Jessi Carrubba is an artist currently based in Austin, TX.
Originally from Florida, Jessi studied illustration at Ringling College of Art and Design but soon found that professional instruction in art was not what she was looking for. While acquiring her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Illinois in 2015, Jessi was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Her experience with cancer became increasingly difficult to describe with words and she found herself turning back to her roots: paint and canvas. Despite some formal instruction early on, Jessi is largely a self-taught artist. She continues her creative practice as a cancer survivor, constructing abstract landscapes and playing with form using acrylic, watercolor, and crayon.
Artist's Statement
My work begins with the exploration of how a surface can be interrupted by other forces. Echoes of natural shapes combine with simple patterns to create abstract landscapes--composed forms that can be contemplated with little judgment or expectation. My work is often representative of my journey through life and does not strive to replicate any particular time or place.
My visual language is rooted in a continued sense of self-awareness: the interrupting elements ultimately become part of the whole, acknowledging that while unexpected things may interrupt our plans, they can be embraced to make ourselves stronger.
What holds each piece together is the notion that life is a pathway and there will always be things that interrupt your intended course. Shapes resembling rivers or mountains become swallowed by opposing forces. Some compositions are divided, coming so close to each other but never connecting--goals remaining unfulfilled, forever detached or broken. While I didn’t really start to examine time as a theme until later, it was still a vital element to these works. The repetitive marks were a reminder of each day lived, each moment that passed, each breath that pushed me forward to the next. Every mark was a day earned for the future. Every step brought me closer to something. Even if that something was an accomplishment or failure, I was still fighting my way forward.