The exhibit features the works of Michael Petit. The exhibit is on display from February 1 – 28, 2025, in the Hopko Performace Gallery.
Join all at the Artists’ Reception on February 7, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Gallery hours to view the exhibit are Tuesday – Friday, 12-5:00 pm, and Saturday, 12 noon – 3:00 pm. Additional hours by appointment – 860.276.1581 / southingtonarts@gmail.com
Michael Harry Petit Jr, a Southington CT native, is a self-taught artist whose works center around spirituality, self-actualization, dream psychology, queer identity, and religious symbology. In addition to being an artist, Michael is also a poet and classically trained violinist. Michael has a BM of Violin Performance and Music Education from Ithaca College and a MM of Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
“Can Opener” When you look in a mirror what do you see? Do you see yourself? Do you see how the work day went? Do you see what you ate for lunch? Do you see colors, lines, light, gestures, and expressions? Or do you see something else? Maybe something that no one could ever see but you? And if you sat down with a piece of paper and pen, would you be able to draw yourself just how you look in the mirror? Or would you end up drawing something else? Making art for me is like opening an unlabeled can of soup. It is an act of discovery. These are the images that came out with a pen in my hand over the past year. With a pen in my hand I can sit still, think, or not think, and end up with a tangible piece of evidence. Evidence that I have ideas, feelings, dreams, and memories. Some of the images are simple and childlike, others are cryptic and nonsensical, but they are all me. I’m very grateful to share with you these parts of me that I discovered this year.