Ella Napierkowski

Artist Statement

I am a multidisciplinary artist with a drive to investigate where I belong in the ecosystem that surrounds me, and the ecosystem that thrives inside of me. Within my practice, I tend to skew away from the pristine nature of art making, and the processes that lie within it. As part of my individualized program at Rochester Institute of Technology, I focused on unique applications of painting and printmaking, attempting to blend and separate the two in unique ways. Through my exploration I found myself developing a new relationship with color, where it became one of the key components of me and my practice. I learned which colors make my brain light up, how they make people feel, how to trust my intuition, and most importantly, what materials work best with my images. Wood is one of my favorite materials to work with. Between painting and printmaking, the wood works with me when I create an image. It decides where the paint goes and how the carving takes place just as much as I do. As I carve, the board fights back. It rips up my lines and cuts through positive space even when I want anything but. As frustrating as it can be, I find comfort in the loss of control. The images I created are not only representations of myself, but they are representations of the teamwork that comes to light as I embark on the image making journey. Everyday I surprise myself with the images I make and I look forward to seeing what comes next.