A Beautiful Connection Opens March 15 At the Worcester Center for Crafts

Worcester, MA- Opening on March 15, 2018 is an exhibition of work by Victor Pacheco entitled A BEAUTIFUL CONNECTION. The exhibit features a series of sculptural scenarios that playfully observe and explore the connection between humans and their electronic devices. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, March 15 from 5:30-7:30 pm. The reception and the exhibit are open free to the public.

Victor Pacheco

Victor Pacheco received his Masters of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and his BFA in Sculpture from the University of Hartford Art School. He recently was one of only 22 artists/artist collaboratives nation-wide to be awarded an ARTS MATTER Fellowship that recognizes him as an artist whose work intends to break ground aesthetically and socially.

Pacheco experiments with form and ideas. In his work, he mischievously uses materials in his sculptures that trick the eye (ubiquitous foam becomes hard rock or steel under Pacheco's capable hands) and make the viewer look again and think about what they've just seen.

A BEAUTIFUL CONNECTION provides that kind of experience: in it, Pacheco explores that special thing that happens when someone pulls out a phone and looks at it. "There's that instant satisfaction," says Pacheco. "Simultaneously, there's an instant connection and a deep distraction." Pacheco will give an artist talk in conjunction with the exhibit on April 12 from 5:30-6:30pm in the Krikorian Gallery of the Center.

Statisticians tell us that approximately 77% of all people in the United States use a smartphone or an iPad, checking their phones about 46 times a day. Pacheco's sculpture plumbs these numbers with three-dimensional form. Through his sculptures, he is thinking about communication, distraction, and connection. He skillfully uses frogs as stand-ins for humans, allowing the viewer to laugh more easily and creating the space where the viewer can then question if they are laughing at themselves.

A native of Puerto Rico, Victor Pacheco received a Fellowship from the ConnecticutCommission on the Arts and Tourism as well as a Citation from the State of Connecticut for his dedication to the arts and his community. He now resides in Worcester. He has received a Material Needs Award from ArtsWorcester and is active in the community. 

Victor Pacheco, Mutation

"The serious side of Victor coupled with his incredible sense of humor intrigued me," said Candace Casey, Director of the Krikorian Gallery.  "We talked about doing a solo show and he was excited. However, when he told me about his plans for "A Beautiful Connection,"  I was the one that got excited!  It's a fabulous poignant mirror about how seriously we take ourselves and the dormant humor underlying it." The show is on view through April 28, 2018.

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Honee Hess, hhess@worcester.edu
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About the Worcester Center for Crafts:

The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public.  Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State University visual arts studios and partners in community outreach.

The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, its Youth Craft + Creativity program and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.