2019 2019: Elena Peteva: Turmoil and Silence

September 4 – October 3, 2019

The Oresman Gallery presents Turmoil and Silence, an exhibition by the Bulgarian-American artist, Elena Peteva. In this exhibition, Elena Peteva delves deeply into the exploration of our individual and social states to create distilled representations that capture a deeper and more truthful reality. The image in her charcoal drawings (e.g., portrait, hands, paper boat) functions as a subtle but charged signifier, which creates a delicate net of meaning. Her drawing process involves a slow, layered construction of the highly detailed image in which the intricate “micro-abstractions” come together in a compelling representation. Peteva’s works go beyond the surface and draw in the viewer to slow down, look closer, decode and reflect.

Originally from Bulgaria, Elena Peteva is an Associate Professor of Art and Drawing Area Head at the College of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She holds an MFA degree from Syracuse University, a CFA degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and a high school degree from the Interlochen Arts Academy. Peteva has exhibited in solo shows and numerous juried and invitational exhibitions in the US and abroad. Her work has been included in many public and private art collections and art publications. Peteva is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation’s international grant for contemporary representational art, among other professional recognitions. Her home and studio are in Providence, Rhode Island.

The exhibition opens on September 4 and will be on view through October 3, 2019. A reception for the artist and the public will be held on Friday, September 13, 5–8pm.

Oresman Gallery
Brown Fine Arts Center
Smith College
22 Elm Street
Northampton, MA 01063
Monday – Friday, 8:30am–4:30pm
www.smith.edu/academics/art/events