La Casa del Arte to present "Click To Open"

3 Graces Gerard Damiano, the artist who set Fort Myers on fire with his "Bonfire of Vanity" show at Arts for ACT, will present "Click To Open" at La Casa del Arte. The opening will be from 6-10 p.m. on Oct. 17 and will coincide with the launch of his Web site: www.gerardist.com.

"Click To Open" will showcase the contents of the site and contain the full range of Damiano's art from drawings to music videos, much of which has never before been seen in the area.

To build his Web site, Damiano partnered with Russell Benzing of Benzing Technologies.

La Casa del Arte is owned and operated by husband and wife team Greg and Jessamin Knezevich, who said they are very excited about their collaboration with the artist.

Longtime collaborator Jim Harmon of Harmon's Audio Visual, will provide multimedia support. Hors d'oeuvres will be presented by the Fort Myers Living Foods Group. Dr. David Dyer, Jayne Baker (formerly of Jayne's Victorian Garden) and other members of the group will be on hand to explain gourmet raw cuisine. Music will be supplied by DJ Slinky.

The closing reception on Nov. 7 will be from 6-10 p.m. and will coincide with the newly established Art Walk in downtown Fort Myers, which will be held on the first Friday of every month.

A trolley will carry patrons to and from La Casa del Arte, to locations throughout downtown.

Damiano attended The Rhode Island School of Design and The Accademia de Belle Arte in Rome. He studied Web design at Queens College in New York.

Damiano has shown in solo and group exhibitions in New York City, in galleries throughout the U.S., and in Italy. He is best known in Southwest Florida for his video projection work. His short film "Kinetoscope: The Life and Inventions of Thomas Edison," which received a Director's Citation from the Black Mariah Film Festival, is currently on view at the Edison/Ford Winter Estates.

La Casa del Arte is located in Fort Myers Art District at 1803 Hough St. For more information, visit www.thearthousefortmyers. com, e-mail mail@ thearthousefortmyers.com, or call (239) 313-5607.