Jorge Wellesley, a Cuban artist, alternates between painting, drawing, installation and video art. The crisis of meaning in language is the overarching thread throughout his work. His most recent solo exhibitions are 2016: Verdad y No, Nina Menocal Gallery, Mexico, DF; 2015: Semiotic tree II, Art Center South Florida, Miami, FL, USA; Reveal, The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, FIU, Miami, FL, USA; 2013: Surface, Villa Manuela Gallery, UNEAC, Havana, Cuba. About Shaping the Essence, Wellesley says, “this sculpture, like language, tries to enclose space that doesn’t exist physically. The sculpture looks like an abstraction but the viewers will easily identify the logic and decipher the word “Soul.” The letters are connected like a dance. Each one is made out of a color that represents a different ethnicity. The artwork pays attention to that which is arbitrary about language and sometimes leads to miscommunication, then affecting social relations.”
2018
Color Field
Shelley Parriott added one of her Color Field Sculpture installations to the Village Green in Summit in September. Shelley describes her vibrant work: “As light passes through the transparency of the sculpture, the atmosphere shifts; shapes that at first glance appear to be solid and corporeal now elude definition.”
Viewing this work at different times of day and in different weather provides an ever-changing experience. It’s an exciting addition to Summit.
Broadway Boogie
Artist Jason Peters installed “Broadway Boogie” at City Hall in September. Says Jason of his work: “Although the work initially disorients the viewer, my sculptures soon give way to a delight of solving the visual puzzles, and enjoying the works’ graceful and colorful forms. Ultimately, the total environment becomes part of the experience.”
“Broadway Boogie” stays true to his mission. The piece is constructed of carefully assembled paint buckets, and lit with LED lights at night. It makes for a striking and dramatic addition to the courtyard of City Hall.
Cloudscape
A fanciful matrix of detailed lacy white curves form a cloudlike mass above the existing David E. Trucksess Fountain in Promenade Park, softening the abrupt edge of the fountain wall, responding to the white foam of the water below, and mysteriously hovering as viewed from the parking lot behind the park.
Spirit of Summit
The RAMP UP program was brought to Summit High School by Summit Public Art as an expansion of our mission, by adding the Rising Artists Mentorship Program and involving students who are considering the visual arts as a career path.
The goal of RAMP UP is for students to connect with, and learn from, public art, and ultimately to help shape our city public art landscape.
Artist Dan Fenelon, a highly-trained professional artist who works on murals, lead SHS students in this project. His work is very vibrant with bold graphics (https://www.wavedog.com/).
Art teachers Meghan Scozzari and Kelly Wright selected seven students to be a part of the program: Megan Abate, Amaury Rosario, Daniel Vandersteen, Grace Morrissey, Emily Tricker, Elise Yeager, and Andy Toxtle.
