Yvonne Petkus

Profile

Selected works

Art faculty

Yvonne Petkus
Associate Professor
270 745 2390
yvonne.petkus@wku.edu
Ivan Wllson Center for Fine Arts 407

Artist Statement

"...the body, which is part of us and at the same time withdraws from us, which makes us a form in the world of forms and then leaves us directly with our inner formlessness, which says 'I' and immediately begs for the glance of the other."

From 'The Unfulfillment and the Surfeit'

By Anna Tilroe

I believe in 'making' as a means to further understanding or thought and am drawn to the physicality and psychology possible in skin and through space. I work from a place of questioning, a desire to understand an unknowable something. Each piece finds origin in the coexistent and contradictory worlds of self-doubt and extreme conviction.

I use the female nude, distorted, in conflicted and conflicting gestures, which tend to seem both dynamic and trapped. I question the act of seeing which alternates between the sight that occurs before or in spite of looking and the actualized ocular sensing of inner complexities through external appearances. It is a type of reading, a constant doubting and distrusting of what is seen or how it is physically, psychologically being perceived. It is 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 and knowable form. I distrust perception while relying primarily on this very act to find each final presence, its form and space.

As thought itself or, more specifically, the act of thinking, each piece is the tangible result or residue of a mental and physical processing. Not intended to be realistic, my imagery is mediated, really found, through mark making – through thick, sculpted marks that hopefully reveal as much as any representation. I use space but also play with it, sometimes flattening, sometimes deepening, often allowing a reference line or horizon to distort or disconnect across the canvas. I use what I call 'holds', vertical, horizontal, and diagonal stops, which hold space and create an abstract and spatial dialogue across the painting. The end product becomes more than pictorial, though is steeped completely in its visual language.

The surfaces evolve through this language, through a type of sculpting, of physically pushing material around to gain hold or purchase of some fleeting truth. The marks, the residues, result over time, revealing a text of breaths, struggled over, which combine to hopefully find insight into some momentary reality of the human condition. Each piece becomes about the vocabulary, the words and grammar, of painting, about pressed limitations. Each has a dialogue with and speaks from the borders of the frame.

I am trying to create works that are about one moment and a lifetime simultaneously and see my work as asserting itself through an evolving subject containing both strength and vulnerability and the gradations between. I aspire to transform personal, philosophical, and political convictions into visually compelling works that speak on a human level.

	Education

1996	University of Washington, Seattle, WA. MFA - Painting
Autumn 1991 & Spring 1993	Hunter College of CUNY, New York, NY MFA Program - Painting
1991	Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY BFA, Magna Cum Laude - Painting Spring

Autumn 1989 - Spring 1990	Division of International Programs Abroad, London, England Syracuse London Centre and Camberwell College of Art- Part of BFA


	Selected Solo Exhibitions

2007	*TBA* South Gallery Solo Exhibition, Jacksonville, FL
2006	*Gesture* Artspace Selected Three-person Exhibition, Raleigh, NC
2006	*Recent Work* Capitol Arts Alliance Inc. Gallery Two-person Exhibition, Bowling Green, KY
2006	*XVI National Juried Exhibition Winner* Viridian Artists Inc. @ Chelsea Two-person Exhibition, New York City, NY
2005	Recent Paintings, Brad Cooper Gallery, Tampa, FL
2004	TBA, The Clara M. Eagle Gallery Solo Exhibition, Murray State University, Murray, KY

2004	Painting, Brad Cooper Gallery Solo Exhibition, Tampa, FL
	Painting, Brad Cooper Gallery Solo Exhibition, Tampa, FL
2003	The Drama and the Gesture Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center Gallery Solo Exhibition of work resulting from Junior Faculty Grant (Baroque Research/Influence) Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY

2002	Residue Swanson Cralle East Market Two-person Exhibition, Louisville, KY

2000	New Faculty Exhibition Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center Gallery Two-person Exhibition, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY

2000	Recent Work Black Lab Gallery Solo Exhibition, Seattle, WA
	Recent Work Black Lab Gallery Solo Exhibition, Seattle, WA
1998	Recent Work King County Art Gallery Juried Solo Exhibition with a grant from the King County Arts Commission, Seattle, WA

1992	Recent Works The Icon Solo Exhibition - Buffalo, NY
	Recent Works The Icon Solo Exhibition - Buffalo, NY
1991	Two Faces of Yve The White Cube Solo Exhibition, Syracuse, NY

1990	Strength The White Cube Solo Exhibition, Syracuse, NY
	Strength The White Cube Solo Exhibition, Syracuse, NY

	Selected Group Exhibitions

2006	*Re: figure* The College Art Gallery/Cazenovia College Selected Group Exhibition, Cazenovia, NY – November/December 2006
2006	*The Figure Considered...* Main Gallery/Northern Kentucky University Invitational Group Exhibition, Highland Heights, KY – August - September 2006
2006	*Uncommon Wealth: Legacy of the Kentucky Arts Council Fellowships* Lexington Art League Invitational Group Exhibit sponsored jointly by the Lexington Art League and the Kentucky Arts Council with a grant from the NEA's American Masterpieces Program, July/August 2006
2006	*OH+5* The Dairy Barn Juried Group Exhibition, Athens, OH – Mark J. Chepp/Charlotte Gordon, Jurors – March/April 2006
2006	*U.S. BankCelebration of the Arts 2005*** The Kentucky Library and Museum, Bowling Green, KY – Susan Shockley, Juror – March/April 2006
2006	*Nude International 2006* Lexington Art League Juried Group Exhibition, Lexington, KY – Patrick Oliphant, Juror – January/February 2006
2005	*2005 Annual All Kentucky Juried Fine Art Exhibition* Capitol Arts Alliance Inc. Gallery Juried Group Exhibition, Bowling Green, KY – Ron Porter, Juror – November/December 2005
2005	*Twenty-One: Works on Paper* Brad Cooper Gallery Group Exhibition, Tampa, FL – November 2005 - January 2006
2005	*Annual Fine Art Auction* Brad Cooper Gallery Fine Art Auction, Tampa, FL – November 2005
2005	*Sixteenth National Juried Exhibition* Viridian Artists Inc. @ Chelsea Juried Group Exhibition, New York City, NY – Robert Rosenblum, Juror (Curator of the Guggenheim Museum, Contributing Editor of Art Forum, Professor at NYU) – June/July 2005
2005	*Unzipped* The Chait Galleries Downtown Juried Group Exhibition, Iowa City, IA – April 2005
2005	*Small Works – 20th Annual Harper College National Exhibition* Harper College Juried Group Exhibition, Palatine, IL – Frank Paluch, Juror – April 2005
2005	*U.S. BankCelebration of the Arts 2005*** The Kentucky Library and Museum, Bowling Green, KY – John Streetman, Juror – March/April 2005
2005	*Nude International 2005* Lexington Art League Juried Group Exhibition, Lexington, KY – Steven Assael, Juror – January/February 2005
2005	*Kentucky Arts Council Fellowship Exhibit 2004* Actors Theatre-Gallery Group Exhibition of 2004 Fellowship Award Recipients, Louisville, KY – December 2004/January 2005
2005	*20/20 Twenty Years Twenty Artists* Brad Cooper Gallery Group exhibition, Tampa, FL – November 2004 – January 2005
2004	*Twentieth Anniversary Fine Art Auction* Brad Cooper Gallery Fine Art Auction, Tampa, FL – November 2004
2004	*2004 Annual All Kentucky Juried Fine Art Exhibition* Capitol Arts Alliance Inc. Gallery Juried Group Exhibition, Bowling Green, KY – Christie Nuell, Juror – November/December 2004
2004	*U.S. BankCelebration of the Arts 2004*** The Kentucky Library and Museum, Bowling Green, KY – Peter Bodnar III, Juror – March/April 2004
2004	*Women's Art Show* Anna Eaton Stout Gallery Invitational Exhibition of Four Female Artists, Brescia University, Owensboro, KY – March 2004

2004	The Nude 2004 Lexington Art League Juried Group Exhibition, Lexington, KY – Michael Markowitz, Juror

2004	Contemporary Art From Around The World Gallery International Invitational Group Exhibition, Baltimore, MD

2003	2003 Annual All Kentucky Juried Fine Art Exhibition Capitol Arts Alliance Inc. Gallery Juried Group Exhibition, Bowling Green, KY – Jim Meaders, Juror

2003	Holiday Treasures IV Brad Cooper Gallery Fine Art Auction, Tampa, FL

2003	The Figure as Content The Andrews Gallery of the College of William & Mary Invitational Exhibition of four Figurative Artists, Williamsburg, VA

2003	New American Paintings Open Studios Press Juried Group Exhibition published in national art periodical – Ron Platt, Juror

2003	Kentucky National: A National Exhibit of Contemporary Art The Clara M. Eagle Gallery Juried Group Exhibition, Murray State University, Murray, KY – Julien Robson, Juror

2003	Contemporary Approaches to Drawing The Andrews Gallery of the College of William & Mary Invitational Exhibition of Four Artists, Williamsburg, VA

2003	The Nude 2003 Lexington Art League Juried Group Exhibition, Lexington, KY – Gary Chapman, Juror

2002	Nude in The Post-Modern 2002 Brad Cooper Gallery International Juried Group Exhibition, Tampa FL – Corey Postiglione, Juror

2002	2002 Annual All Kentucky Juried Fine Art Exhibition Capitol Arts Alliance Inc. Gallery Juried Group Exhibition, Bowling Green, KY

2002	Perceptual Experience: Contemporary American Figure Drawing Frye Art Museum Invitational Group Exhibition, Seattle, WA – Norman Lundin, Juror

2002	Faculty Swap Exhibition Owensboro University Galleries Exchange of faculty work between WKU and Brescia University, Wesleyan University and OCC Owensboro, KY February 2002; Bowling Green, KY

2002	The Nude Lexington Art League Juried Group Exhibition, Lexington, KY – Sharon Hunter, Juror

2001	21st Annual All Kentucky Juried Fine Art Exhibition Capitol Arts Alliance Inc. Gallery Juried Group Exhibition, Bowling Green, KY – Brian Jones, Juror

2001	Celebration of the Arts Firstar 16th Annual Open Art Exhibition Firstar Bank Juried Group Exhibition, Bowling Green, KY – Glenn Dasher, Juror

2001	The Nude Lexington Art League Juried Group Exhibition, Lexington, KY – Patricia Jerde & MN River School of Fine Art, Jurors

2000	50th Mid-States Art Exhibition Evansville Museum of Arts and Science Juried Group Show, Evansville, IN – Bridget Moore, Juror

2000	20th Annual All Kentucky Juried Fine Art Exhibition Capitol Arts Alliance Inc. Gallery Juried Group Exhibition, Bowling Green, KY


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