Jillian Vaccaro
Bio
Jillian Vaccaro is an interdisciplinary artist and teacher based in Boston. She earned her BFA from Emmanuel College and completed her MFA at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Jillian’s work spans various media, focusing on the exploration of memories from her past. In addition to her artistic practice, she is a dedicated art educator, instructing students at a school in Boston. Jillian maintains a studio at the Mill Contemporary Art in Framingham, MA. She is also a member of Galatea Fine Art in the SoWa district.
Statement
My work is an exploration of memory surrounding my familial relationships, childhood, and adult life. Each work functions as an emotional response to my past, fabricated to depict the fragility and loss that permeates the act of recollecting. Before I begin a new piece, I situate my mind in a previous time. I bring myself to this place through writing, reminiscing with loved ones, navigating through souvenirs and familial archives, and revisiting significant environments from childhood and my adult life. My mark making becomes meditative, while capturing the experience of exploring the intricate landscape of personal history. When I arrive in the past mentally, I respond with my materials intuitively.
The use of personal souvenirs are woven into my practice as they function as tangible objects of remembrance and assist my recollections. My latest work embodies an exploration of flowers, reflecting their relationship to time, and transformation. Their growth, decay, and renewal echo the ways in which memory shifts and evolves. I share intimate parts of my past so that others may feel connected through a similar sense of vulnerability, appreciation, loss, and reflection in their own life.