Revolving Art Installation to Transform Weybosset Building Facade
Thursday, April 28, 2016
GoLocalProv News Team
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The Avenue Concept's Philippe Lejeune
The blighted facade of the former bank building on Weybosset Street is being transformed into a revolving art installation by former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino and The Avenue Concept.
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The site had recently been taken over by the homeless who were living in the facade. The homeless encampment was removed last week, the arched area was boarded up to create a pallet for public art.
As GoLocalProv reported about the emerging problems in Providence's Financial District in the Weybosset Street Facade, "It was once the location of a historic bank building that was torn-down in the early 2000’s to make way for a gleaming condo-hotel tower. Now, a little more than a decade later what was to be a $90 million development is now home to a group homeless squatters, right in the center of Providence’s Financial District."
INFLUX
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Arches have been boarded up to create a place for public art
The revolving art project has been named INFLUX Revolving Wall program. The Avenue Concept, arts organization, goal is to transform the Providence cityscape into a vibrant, visual network that capitalizes on the strengths, talents, and diversity of its people.
“I want to make a statement that ART should become part of the fabric of our community. Although this building should never of been torn Down, the facade does not accomplish anything that will enhance downtown. Hopefully with creating an amazing series of art (installations),” said Paolino.
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Historic Bank Building that was demolished in the early 2000's for a 32-story tower which was never built
“We can have it look beautiful and protect our citizens from hurting themselves,” said Paolino.
The first artist installation on the facade will be by Philippe Lejeune. He will be painting trees using simple materials like coffee and water to create a series of trees on the plywood recently installed to cover up the windows on the historic Facade located at 27 Weybosset St downtown.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
PHILIPPE LEJEUNE was born in Garches, France in 1951. In 1970, he gained entrance to the Academie Julian in Paris. In 1971, he was accepted at the ENSAD (Ecole Superieure Des Arts Decoratifs) in Paris. There he studies engraving under Yves Heude and Marcel Fiorini. From 1974-76, he apprenticed at the printmaking studio Mario Boni, Paris, where he met the reknowned illustrator Jean-Michel Folon, who invited him to work with him. From 1977-84, he was Folon’s engraver, translating Folon’s vision into the medium of print; gaining an international reputation for his mastery of Aquatint Technique. Prints exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, for a show titled “Folon’s Folon.” In 1984, Philippe moved to Westport, Connecticut, where he became an etching artist in his own right, published exclusively by Cavliero Fine Arts in New York. In 1987, he branched into painting and sculpture, exploring the relationship of primary colors within space. Between 1988 and 1992, he was commissioned to create outdoor aluminum sculptures for private estates and public spaces, both in the US and France. The city of Stamford commissioned seven wood, glass, and mirror pieces for the Bank Street Program at the Toquam School. In 1992, he returned to France, where he developed a new approach. Site-specific installations challenged
the viewer’s perceptions by juxtaposing reality with virtual images, blurring the line between “what is” and “what is not.” He was invited to experiment with these concepts at the Centre d’Art Contemporain de la Ferme du Buisson in Marne-la Vallee, as well as in schools, museums and public spaces in and around Paris, using his art as a teaching tool for expanding the awareness of children and adults alike. In 1996, he moved with his family to Cape Cod and started quietly painting trees on plywood. In 1998, in addition to the plywood forest, Philippe presented Le Cube, an innovative concept in interactive art education, which was used in the French school system. Since 1999, has been experimenting with the new digital technology within the traditional photographic approach, transforming still images into virtual animations.
From 1999 – 2011 was an adjunct Art Teacher at Cape Cod Community College. Also created and taught hybrid online art classes and a video blogging class. 2010 – presently working fulltime developing the “Glass Project,” a new approach to Images in real spaces and in real-time.
For more info about Philippe Lejeune, visit
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