Charles Atlas: Kiss the Day Goodbye is on view at the Tampa Museum of Art through February 1, 2026.

The presentation of Kiss the Day Goodbye at the Tampa Museum of Art coincides with the 1-year anniversary of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which arrived on the Gulf Coast as category 4 and category 3 hurricanes two weeks apart from each other in the fall of 2024. The catastrophic weather harmed the region’s coastlines and damaged swathes of neighborhoods in the Tampa Bay area. Atlas’s Kiss the Day Goodbye, created by the artist 10 years ago, reminds viewers of the timeless beauty of the Gulf’s shorelines, the enduring wonder of its ecosystem, and the fragility of our coastal environment. Hurricanes Helene and Milton upended life in Tampa Bay. Yet with each ending comes beginnings, a sentiment that has strengthened our sense of community. Each breathtaking sunset serves as a reminder of why we call Tampa Bay home.

Filmed from the balcony of Atlas’s temporary apartment on Captiva Island, the artist captured the breathtaking sight of the Florida sunset and Gulf shores over several weeks. An abstract landscape, Atlas created a grid comprised of 36 sunsets that captured the brilliant orange sun dipping into, and ultimately beneath, the horizon. A pensive soundtrack accompanies the video installation, emphasizing the culmination of the day. The video features a sculptural component—an illuminated clock that counts down from 18 minutes to zero, a representation of the time it takes the sun to set. Kiss the Day Goodbye alludes to the passage of time and sentiments related to endings. When the countdown clock strikes zero, the video restarts and the sun begins its descent once more, a metaphor for the cycle of days and events that shape our lives.

For more information, visit the Tampa Museum of Art website.