EXHIBITION PRESS RELEASE
GALLERY I

Yvonne petkus
RECENT PAINTING

SEPTEMBER 10 - OCTOBER 15, 2005

Brad Cooper Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of Recent Painting by Yvonne Petkus, with an opening reception for the artist on Saturday evening, September 10, 7-9 p.m. The exhibit will be on view through October 15, 2005. The Brad Cooper Gallery is located at 1712 E. 7^th Ave in YBOR CITY. Regular gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11-5 pm

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’s paintings of women re-present another version of women as self rather than as other. On each canvas, a single female figure asserts its presence in various stances; often standing, running, or about to run. These oil paintings display a strong handling of paint and a depth of expression. Petkus employs the female figure as a vehicle to convey various emotional and psychological states of human growth and change. In a search for truth and the self and perhaps the true self Petkus studies her own reflection and presents an altered image each time she paints. Her artist statement explains: “This is The Act of Looking, to verify/validate the self, undeterred or maybe motivated by the realization that this self is more lie than truth.” The presentation of the nude female body for Petkus is about illusion and distortion in painting and in life as well as our own self deception and honesty.  
by LINDA THOMAS / reproduced with permission from  www.artdish.com  

 

This is the second solo exhibition for Yvonne Petkus at Brad Cooper Gallery.  Her work was recently selected by Robert Rosenblum of the Guggenheim Museum and New York University to be included in the National Juried Exhibition, @ Viridian Artists Inc. Chelsea, New York City, NY.  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.   Further information about the artist and her exhibition can be viewed online @ www.bradcoopergallery.com

concurrent exhibition in Gallery II:  THOM O’CONNOR: CONFRONTING OBJECTS                    

The Brad Cooper Gallery is located at 1712 E 7^th Ave in YBOR CITY, and Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11am until 5pm. (Please call 813-248-6098 for additional evening and weekend hours.)  

*online exhibition link coming soon
 

Gallery I Exhibition:

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

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