my work at the http://www.madebygallery.com/. 
I spent time walking around various stores downtown - boy has it changed in 20 years.  John Ringling was right - it's the Rodeo Drive for the east coast now.   During that time I met a fine artist name Frank Creaturo.  Here is his website .... http://creaturo.com/ This is a man who has led a very blessed life as I listened to his stories of living in SOHO in NY during the beatnik and jazz era when talents like John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Stan Getz were performing in small clubs and you could go see them live for next to nothing in cost.  To me, I have a nostalgia for that time in NY.  People dressed up, went out, and knew how to party. They had class from the island to the burrows.  Everywhere you went, expression of every kind was exploding in the most creative way.  I guess that's where my new friend found inspiration, first as a club promoter and manager of bands like Billy Joel when they were just starting out and then turned fine artist.  He has a gallery in Sarasota at 1269 First Street ste6 (downtown next to the Library).  There I found art that referenced the pop artists movement of the sixties like Kandinsky and Rosenberg along with pop influences of the eighties artists like Patrick Nagel.  What was unique about his work, was that he was not afraid to combine and change these influences into a new fusion of art just as if you could personify visually art while listening to jazz.  The art came alive visually and I could hear the notes played while looking at each mixed media piece.  Some where direct paintings while others where well executed collages of images from our pop-modern culture complete with modern day icons like Marilyn Monroe and other supermodels.  The work was fun, whimsical, powerful and just exciting to look at and perhaps take one one to place on a wall in your large Sarasota home bringing life into the house.  It's like he took his personal memories, poured them out of the "memory" drawer and created collages with them telling stories with each piece.  I would highly recommend going by saying hello and actually taking the time to talk with this amazing person as he has so many stories to tell of NY when it was New York.  He should write a book with the stories he was telling me.  I enjoyed my visit immensely and look forward to going back and talking with him again and seeing what new work he's created.  One thing I really respect about his work, it's not a repetitive style like so many successful artists get mired in.  Ten years later, there is no change which I find contra-indicative of fine art.  Artists should always explore new avenues, scary new ventures and change their work from style to style.  That is what art is - the exploration of the human journey and inner soul.  His work certainly captures that.  Here is a you tube video that sums his work up.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrPrVBoGZqw