Jessica Bednarcik
My figurative oil portraits explore and interrogate inner thoughts and nostalgia. My paintings create a space within memory; sheltered by walls of repetitive thought and illuminated by vivid colors. I reach for a feeling, thought, or place in time, and translate it into an image that encapsulates a time in my life. 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 repetitive thought, 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 the somewhat forceful change of maturity. Lost in thought, caught in a web of emotions, my subjects lie 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 romantic literature and analytical psychology. Her work is concerned with the nuance of connection and disconnection between individuals. She paints images reflecting the nostalgia of loneliness and personal recollections.
Jessica has worked on mural projects throughout the years in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The bigger the scale, the better. 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.
EXHIBITIONS
2024
Under City Lights, Penn Journal of Arts and Sciences, Winter 2025, Vol. 3
215 | 610 Contemporary Exhibition, DCCC Gallery, 2024
Philadelphia Sketch Club Undergraduate Show, Philadelphia Sketch Club, 2024
Alcott Show, Kai Lin Fine Art Gallery, 2024
Configuration, The Sun ATL, 2024
Fine Arts Student Showcase, Savannah College of Art and Design, 2024
Visions of Self, Yosemite Sierra Artists, 2024
Feeling Blue: Navigating Challenges Through Art, Abington Art Center, 2024
2023
Wherever You Go: Solo Show, Vallerina Studio, 2023
Alcott Show Kai Lin Fine Art Gallery, 2023
Refractions: A Collection of Contemporary Artists ACA Sculpture Studio, 2023
2022
Spring Forward Savannah College of Art and Design, 2022
Beyond the Dot Savannah College of Art and Design, 2022
2020
Arcadia University Juried Showcase, Arcadia University, 2020
AOY Juried Art Show, Artists of Yardley, 2020
AWARDS
2024
Visions of Self, Second Prize, Yosemite Sierra Artists
Dean’s List Winter, Spring 2024
2023
Best in Show- Kai Lin Gallery Alcott Show
Gene Alcott Scholarship 2023
Dean’s List Winter, Spring, Fall 2023
2022
Figure Drawing Beyond the Dot, 1st Place
Dean’s List Winter 2022, Spring 2022
2021
Generate 24 Hour Mural Competition, 1st and 2nd Place
Dean’s List Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2021
2020
AOY Juried Art Show, 1st place
Sue Castle Memorial Art Award
Scholarships (2021-2024)
SCAD Achievement Honors Scholarship
Student Recognition Scholarship
Academic Honors Scholarship
SCAD Achievement Scholarship
Gene Alcott Scholarship Trip
SCAD Student Grant
PROFESSIONAL MURAL WORK
Ashlynn Distillery Mural, Morrisville, PA
Yardley Tot Lot Mural, Yardley, PA
Belmont’s Garage Mural, Langhorne, PA
Welcome to Yardley Mural, Yardley, PA
