Biography
Tori Karpenko is a father, a visionary artist, and a community builder who works in service of place-based healing and environmental stewardship. He attended art school in Iowa and Florence, Italy, and moved to Washington state in 2001 where he has actively contributed to his community as a place-maker, teacher and ambassador. A pivotal moment in his career came in 2015 when he was awarded a GAP grant from Artist Trust in support of his first solo show at a major venue, Traver Gallery, in Seattle, Washington. In 2016 he was invited to participate in his first museum exhibit, “The Wild Nearby” at the Burke Museum. In 2020 he received a $10K fellowship from the McMillan Foundation, which allowed him to expand his practice to include larger sculptures and public art installations. Karpenko continues to contribute to his community of fellow artists across the state through volunteer opportunities like serving as a regional ambassador for Artist Trust for several years or currently as a founding Board Member for Whipsmart, a statewide trade association supporting the creative economy.
Artist statement
My artwork explores place-based healing for the individual and the collective through deep connection to the landscape. In recent years I have begun to see the dynamics of climate change, particularly the annual wildfire season, as a metaphor for the human experience. Within the devastation and trauma of a charred landscape I can also observe nature’s resilience and a remarkable capacity to regenerate and begin anew. While the land bears many scars, it also reveals perseverance and beauty in recovery. This dance of destruction and renewal has played out for eons, and in the grander rhythms of nature’s process I find a persistent source for hope. As an individual, I have also been scarred over the years in emotional, psychological and physical ways. Like wildfire running its course through the forest, I have felt the depths of despair through divorce, heartbreak and grief rip through my life. I seek solace to heal these personal wounds in mountain solitude, and transform those cathartic experiences in to paintings and sculptures that transport me back to those tranquil settings. Alpine lakes, tucked high up in the mountains, are our hope for surviving the threat of wildfire and also our water banks for nurturing new life after the burn. Their pristine colors and mystical depths give me a profound sense of optimism and symbolize nature’s undeniable urge to support new life. My artwork in its current evolution focuses on the hopeful colors of alpine lakes juxtaposed against the raw textures made by wildfire on re-claimed survivor trees.