ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
VICTOR PACHECO:
A BEAUTIFUL CONNECTION
KRIKORIAN GALLERY
WORCESTER CENTER FOR CRAFTS
25 SAGAMORE ROAD
WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
MARCH 15 THROUGH APRIL 28
by Brian Goslow
While the initial response to seeing one of Victor Pacheco’s frog sculptures is to smile or laugh, there’s a deeper meaning behind the amphibious forms — they’re intended to turn a mirror on society and provide an observation of what’s happening when we interact with technology. “A lot of the scenarios I set up are things that are commonly happening, things like using an iPad or a phone while you’re sitting on a toilet,” Pacheco said.
The first of his web-footed creatures “jumped” out at visitors to the Worcester Center for Crafts during its “Ambient Folklore” exhibition in 2014 and caught the attention of Krikorian Gallery director Candace Casey, who offered him a solo show. “I was totally excited about his ability to create a fabulous, poignant mirror about how we take ourselves so seriously and the dormant humor underlying it.”
The end result, “A Beautiful Connection,” will feature 10 of Pacheco’s sculptures. One will utilize a dashboard recovered from a local junkyard. “I pulled this out from a Ford Focus,” he said, showing the piece-in-progress. “I had to come back and look up what wrenches I needed to take certain things off and I found all that stuff online. Then I went down to Ace and bought this little wrench I needed and went in and paid my 80, 90 bucks to take this stuff out of the car.”
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