Artist Statement
I make abstract paintings and mixed media collages that channel my interests in the cosmos,
cartography, chance, spirituality, and the puzzles that occupy my mind. I perceive traces of chaos in the world around me, and I create artwork as a way to center and ground myself creatively.
I employ a wide range of materials in my paintings, including traditional water-
soluble media and inks as well as spray paint, colored hot glue, and glitter. I also incorporate various, sometimes unlikely assemblage elements, such as fabric, crochet scraps, paper, straw, old clothing, vintage jewelry, fake fingernails, and false eyelashes. Gravity is an essential aspect of
my process as I engage in a series of pours, rotations, flows, drips, and pattern discovery,
alternation, and manipulation. I begin by working quickly and intuitively before slowing down to make specific decisions, look closely, and meditate on the next steps. At this stage, I might
overlay repeating motifs and dots to plot the cosmic expansion of the picture, resulting in an
atmospheric cacophony of possibilities. This more focused stage of my painting process reflects
my consistent mode of working when creating collages. I approach both studio practices as
matters of posing problems, exploring options, and solving puzzles.
I’m an emotional painter and a painter of emotions, and making artwork is something I am
innately driven to do. I find it both meditative and challenging-- a way to use visual structures to
find reason for things that defy explanation. Creating compositional spaces where strangeness
and chance converge with intention and resolve is important to me, as is celebrating different
ways to see, be seen, take joy, find peace, and stay curious while existing in this world.
Artist Biography
Rachel Volpone is an artist living and working in Connecticut. Her abstract paintings have been
featured in numerous solo shows and group shows, including exhibits at ArtCake in Brooklyn, New York, M. David in Brooklyn, NY, Katonah Museum in Katonah, NY, and Gordon Fine Arts, Westport, CT. Her artwork can also be found through online venues, including Artsy and Saatchi. Volpone received her BFA from Syracuse University and has completed workshops with Judy Pfaff, Deborah Dancy, Molly Zuckerman Hartung, and Budd Hopkins, as well as with many other artists through the Brooklyn-based Yellow Chair Salon. Volpone has also worked as an exhibition and programming executive director for an art guild in Connecticut, and as an educator of studio art classes and workshops.