At ASC, artist looks homeward
Yelena Petroukhina teared up when she first walked into the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas’ William H. Kennedy Jr. Gallery.
Her ceramic pieces, placed in clear containers strategically throughout the room, seemed to reflect her paintings on the wall, or perhaps it was the paintings casting impressions onto the smaller handcrafted pieces.
“It’s definitely exciting. It’s definitely beautiful,” Petroukhina said as she stood in the center of the room.
Already several people had gathered for the opening reception of her ASC show, “Defining Home: Mixed Media & Ceramics of Yelena Petroukhina.”
This isn’t Petroukhina’s first show but it’s her largest and one of her most special to date. Although she grew up in Russia, at 17 she arrived in Pine Bluff as a graduate student. Later, she would earn an art degree from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
“It’s like I have come full circle,” she said.
The exhibit runs through July 10. The display features 49 pieces and paintings and covers about five years of Petroukhina’s work.
“I explore the complexity of feelings and emotions we have towards our homes. One’s home contains a vast landscape of emotions,” Petroukhina said in her artist’s statement.
She said when preparing her work, she realized it would have to stand on its own, and as well, “Once my work is in the world, it has a life of its own.”
Sue Smith of Pine Bluff described Petroukhina’s work as “interesting, creative and fresh.”
Several of the artist’s stark, brownish colored replicas of houses — some where Pe
troukhina or family members had lived in Bryansk, Russia — reminded Smith of a miniature version of a Frank Lloyd Wright home.
A WORD FROM THE CURATOR
ASC Curator Chaney Jewell said, “It was an honor to curate Yelena’s exhibition.”
Her “beautiful array of artwork,” made Jewell’s challenging task of arranging Petroukhina’s within a particular space more enjoyable.
“Every curator has a different strategy on how they arrange exhibitions,” Jewell said.
She said she focuses on “creating exhibitions that are tied by color and height.” In Petroukhina’s case, her art pieces included two- and three-dimensional pieces.
For this exhibit, Jewell built see-through pedestal islands that were designed to flow, allowing the viewer’s eye to travel freely instead of “blocking” it.
She populated the islands with ceramic pieces, making sure that the coloration of the sculptures paired well with the artworks on the walls behind them.
“This strategy (was used) to encourage visitors’ eyes to flow from one piece to another, up and down, side to side, uninterrupted,” Jewell said.
It was the first in-person reception since Feb. 6, 2020, just before the entire state was shut down because of covid-19, said ASC Executive Director Rachel Miller. She said she was also delighted with Petroukhina’s work and its presentation.
In addition to her exhibit, Petroukhina will be the guest artist at an Adult Ceramics Work Series that runs from June 28 through July 5. It will be held in The ARTSpace on Main, 623 S. Main St., on the ASC campus.
The Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas is located at 701 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff, and is open Tuesday through Fridays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
All visitors 2 years and older are required to wear a mask, fully covering the nose and mouth.
The number of visitors is limited to 10, and people are welcome to reserve a time slot in advance by contacting Matthew Howard, visitor relations coordinator, at 870-536-3375 or by email to mhoward@asc701.org.
“Every curator has a different strategy on how they arrange exhibitions."
— Chaney Jewell, ASC curator