SAAC is proud to host the exhibition “Beyond Labels” by Puerto Rican artist and current North Little Rock resident with El Dorado roots, Virmarie DePoyster, showcasing her pastel portraits in the Merkle and Price Galleries September 10 – October 16, 2024. An artist’s reception will be held on Thursday, September 12 from 5:30-7pm.

DePoyster, a bilingual artist born and raised in Puerto Rico until her family moved to El Dorado, Arkansas in 1983, uses her art to foster community connection. The “Beyond Labels” exhibition features a series of pastel portraits that delve into the complexities of identity in an increasingly diverse world. DePoyster’s focus is on encouraging viewers to look beyond superficial labels and recognize the intrinsic beauty within each person.

“These pastel portraits aim to illustrate the meaningful selectivity we use in deciding which of our layers we peel back to show the world and which we keep concealed. As always, color is a technique, a tool, and a language I use to emphasize an overall feeling,” DePoyster explains. To create this impactful exhibition, DePoyster interviewed members of her community—both friends and strangers—inviting them to share personal items or personas that represent their identities. Through these conversations, she addresses the significant labels that shape our perceptions and encourages a dialogue about connection and acceptance.

When viewers first enter the exhibit, they will be introduced to a collage of DePoyster’s sketchbook pages, which include drawings, notes, interviews, and photographs that were created in the process of planning the portraits. This section highlights her creative journey, revealing a contrast between chaotic early ideas and polished finished works in the Merkle Gallery.

DePoyster’s exhibition also offers three interactive experiences designed to deepen audience engagement with her portraits and to clarify the intent behind her project.

On one wall, DePoyster recreates the portrait photography studio set-up that she used to photograph and interview each of the participants. The photography lighting and backdrop provides a space for visitors to take their own photos, accompanied by a sign that encourages them to consider, “How would you pose for a portrait? Capture a shot hitting your best portrait pose.”

Two stations invite the viewer to contribute to the exhibition. Guests are encourages to examine their own perceptions by responding to the prompts, “What adjectives do others apply incorrectly to you?” and “How are you misunderstood?” Guests can share their thoughts and post them anonymously on the wall. To foster a communal artistic atmosphere, DePoyster also invites visitors to create sketches of themselves or others and display their drawings on the wall at the opposite end of the Price Gallery. Paper and pencils are provided for everyone to use.

Join us for the artist reception to celebrate DePoyster’s work and engage with the themes of community, identity, and appreciation of uniqueness on Thursday, September 12 from 5:30-7pm. The galleries are free and open to the public Monday through Friday 9am-5pm or by appointment. SAAC is located at 110 East Fifth Street in El Dorado, Arkansas.

BEYOND LABELS / Más Allá De Las Etiquetas
Virmarie DePoyster Artist Statement

“Where are you from?”
“Do you have a green card?”
“Are you a real artist?”

A day in my shoes.
_________

We, as humans, have been making assumptions and prejudging each other as a means to better understand one another since the beginning of time. After being constantly mislabeled as a foreigner because of my accent, and frivolous because of my profession, I began to question how the labels and judgments others place upon us influence our identities.

Over the years I have come to realize that the labels we assign each other have power to either divide or connect us. Recently, I began to wonder about others’ experiences with mislabeling, and decided to ask both friends and strangers in my community to consider being interviewed and photographed for a painting. They were each asked to bring an item or embody a persona which illustrated how they see themselves. During these interviews, we explored issues of identity and connection through in-depth conversation about the significant labels that have affected their lives.

These pastel portraits aim to illustrate the meaningful selectivity we use in deciding which of our layers we peel back to show the world and which we keep concealed. As always, color is a technique, a tool, and a language I use to emphasize an overall feeling.

Although greatly diverse – like the portrait subjects themselves – these paintings are unified by their manipulated shapes, gradation, and textures that evoke empathy and curiosity. My hope is to inspire an appreciation in our community for what makes each of us unique so we can learn to look beyond labels and truly see one another.

Virmarie DePoyster was born and raised on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico and moved to El Dorado, Arkansas in 1983. The vibrant tropical colors, wide open spaces, and rain forest left an indelible impression that is so clearly translated in her paintings. Her desire for creative expression began at The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where she studied Apparel Merchandising and Design. Years later, in 2004, she took on a new creative challenge by enrolling in classes at the Arkansas Arts Center Museum School. She quickly fell in love with the bright pigments of soft pastels specifically when experimenting with surface textured paper.

Over the past twelve years, her reputation and recognition as an artist and art teacher has grown exponentially. Virmarie was a drawing and pastel instructor at the Arkansas Arts Center Museum School from 2011 to 2018. In 2012, she developed and implemented a therapeutic art program teaching at-risk youth in rural Arkansas how to heal through artistic expression. In 2016, she built on this desire to give others a voice through art by providing her services to a wide range of individuals at an acute care facility in Little Rock. DePoyster is also currently a visual artist in residency with the Arkansas Arts Council AIE program which includes facilitating professional workshops for schoolteachers, focusing on how to better integrate art into their curriculum.

Her work is currently displayed in private and public collections, along with past numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally. Some of her accomplishments include the first-place award at the Arkansas Pastel Society National Exhibition with her piece Still in Love 6. As well as the international solo exhibition “Revelation” which debuted at the US Embassy in Rome, Italy in 2015. Currently, she lives in North Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband, David. You can find her work in her North Little Rock, Arkansas studio and at The Art Group Gallery in Little Rock, Arkansas.

www.virmarie.com