EXHIBITION PRESS RELEASE
 

YVONNE PETKUS: PAINTING

 February 14, 2004 – March 27, 2004

Brad Cooper Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of Paintings by Yvonne Petkus, with an opening reception for the artist on Saturday evening, February 14, 7- 9 p.m. (Valentines Day).  Prior to the reception, at 6pm, Yvonne will discuss her work in a slide presentation ~ reservations requested: 248-6098. The exhibit includes 24 paintings (sizes range from 8”x8” through 48”x48”) and will be on view through March 27, 2004. The Gallery is located at 1712 E. 7^th Ave in YBOR CITY, and Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11am until 5pm. (additional evening and weekend hours available on request, call  813-248-6098.)

Yvonne Petkus grew up in New Jersey and spent much of her early adult life in New York State and Manhattan. She then headed west to Seattle, WA where she was fortunate to have studied with such talented artists as Ryan Loftus, Gary Trento, Norman Lundin, Hanneline Rogeberg and Denzil Hurley, among others.

©Yvonne Petkus 2003, “Please”, oil on canvas, 24x24

“The source of my work is the body and the history it holds. I study my mirrored reflection to find borders and edges, openings and weaknesses. Through the process of looking, recording, looking and adjusting, again and again, a particular presence emerges from the page. This is the ‘act of looking’, an intense confrontation of perception motivated by the realization that the self is fleeting; not a stable truth.  The reflection is more illusion and distortion than solid knowable form.”    

“I am trying to create works that are about one moment and a lifetime simultaneously. Through the scrutiny of the mirrored image and the actuality of the painting-in-itself as a recorded presence, I see my work as asserting itself through an evolving subject containing both strength and vulnerability. I aspire transform personal, philosophical, and political convictions into visually compelling works which speak on a human level.”          YVONNE  PETKUS

Yvonne Petkus was first shown in the Tampa Bay area at the International Juried Exhibition,  Nude in the Post-Modern, held at Brad Cooper Gallery, Nov. of 2002.  Petkus currently lives in Bowling Green, KY, she teaches at Western Kentucky University, and is the recipient of a 2004 Individual Artist Fellowship Award from the Kentucky Arts Council.  

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Main Exhibition:

YVONNE PETKUS: PAINTINGS

Brad Cooper Gallery
1712 E 7th Ave. YBOR CITY  (between 17th & 18th St)

11am - 5 pm / Wed – Sat  &  by appointment.