Artist’s Statement- Petula Bloomfield
“Shadowy, faceless, androgynous forms emerge from densely layered
surfaces upon which the kinetic energy of emotions is superimposed.
Questioning the concept of identity, I explore the relationship between
physical and emotional identity. In these paintings, I destabilize
individual likeness in favor of presence. The presence of the undefined
figure may stimulate a psychological interplay between the inner and
outer environments.
The paintings can be adversarial, violent and vulnerable at the same
time. The technique of using multiple overlaying layers of paint
attempts to reveal both the transparent and opaque nature of the
physical, emotional and spiritual experience of being human.”
Petula Bloomfield has been an exhibiting artist in galleries and museums
since 1990. She was accepted into the PhD in Visual Arts program at the
Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts in 2007, and has a
Master of Science in Art from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
and a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Clark University, Worcester.
She has taught art classes and designed and presented workshops in
schools and her studio since 1996. She has been an art instructor at the
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School since 2003 and has
completed two residencies at the Vermont Studio Center. She is
represented by Gallery Anthony Curtis in Boston. Petula’s work was
commissioned as a permanent installation for the entrance lobby in the
new Sunderland Public Library, Sunderland, MA.
September 14 – October 19
Hampden Gallery Main Space
Free abd open to the public