Rachel Singel is an Associate Professor at the University of Louisville who grew up on a small farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. Rachel received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia in 2009 and a Masters of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Iowa in 2013. She has participated in residencies in the USA, in Italy, in Spain and in New Zealand. She has studied non-toxic printmaking at the Grafisk Eksperimentarium studio in Andalusia and will continue her research at Proyecto´ace in the Summer of 2022. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and represented in private, public and museum collections.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

My imagery comes from what I see in nature. From a hollow in a tree to a break in the clouds, absence is a recurring motif. These spaces intrigue me, and I begin to wonder where they might lead. The work is my response to the intricacies and depth of natural forms. I seek to observe the processes of nature and embody them in my own works of art.

Lines are the building block of my world. The printmaking process allows for a technical consideration of how these lines are distributed throughout the work, with the weight of each line relating directly to how much time it etches. Their physical qualities carry weight; they do not descend into the paper but protrude from the surface. Lines develop into curves, from curves to semi-circles, and from semi-circles to the full circle. This stylistic tendency comes from my interest in openings in nature—those places around which nature’s complex forms develop. Close studies of natural objects reveal holes in their surfaces. The space is a source of weight—a fulcrum point that seizes my attention by giving the illusion of an even deeper space, seeming to recede to infinity. The lines radiate out from these seeming voids—the starting points for infinite variation within the work.

As each line extends outward, the form begins to resemble how it occurs in nature: subject to the elements around it. This may be a vine changing direction because of other competing growth, a tree trunk consuming a barbed wire fence, or even the clay that once made-up a riverbank eroding away during a flood. Ultimately, my work is about discovering, then understanding, and finally expressing an attitude towards nature.

ABOUT #FUTURE

During Together Apart—#FUTURE I harvested an invasive species known as Yellow Flag Iris and used it to form sheets of paper on which I then printed copper etchings of native plants using non-toxic methods. One of my goals with this process is to bring awareness to nature’s complexity and fragility, as well as promote environmental consciousness.

For the collaborative project, my group members and I expanded on this with our final work, Recycling the Future, a mixed-media generative artwork carried out to investigate various processes of waste management and what it may look like in the future.

Ultimately, Together Apart—#FUTURE has been an incredible opportunity to meet other artists from around the world and develop my practice. The lectures and discussions were inspiring and have sparked new ideas and opened up new directions for me. I am grateful for all of the connections that I have made through this program and cannot wait to attend Proyecto´ace in person as an Artist-in-residence in summer 2022!