Dolores Poacelli is an established American abstract fine artist and former graphic designer based out of a longtime studio in Philadelphia's historic Italian Market. Born on October 3, 1945, and a long-term resident of Collingswood, New Jersey, her career seamlessly bridges the fine art communities of both states. She honed her technical foundations across several notable Philadelphia institutions, including The University of the Arts, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), and the Fleisher Art Memorial. Over a career spanning more than 30 years, she has transitioned from commercial design to a dedicated fine art practice, creating complex, multi-layered abstract works that have earned her widespread regional and institutional acclaim.
Working primarily in mixed media, painting, collage, and unique industrial materials like recycled aluminum printing plates, Poacelli focuses heavily on the "all-important proportion" within her art. Her pieces explore the underlying tension and relationships between color, shape, texture, and space, drawing vague influence from biological forms, science, and the human shape. While her aesthetics remain purely abstract, she relies on specific, sometimes satirical titles to forge an emotional, personal bridge between the viewer and her work. This approach allows her art to act as an "abstracted essence" designed to generate raw energy and emotion rather than literal representation.
Poacelli's contributions to the art world have been recognized with numerous major awards and high-profile institutional acquisitions. She is a two-time recipient of the prestigious New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship for Painting, winning in both 2011 and 2024, and was previously awarded the highly competitive Samuel S. Fleisher Challenge Exhibition in 2000. Her work is held in prominent public and corporate collections worldwide, including SAP Software Corporation in Germany, Bank of America, Princeton University, the State of New Jersey, and healthcare institutions like New York-Presbyterian Children's Hospital.