Tori Karpenko

Tori Karpenko received his BFA from Drake University, where he graduated cum laude and majored in painting. During his sophomore year, he attended the Lorenzo de Medici Institute of Italian Studies in Florence, Italy. Tori pursued additional education after graduation at a Biodynamic Agriculture internship at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, Wisconsin. He continues to pursue food, culture, and land issues with his artwork. Tori has been exhibiting art regionally in North Central Washington and in Seattle since moving to Washington in 2000.

Tori received 2015 GAP funding to help transport, and set up a structure for “The Lookout: A Story About the Transformative Power of Mountain Solitude,” at the Traver Gallery. “The Lookout” is a cathartic work from a time of personal crisis when Tori found solace in mountain solitude.  The result of his studio practice during this time of healing was twenty paintings that explore the transformative power of solitude and quiet contemplation in raw wilderness settings.  The exhibition at Traver Gallery will also include poems from the book Poets on the Peaks which chronicles the creative and spiritual growth experienced by well-known poets Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, and Philip Whalen during their time as lookouts on top of mountain peaks in the North Cascades in the 1950’s, as well as original literary works by the artist. For this exhibition the artist will construct a 14’x14′ modular structure inspired by Lookout Cabins of the North Cascades.