Burlington City Arts recently named Burlington-based artist Estefania Puerta as the current BCA Center Fourth Floor ArtLab Artist in Residence for May. Estefania will host open studio sessions on the Fourth Floor every Saturday from 2-5PM through June 4, giving visitors the chance to view the creative process and speak with the artist about her work. Estefania Puerta’s work has been featured around Burlington including the Fleming Museum. She is co-founder of the Barn Owl Poetry Extra, a local monthly poetry publication, and creator of the “Oh La La C’est Cher” Performance Art troupe. She draws most of her inspiration from her upbringing as a Colombian in the U.S. and revels in the exquisite beauty of identity crisis both internally and internationally.
Estefania says about her work: “Through the use of portraiture and magic realism, I delve into themes of loneliness and identity crisis as a result of the encroachment of modernization in human relationships.The people that I depict are outsiders. They are tender souls who lead solitary lives that have been tainted by technology, culture, or biology. It is in the world that I provide for them that they are a population of beautiful losers who elicit reverence in their strong poses and confident dejection.”
The BCA Center ArtLab was created in 2004 to invigorate the dialogue between artists and the viewing public in downtown Burlington. Artists are invited to submit a proposal for the available one-to-three-month residency periods. During their residency, artists can use the BCA Center’s fourth floor studio as well as BCA’s clay, photography, and printmaking studios. The resident works with BCA staff to offer a workshop, lecture, or special project that engages the public in his/her creative process. The ideal applicant should be a local artist with a history of formally or conceptually rigorous work, excellent communication skills and enthusiasm for interacting with the public.