I attended the latest unveiling of MainStateVentures art competition Thursday night. Great stuff. MSV is one of the largest downtown property owners.
MainStateVentures Unveils Artwork of Fourth Finalist in Inaugural Public Art Competition
Thursday evening MainStateVentures presented the fourth finalist in its 1st Annual Art Competition. Yolanda Vasquez Petrocelli, a Bridgeport resident, unveiled her work “Esperanza” (hope) on Broad Street across from the Burroughs-Saden Library downtown. Her work will be displayed through early January. She is the fourth in a series of six finalists.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of this public art exhibition,” stated Yolanda Vasquez Petrocelli. “Not only can art help breathe life into a city or neighborhood, it also touches the people who live, work and visit on a daily basis. Having the opportunity to share my work with the people of this city is a great honor.”
A native of Mexico City, Yolanda Vasquez Petrocelli is a contemporary artist descending from a strong family of artists. She studied art at the San Carlos Academy in Mexico City, the University of the Americas and the University of Texas at Austin. Motivated by cultural memory passages, she explores the familiar and subconscious mental landscape as a woman, providing the viewer with images that are both dreamlike and surreal, all the while celebrating the spirit of women and nature.
Ms. Vasquez Petrocelli’s recent solo shows include Silvermine Gallery, New Canaan, CT, Norwalk Community College, Norwalk, CT and the New London Cultural Center, New London, CT. Her work has been included in group shows at the Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin, TX; Foto Septiembre at La Peña in Austin, TX; USB in Stamford, CT; Old Town Hall, Stamford, CT; City Lights Gallery, Bridgeport, CT; Mitchell College, New London, CT; The Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT; Luckas Gallery at Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT; the William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut; the New Britain Museum, New Britain, CT; ArtSpace in New Haven, CT; and the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, CT.
Ms. Vasquez Petrocelli also has conducted lectures and workshops at Fairfield University, the Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum and the Yale University Museum of Art. Her artwork was selected to be included in an Art Resources Series about women of color at the Mexican Museum in San Francisco and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Vasquez Petrocelli’s work also is featured in private and museum collections.
In addition to Ms. Vasquez Petrocelli, the MainStateVentures Public Art Competition finalists who have already shown their work include kHyal, Gus Moran and Kelly Bigelow Becerra. Liz Squillace’s work will be unveiled in early January and John Lawson’s work will be revealed in early March. A requirement of the competition is that all of the artists must reside or work in Bridgeport. The year-long exhibition will culminate in the selection of a Grand Prize winner, who will receive a $1,000 cash award and a “People’s Choice” winner, who will be awarded a $250 cash prize. Awardees will be announced in Spring 2011.
All six finalists were chosen by a distinguished jury consisting of Robert Curcio, co-founder of the Scope International Art Fairs and Gallerist, New York City; MaryAnn Fahey, Curator and Gallerist, Umbrella Arts, New York City; Emily Larned, Professor, Graphic Design, University of Bridgeport; John Favret, Director, Housatonic Community College Art Department; and Penny Harrison, an arts consultant.
To learn more about the “MainStateVentures Public Art Competition,” follow us on Facebook. The MainStateVentures Public Art Competition is proud to participate in the Bridgeport Art Trail.
About MainStateVentures
MainStateVentures (MSV) is a joint venture between Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, LLC and Forstone Capital, LLC. MSV acquired the People’s United Bank downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut portfolio, which represents two prime city blocks including seven buildings totaling 300,000+ sf with 2.8 adjacent acres of developable land.
