Jessica Bednarcik
My figurative oil portraits explore and interrogate depressive nostalgia, memory, and repetitive thought through reiteration of high saturation colors and allusion to deep space. I reach for a feeling, thought, or place in time, and translate it into an experience for the viewer. My figurative oil paintings are born from increasingly saturated underpaintings that are alive, mimicking moments of fluorescence in nature. My process begins with this luminance which I then cover up, layer by layer. My process explores the psychology of thought and mental illness, constantly adding, layering, and revisiting memories in search of some type of truth. My works explore the complexity of youth, growth, and the emotions that come with unrelenting change. Lost in thought or movement, unaware of the surrounding real world, face and body still as the rhythm of the world moves around them. Surroundings fade into a void-like space.
Artist Biography
Jessica is a research-oriented artist. She is inspired by treasured dog-eared hardcovers of philosophy and psychology writings. She finds inspiration in the nuance of connection and disconnection which all humans share. She paints images reflecting the nostalgia of loneliness and feelings of loss.
Jessica has worked on mural projects throughout the years with her former high school art teacher, Tony Napoli. She assisted on his Yardley mural, Belmont’s Garage mural, the Yardley Tot Lot mural, and the Ashlynn Distillery mural. Jessica helped plan, sketch, and paint a retro drive-in movie theater scene on the side of a local auto shop. She hopes to continue creating public art murals in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.
Constantly involved in learning new processes, Jessica enjoys learning new trades. She prides herself in creating all of her own custom canvases. She enjoys hand embroidery, sewing her own clothes, woodworking, bookbinding, and just about anything that takes days (if not weeks) to make.
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Gene Alcott Trip
2023: Gene Alcott Memorial Fund Trip to NYC
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Refractions Group Exhibition