The Mayor’s Gallery presents Jay Petrow “This Must Be The Place” - emotionally charged abstract expressionist paintings
NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 8, 2021
At long last the Mayor’s Gallery has reopened. Artist Jay Petrow installed his exhibit days before the March 2020 lockdown began. Consequently his art has been there ever since. Please stop by weekdays from, 9 am-4 pm to view this exciting collection of paintings. The exhibit will be held over through September 8th when we celebrate the long overdue reception.
A long time resident of Westport and a native New Yorker, Jay Petrow began his art path with classical beginnings, producing portraits of friends and painting landscapes of places traveled to. After receiving a bachelor's degree from Middlebury College in Vermont Jay rarely produced art of any kind for over thirty years. Working in New York City as a magazine art director for major consumer brands like Time, Sports Illustrated and BusinessWeek, Jay focused on his career and spending time with his wife, Nancy, and their two children.However, raising a son with autism created extreme day-to-day stresses for his family, which led to an art reawakening for Jay. Feelings of love, anger, joy, sadness, and loss were overwhelming at times. Jay turned back to art as a conduit for his expression. Working in an abstract expressionist style allowed Jay to decipher and translate his emotions directly onto the canvas.“I approach painting from an explorer's point of view. Initially I may choose a few colors as a starting point to explore the tension and vibrancy between them. As the painting develops, it becomes more an exploration of my inner world and my emotional state in dealing with my son’s autism. My brush strokes and colors explode from within me as I process the different feelings I'm experiencing.The work depends on a subconscious level of interaction of my emotions and energy, and visualizing what's happening on the canvas as I layer on colors and textures.
Jay has shown his work locally in private galleries, libraries and arts centers and his work is in many private collections. Over the past year Jay has been a fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Vermont Studio Center as well as being the artist in residence at Weir Farms in Wilton, CT. Extended intensive work at these residencies has helped facilitate a change in Jay's style and a leap forward in his abilities as a painter. Most of the paintings in this exhibit were created during the last year of residencies.
CLOSING RECEPTION: SEPTEMBER 8 FROM 5:30 – 7:30 pm
10th floor Government Center 888 Washington Blvd Stamford, CT
Week days from 9 am - 4 pm handicap accessible parking on site